Anyone have kidney stone tips?

[Bruce]

On Oct 27th I had my first kidney stone experience. I thought I had indigestion then I had blood in my urine. The low level of pain was treatable with ibuprofen. I had a contractor at my house that morning and planned to go see a doc after he left. My Father had bunches of them from his late 40s to early 60s. I was not around to see how much pain he was in at the time. It passed after a couple of hours and I decided it was not a big deal.

Then the morning of the 29th I woke up in the worst pain I have ever experienced. I was sweating and vomited until I switched to dry heaving. I once had 250 stitches in my arm and have had my gall bladder removed. Neither are anything close to kidney stone pain! There was no way that I could drive so @Rana took the day off to take care of me.

My doctor passed me off to a express care clinic for faster service. Unfortunately the strongest pain medicine they could offer was a Tylenol based shot. They arranged for a CT scan six hours later. I took an old hydrocodone left over from my gall bladder surgery and took a nap.

The CT showed five stones in my right kidney and one in my left. The stone that was moving was either 4mm or 6mm. I went back to the express care clinic as instructed. They had been unable to get a urology appointment so they apologized and sent me to the ER where I waited a few hours for a doctor who sent me home with a prescription for 4 days of hydrocodone, 12 days of Flowmax, something for nausea and the impression that I would be back to normal after a few days of pain.

That first stone took 6 days to pass to my bladder. Then after about a six hour break another one started moving. It passed to my bladder after perhaps three days then for the next three days I passed one per day. I believe that only one has actually come out and I did not catch it.

I have found that walking around, hot showers, marching in place in the shower and sometimes heat pads are helpful.

The last stone movement that I am aware of ended around 7 AM Monday morning. But I have had right kidney pain off an on since then. Currently I have pain in the right kidney that is stronger than Tylenol 3 will handle but do not feel movement.

All stones have come from the right kidney so the left has been keeping me healthy. I have been drinking large amounts of water.

I bet some of you guys have experience with this and may be able to offer helpful suggestions. To anyone who has not had kidney stones please avoid them at all costs!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Ouch! I had some gallbladder pain that crippled me for about an hour and I thought that was crazy!

God bless and hope you get back to normal soon.

 

[jcyamahariders wife]

Bruce I feel your pain I had a 3 month long battle with kidney stones with one emergency surgery when my kidney had shut down and was 5x the size it should be. The pain was the most awful thing I hope to never experience again ! Just be very sure to keep at the doctors to make sure all stones are not stuck anywhere and get another scan if you are unsure if they have all passed or not. I went a whole month with a 8mm stone stuck in my ureter and then I passed two more stones one a 5mm and a 6mm. The day that happened I will never forget. Unfortunately nobody thought I needed help and it would pass like previous times. It started at 6am and I was finally taken to the emergency around 2pm where the urologist rused back to the hospital to perform emergency surgery. Unfortunately the infection was so severe all they could do was a stent to open up some of the blockage. A month later I went in for another surgery to finally remove all the stones. I ended up with the stent back in for another few weeks. All I can say is my body did not like that foreign object at all. I had so much back pain and it was still difficult to use the bathroom. I went back for a followup scan 6 months later because the back pain never really went away and found that both kidneys were littered with stones but they insisted I shouldn't worry unless they start growing bigger. I never wanted to ever go through that again. I went to my local chiropractor and she gave some natural supplement remedies to dissolve them knock on wood it's been 5 years and never had an issue since.

Bruce I feel your pain unless anyone experiences it they have no clue.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

I had my first experience with a stone late last year. I literally thought I was dying and have never experienced pain like that in my life. The emergency room nurse of 3 said she's had them before and would rather give birth. I only had one thank goodness, and was able to pass it with the help of Toradol. The most common home remedy I've been told by folks that have them frequently is a simply 12 pack. Drink them all and drink them fast. Combination of pain reliever and flushing assistant.

I feel for you Bruce.

 

[Andy S]

For a long term preventive care I've known plenty of family and friends that drink lemon infused water at least once a week, lemon juice seems to dissolve small stones. The recipe most people I know use is to take a 1/4 wedge of a lemon and squeeze it into an 8 oz glass of water and if you like the taste of lemons some use half a lemon. Others have found that using bottle lemon juice concentrate also works well.

Here is an article from webMD on the benefits of lemonade to reduce kidney stones, http://www.webmd.com/kidney-stones/news/20060524/lemonade-helps-kidney-stones

Hoping you feel better soon.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I have had them for over 40 years on and off, I believe there are two different types, My stones are crystal type and they look like a sharp jagged piece of glass, they cut up the kidney as they move through it.
If they tell you the only remedy for the pain is to shoot you and put you out of your misery you would not hesitate to say DO IT NOW! The absolute worst pain I have ever experienced. I just stay hydrated and drink grapefruit juice.
I also hear that hanging out on the beach surrounded by hot girls in bikinis helps also, well it keeps your mind off it anyway.
I was told by a woman that it is the closest a man will ever get to experiencing the pain of child birth. I assume I was being told basically that men are wimps and women deal with it better. Take care and get better.

