Kidney ultrasound

I recently dealt with a couple of kidney attacks that landed me right in the ER. They handed me some sort of referral—or whatever you call those things—for an ultrasound. Since I’ve never been one to bother with doctors, I haven't paid much attention to my insurance coverage. Now that I actually have to deal with this, there's going to be a frustrating delay while I get my paperwork sorted, and quite frankly, I don't have the time to wait because I want to get this done immediately before things take a turn for the worse. Is it possible for me to just head over to a private clinic, say 20 Main Street or the Urology Center, get the ultrasound performed, and just pay out of pocket?

Of course you can... just don't be surprised if it costs you about $100...

So, my doctor handed me a referral to head over to the Mayo Clinic, but let’s be real—the waiting list there is a total nightmare. There's absolutely no way I'm seeing anyone there for at least six months, if I'm lucky.

Is it even worth trying to get this done through a private practice instead? And if it is, does anyone have a solid recommendation? I'm based out of Cleveland.

Anyone actually got an answer for this??

Are you dealing with some kind of kidney issues or something? You can get an ultrasound done at pretty much any private clinic. For instance, over here in the Chicago area, getting an ultrasound for your kidneys and bladder is easy enough. $57

Hey there! Has anyone here ever actually gone through an IV urografy? I’m honestly pretty freaked out because both my primary care doctor and the radiologist have told me I'm way too young for this procedure. But hey, I already scheduled the appointment, so what am I going to do, cancel now?
I'm just really curious—how much does that radiation actually mess with your organs? Like, specifically regarding ovaries and all that stuff? Is it as bad as people say?

Dennis Johnson5 said:Hey there! Has anyone here actually gone through an IV urogram? I’m feeling a little anxious because both my primary care doctor and the radiologist mentioned I might be a bit young for this kind of thing... but I already scheduled the appointment, so what am I going to do, cancel now? I guess I'm just wondering how much radiation exposure actually affects things like the ovaries or other organs in that area...

I actually had to get one done when I was about 16 or 17 years old... and honestly, look, any kind of radiation carries some risk, which is why people say you should avoid X-rays and stuff whenever possible, but I've had so many scans over the years that I probably should be in a coma by now, yet here I am, feeling perfectly fine 😁 (well, except for that kidney stone I dealt with 😁). Anyway, they don't just order these tests for no reason, so it's not like it's going to ruin you... and if there's ever a real risk to a specific part of your body, they make sure to use shielding and protection...

Thanks for getting back to me! I totally get that all radiation carries some kind of risk, but I can't help feeling a little uneasy about this specific one... I mean, they’re actually injecting radioactive iodine directly into your bloodstream, which feels way different from just getting an X-ray or a scan where they just take a picture of you. But hey, I guess I'll power through it and get it over with 🙂 Best

Dennis Johnson5... I went through it recently and honestly, it wasn't that bad. You just lie there for a bit and let them do their thing (while they gradually inject everything). Look... I've been dealing with some fertility issues myself, so they're running some X-ray tests to check for blockages, and we’re moving straight to action next month. So, don't sweat it too much.👍

I waited an entire month in Cleveland just to get a kidney ultrasound. I finally went up there one day, scheduled everything, and then showed up a month later at Johns Hopkins Hospital where they performed the scan without any issues and gave me the results immediately. I guess I'm not quite sure why you think you'll have to wait nearly that long, though—did you actually go ahead and book the appointment yet? And honestly, I didn't have any special connections or anything to make it happen faster.

Megan Patel47 said:I was in Cleveland waiting exactly a month for a kidney ultrasound. I went up there one day, booked it, came back a month later, had my ultrasound at Johns Hopkins Hospital without any issues, and got my results immediately. I don't know why you think you'll have to wait that long—did you actually try to schedule anything yet? And no, I didn't have any special connections or pull to get it done.

Back in November last year, my doctor gave me a referral for an ultrasound because I’ve been having this pain in my right kidney—basically feeling this intense, sharp pressure. When I called the Mayo Clinic, the woman on the phone started grilling me about my specific kidney issues. I just told her I needed an exam because I felt like something was wrong. Apparently, she needed a formal diagnosis first (which I didn't have, obviously, I just had symptoms), so she told me the wait time was six months and that I should just show up with a referral that explicitly stated the condition.
Naturally, I just gave up. And yeah, my kidney still feels sensitive.
So, what was the actual diagnosis listed on your referral?

Douglas King7,

Maybe you could try this—on a day when you feel like your kidney is hurting really badly (or even if it’s just more painful than usual, honestly it doesn't matter, just say it hurts), wait until the evening and head straight to the emergency room at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Once you get to triage, tell them you have terrible back pain and you suspect it’s your kidney. They’ll take you in, run some urine and blood tests, and they might even perform an ultrasound.

From what I’ve experienced personally, and my father did too, I’ve realized that this is probably the most efficient, quickest way to get all those tests done; once you have that ER paperwork proving there was an urgent intervention for a specific reason, they tend to admit you much faster for an ultrasound or any other outpatient testing if they didn't already do it right there in the ER.

I had high blood pressure once, like 160/110, so I went up to the hospital and they ran every test imaginable; they wanted to do a kidney ultrasound too, but I guess there wasn't a doctor available at the time, so I just got my paperwork and ended up getting the ultrasound exactly a month later.

The only frustrating thing is that they still haven't actually found the cause for my high blood pressure, since all my lab results come back perfectly normal.

A few years ago, I went to the Mayo Clinic emergency room because of chest pains—I could barely breathe, actually—and they took me in immediately and ran everything: heart, lungs, kidneys, a full abdominal ultrasound, blood work, and urine, and everything turned out fine, so it was likely just some inflammation in a chest muscle.

Thanks a ton. I'll try to cook up something clever 🙂

Hey there.

The kidneys look fine—normal size and healthy tissue, with no signs of kidney stones or any dilation in the urinary tract.

However, the bladder shows some cauliflower-like growth, measuring about 21mm at the base on the left side.

Can someone please give me a clearer explanation of what this "growth" actually implies?

Can someone please tell me how much an ultrasound costs at a private doctor's office, and what they're charging for just a standard checkup these days?

Hi there,

I was wondering if someone might be able to walk me through what this doctor's diagnosis actually means in plain English... I'm trying to wrap my head around the specifics here:

"Bilateral minimal renal shadowing, left-sided grade II pyeliectasis"

Thanks so much