Brown Urine

[binkman]

I've been gluten-free for a little over a week. Today I was driving all day. After about 6 hours in the car, I had to get more gas and urinate. I was surprised to see that it was a dark brown! I can't tell if it was cloudy or not. It was in a urinal, not in the bowl like usual, so it might have seemed a bit darker, being undiluted. It was not dehydration, as earlier that day I had light colored urine, and a few hours later, light colored urine again. If I hadn't been looking, I wouldn't have noticed it.

 

I'm worried because last night I had a pain deep in the middle of my lower abdomen, which at the time I took to be a gas pain or from C, but it might have been related to this strange urination? It came back this morning before this strange urination event and was rather sharp, but not severe. 

 

I'm also on metronidazole at the moment, which I know can cause 'brown urine', but I thought it would have been consistently brown tinted and not an 'event'.

 

I've had a month of developing symptoms and increasing bad news. Could this be something simple? Has anyone had a similar experience?

[LauraTX]

Since no one here is a doctor, and this does not seem directly related to Celiac Disease, I would like to encourage you to see a doctor ASAP in the morning.  They have the diagnostic tools and can look to see what is causing the coloring of the urine, and do further testing if something else is wrong.  No one on the internet speculating what it can be can tell you any more than you already know.  

[ravenwoodglass]

While this could be just a side effect of the med I agree with laura. You should call your doctor's office or stop at your local urgent care if your doctor isn't available. 

[nvsmom]

Ditto.  Good luck.  Let us know what happens.

[binkman]

The doctor is at a loss, supposes it must have been the metronidazole. Recent blood tests didn't even hint at any kidney disfunction and urine tests a week before, and now a week later, are absolutely normal. Weird.

[Hoos]

I'm not a doctor.  So, my non-doctor observations/experience:

 

Darker urine is one of the symptoms I can get, if I get glutened.  However, going 6 hours without urinating is not recommended for anyone.  Going long periods without urinating can lead to darker urine, but that's temporary.  It's good that you had your doc check things, because it can certainly be indicative of other things going on.

 

As a one-time thing, it's not something that I personally would worry about.