Postpartum back pain can be from a number of reasons. But, and that’s a big but, this was the cause of mine:
In 2017, I gave birth to my first child. I know women have babies every day, but this woman ended up in the emergency room one month after the birth of her son.
My lower back had been bothering me. I thought it was due to the fact that I was, all of a sudden, carrying around a 9+ lb. child everywhere, but after a 13-hour hangout session in the E.R., I learned otherwise.
Kidney Stone?
I had a kidney stone.
Now, this is far from being the end of the world, but when you have a one-month-old, it’s not ideal. I had to have a CAT scan and while they told me it was safe to continue breastfeeding, you never really know do you? I guess if my son ever turns into a blueberry or grows a third eye we’ll know the truth.
I was also prescribed a few medications for the pain associated with a kidney stone and to help me pass it. I was told (by those at the E.R.) that they, too, were safe to take when breastfeeding, but that ended up not being 100% correct. For instance, Flomax is commonly prescribed. I took it for about a day, until I spoke to a nurse at my pediatrician’s office who basically told me to stop taking it. That’s cool, I’m sure my son will be fine with some of that in his system. I’ll just make sure to have extra vision coverage for his future third eye.
So…did I pass the stone? I have no idea. I was never given the strainer you need to pee into in order to tell if you’ve passed a stone (they can be millimeters in size) and honestly, I was busy with a newborn, so I probably wouldn’t have noticed either way. I could have been peeing rainbows and probably wouldn’t have batted an eye.
I met with a urologist who told me it’s unusual to get your first kidney stone at 37-years-old. Usually, you would have gotten them already if you’re someone who is prone to them. He said it could have been an effect of me being pregnant or a “one off”. I guess those things happen and my OB later told me I was lucky the stone didn’t send me into early labor…because I guess that happens too. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about while pregnant, now we can throw kidney stones in the mix.
The urologist recommended I have an X-ray plus an ultrasound to see what was really going on.
I received a call with the results on a Friday, ruining my weekend and, oh yeah, my life.
Cancer?
The urologist told me they found something on my kidney and then proceeded to say “cancer” 867 times. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but that’s exactly what it felt like. He said he couldn’t be sure, but there was a tumor. It could be kidney cancer or it could just be a bunch of blood vessels. But again, he repeated the word “cancer” often so I wasn’t feeling great about things.
The next step was getting another CT scan, but this time, “with contrast”…meaning with dye – you know, just more fresh-from-the-Earth, organic sustenance for my baby. For the record, I was told it was okay for breastfeeding moms and thank God I had it done because…I needed it.
I had a tumor on the outside of my left kidney. The doctor said he was 80% sure it was cancer because of how it looked. It had a blood supply and would continue to grow. I would need to have surgery…just 6 months after my c-section surgery.
My first course of action was to throw out all my two-piece bathing suits. My c-section scar wouldn’t ever show, but my kidney surgery would result in about four scars on my abdomen. Baring my terrible butterfly tramp stamp is one thing, but I’m not going to hit the beach looking like I’ve been in an alleyway knife fight.
After the vanity issues, I had to, you know, try and face the fact that I had cancer.
The word “cancer” is terrifying…and believe me, I was terrified. I remember crying, looking at my husband, telling him how much I didn’t want to have the surgery. But I was a mom. I had to get well and be healthy for my son.
I remember people telling me how strong I was and how “good” I sounded leading up to the surgery and I wasn’t really. Kidney cancer is obviously not good, but it is nothing compared to other types. My doctor informed me that, even if the tumor turned out to be 100% cancer, the chance it would come back was extremely low. And the follow-up treatment was just an ultrasound every six months. Still, having someone tell you that you have cancer is a punch to the gut. I went through a myriad of emotions, but the one I remember most is anger. I remember watching “Intervention” thinking how these people were destroying themselves, but I was the one with cancer. I worked out, watched what I ate, didn’t smoke, only drank on the weekends (if that!) but no, I was the one with cancer! I was the one who would have to have surgery and lose 10% of my kidney. I was the one who would have to have an ultrasound every six months and then freak out waiting for the results.
After the surgery, the doctor came out to talk to my husband. The tumor was difficult to get, but they got it. The good news was that I still had 95% kidney function, which was more than they thought I was going to have. The bad news was that he was 90% sure the tumor was cancer. From 80%…to 90%. Remember back in school when that was a good thing?
My mother was visiting when I got the big post-op phone call from my doctor. I had been expecting it, waiting for him to tell me what stage cancer I had.
Thankful for our son and my diagnosis
The tumor ended up NOT being cancer. After all that – boom, no cancer. He said he was 90% sure it was…but it wasn’t.
Obviously, we were all ecstatic, but recently someone was talking to me about what happened, saying they didn’t think the doctors should have ever said “cancer” to me unless they were 100% certain. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. On one hand, I’m glad I was prepared for the worst, although I did go through a lot psychologically and emotionally…and it ended up just being a tumor that needed to come out. What’s the best way to go? Is it better to know the worst, or should you only be given that information when absolutely necessary?
I still don’t know the answer…but I did learn something about fate.
The doctors told me my kidney stone had nothing to do with my kidney tumor. It was just a weird coincidence. However, if I never had the stone, I would not have known about the tumor. Who knows how long it would have taken me to learn about it? It had a blood supply and would have kept growing and growing, so I thank that stone whenever I think about my experience. The stone my body oddly formed while I was pregnant. Some could argue that if I never got pregnant, I wouldn’t have known about the tumor until it was big…scary big. Some could argue that.
I just know that I’m lucky. I don’t have kidney cancer and I haven’t had a stone since. Did getting pregnant save me? I won’t ever know for sure if it led to my stone, which led us to my tumor…but my son has definitely saved me. That stone saved me. And I don’t miss wearing bikinis that much. Who would?