 

[OCMD]

Funny. I was scheduled for the surgery this morning where they send a tool up your tool. Was praying it would pass……Anyway, 15 years ago I got home from work. Thought I had to crap. Didn’t have to but couldn’t shake the urge. 15 minutes later I am writhing on the floor, and called 911. Literally thought I was dying the pain was so severe. And I am one of those guys that played football with a separated shoulder – didn’t want to come out of the game. The pain was excruciating, as I sped off to the ER in an ambulance. Got to ER begging for pain relief. Got it, and two days later pissed it out. Was told they would come back. Never did. Until about ten days ago. Felt that feeling….have to crap, but not really. Dull pain in back side. I knew it. Kidney stone coming. I anticipated, as I did not want to experience that pain again. It was still fresh in my mind from 15 years ago. I had the old lady drive me to the ER. Went in, and told ‘em what was up. Glad I knew everyone at this ER. It pays to work midnights and help out the ER staff with the usual assortment of drunk and disorderly illegals that come in raising hell on the weekend and use the ER as their primary care (and free, in this terrible blue county) provider. Anyway, I digress. I had a cat scan to confirm I had one moving through the piss tube, and a big ass rock “growing” in my kidney. I had the morphine IV drip started, as I laid in the bed for a few hours. Very little pain. thanks to chemicals. Got discharged, and knew the deal. Picked up the Oxycot pain killer, the flow max, etc. and went home. Next two days I regularly used 800 mg Ibuprofen and half an Oxy to blunt the pain. Saw the pissologist last Wed. Scheduled the roto-rooter through the junk. Got sick of pissing into a screen, as I was pissing so much. I must have missed it because as of Sunday, I felt normal – whoever thought normal would be great! Still went through the pre-op physical Monday, and a KUB x-ray. Saw the pissologist yesterday, nervous. Did not want to be roto-rootered today. He looked at the x-ray and didn’t see it. I screamed halleluiah, raised my arms in the touchdown signal, I was so happy. No surgery today. However, he did show me on the x-ray a big ass rock – the one that is growing in there, from which pieces can be expected to break off, occasionally. Took 15 years, however. So I am now scheduled December 8 for a non-invasive procedure, where they blast the stone with sonic waves or something. Hopefully that is the end of it. I have heard about drinking lemon juice every morning, so I absolutely am going to start that routine. I just have to find a cheap lemon supplier now, as they are so expensive out of season! Good luck! There is no pain worse than a kidney stone. I am glad I self-diagnosed and headed off the pain before it hit extreme!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Is it possible to have the pain in the belly but not feel it come out your tool?

 

[Bruce]

Is it possible to have the pain in the belly but not feel it come out your tool?

Yes, they can become bladder stones. Most of mine are still in my bladder. They do not hurt while they are in the bladder. When they start to progress out they can create a complete blockage if they get hung up.

 

[Bruce]

Thanks for sharing your stories. I am feeling comparatively fortunate!

 

[ChrisM]

I had my first and so far only kidney stone at age 35. Took a few days to pass, was given Toradol to relax the ureter. It's an NSAID pain reliever. Also a filter funnel. Just as I was about to give up trying to catch it, it finally passed, I was told I could have it examined, I saved it for the longest time, finally gave it to a urologist on one of my appointments, was all comprised of calcium.

 

[4x15mph]

Holy $&*#. Sounds terrible. Do they know what causes these (too much calcium?) or is this another one of those genetic things?

Good luck Bruce and it sounds like @OCMD has a lot of experience that may help.

 

[Britboater]

Feel for you @Bruce I've heard the pain is second to none, at least you had a good woman to nurse you through, but I'm sure the pain is far worse than child birth .
I thought the cure for kidney stones was to zap them with ultra sonics or something on those lines?
Take care chap.

 

[Bruce]

@Britboater the "surgical" options are lithotripsy which uses sound waves to break up a stone, a catheter type approach which @OCMD was about to have or cutting through your back to access the kidney. My understanding is that they only go after a single stone with the first two options. The standard procedure seems to be to get imaging to determine the size of the stone then if it is too large to pass they use a surgical option otherwise they send you home to pass it. Everything seems to focus on the stone currently causing the problem and ignoring others. I believe I passed 5 over a twelve day period. Since Monday I have continued to have pain but I believe that is my kidney and urinary tract healing.

 

[MrMoose]

@Bruce , I hope that you have a speedy recovery with minimal pain.

 

[The Wanderer2]

I am currently going thru the same thing. Woke up October 8, with back pain which I atrributed to my recent drive from Michigan to Florida. After three days and the pain progressively getting worst, I went to the ER and after an MRI found I have three stones in the left kidney with the largest being 9mm. Had lithotripsy October 16, which broke the stone a little but probably not enough to pass. Will see the doctor on November 16, to decide next option, either lithotripsy again or surgery. Doctor tells me its not unusual to blast a stone twice to break it up. Have to wait a month in between for the kidney to heal. Currently, not in pain because the doctor pushed the big stone back up into the kidney before blasting. However, this is a ticking time bomb waiting for the stone to move or should I say try to move out of the kidney and then the pain returns. Doctor says my big stone has only a 5% chance of passing provided I can take the pain.

 

[Bruce]

Currently, not in pain because the doctor pushed the big stone back up into the kidney before blasting. However, this is a ticking time bomb waiting for the stone to move or should I say try to move out of the kidney and then the pain returns. Doctor says my big stone has only a 5% chance of passing provided I can take the pain.

Man, I feel for you! How did your doc push the stone up?

 

[The Wanderer2]

When they do the blasting they insert a stent from the kidney to the bladder to help with drainage. The stent pushed the stone out of the kidney opening. The stent is removed after a week post blasting. Thats when the stones can start moving out of the kidney and out of the body.

 

[OCMD]

NOOOOO! @The Wanderer2 Are you telling me when I get blasted in December they are going to put a stent in there? I only see one way to get that in there! Please don't say it's so. I thought they just blast it to smithereens and then you piss the remnants out!

 

[Bruce]

NOOOOO! @The Wanderer2 Are you telling me when I get blasted in December they are going to put a stent in there? I only see one way to get that in there! Please don't say it's so. I thought they just blast it to smithereens and then you piss the remnants out!

My Dad had lithotripsy without stints several times. I believe this is a matter or the doctors preference and that the stint is much more expensive than lithotripsy itself.