How to Treat Kidney Cyst Pain

Kidney cysts are caused by polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a disease that can cause pain and discomfort in sufferers, particularly in the back or sides. Although PKD is a progressive, incurable disease, there are treatment options available to manage the pain and discomfort caused by cysts.

Things You'll Need

• Urologist
• Tylenol or other doctor-approved over-the-counter pain killer
• Kidney cyst reduction or cyst drainage surgery
• Antibiotics
• Diuretics
• Low-protein, low-salt, low-potassium, low-phosphorus diet
• Blood pressure-lowering medication (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors)

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Instructions

How to Treat Kidney Cyst Pain

• 1

  Determine what is causing the pain. Kidney cyst pain can be caused by infection, cyst expansion or bleeding of the cyst. Once your doctor has determined what is causing your discomfort, treatment options can be discussed.

• 2

  Perform surgery to remove or drain cysts. If a patient is experiencing extreme pain due to kidney cysts, a surgeon may elect to surgically remove larger cysts or drain existing cysts if they are too numerous for complete removal.

• 3

  Treat underlying infections. Kidney cysts sufferers are more prone to suffer kidney, bladder and urinary tract infections. In order to treat pain associated with these infections, it is important to visit your doctor who will prescribe antibiotics to get rid of the infection. Once the underlying infection has been treated, pain should decrease.

• 4

  Make healthy lifestyle choices. Quitting smoking, eating a diet low in protein, potassium, salt and phosphorus, exercising and controlling blood pressure can help slow the progression of PKD and slow the expansion and growth of cysts, thus preventing potential pain in the future.