Kidney Stones - New Thread

[emersm]

I just finished reading the kidney stone thread from 2012 and was wondering if anyone else has had any experience with them or if treatment options have gotten better.

I was visiting my sister last week in Florida and noticed some blood in my urine.

I made an appointment with my Doctor the next Monday and they confirmed blood in my urine and started me on Keflex, assuming it was a urinary tract infection.

The urine culture came back negative for bacteria and Doc ordered a CT scan, which was completed about four hours ago.

My Doctor's office called me with the results about 3 hours ago. It seems I have a 9mm kidney stone on the right side of my kidney, partially blocking my ureter. Also, there are "several" smaller stones behind it.

I am not in any pain right now and feel no discomfort; I had one of these about 18 years ago and it was incredibly painful.

I have been referred to a Urologist, which is conveniently located two floors above my Doctor's office, and will be calling for an appointment first thing in the morning.

Any chance they can zap the stone? If so, I would have to pass the smaller pieces and smaller stones behind it, right? I have a feeling anyway this plays out I am going to be in a lot of pain soon.

[superdog]

Sorry to hear man. Don’t have any good info for you, but I can commiserate. I hope you do find a good answer as I’m guessimg I’ll need it at some point.

I had a few whilst I’m college. These days my uric acid manifests as the gout. From what I remember, I think I prefer the gout.

Good luck. I hope it all goes down pain free.

[returntorolex]

If you are a candidate for Lithotripsy, that’s the least painful method of dealing with them. 9mm is no joke - good luck!

[Bryant Park]

First off very sorry to hear. I have had several stones and have empathy for what you are going through. I am not a doctor so take this as personal experience not informed commentary.

A 9mm stone is very large. When my doctor identified a 5.5mm stone he recommended and successfully pulverized the stone with ultrasound (lithotrypsy). I was under general anesthesia and experienced relatively little discomfort post procedure. I recently had this done a second time. Once again no big deal. I hope this works for you.

Good news bad news for you I suspect is that I recall my doctor telling me that over 6mm it won't pass on its own, they will need to get it. With that said I hope this procedure proves to be an option.

Lastly Toradol was the only medication that provided proper pain relief.

[Etschell]

i had one once and it was terrible.

i wish you well probably gotta blast it.

[emersm]

Originally Posted by superdog

Sorry to hear man. Don’t have any good info for you, but I can commiserate. I hope you do find a good answer as I’m guessimg I’ll need it at some point.

I had a few whilst I’m college. These days my uric acid manifests as the gout. From what I remember, I think I prefer the gout.

Good luck. I hope it all goes down pain free.

Thanks, Seth.

[emersm]

Originally Posted by returntorolex

If you are a candidate for Lithotripsy, that’s the least painful method of dealing with them. 9mm is no joke - good luck!

Originally Posted by Bryant Park

First off very sorry to hear. I have had several stones and have empathy for what you are going through. I am not a doctor so take this as personal experience not informed commentary.

A 9mm stone is very large. When my doctor identified a 5.5mm stone he recommended and successfully pulverized the stone with ultrasound (lithotrypsy). I was under general anesthesia and experienced relatively little discomfort post procedure. I recently had this done a second time. Once again no big deal. I hope this works for you.

Good news bad news for you I suspect is that I recall my doctor telling me that over 6mm it won't pass on its own, they will need to get it. With that said I hope this procedure proves to be an option.

Lastly Toradol was the only medication that provided proper pain relief.

Originally Posted by Etschell

i had one once and it was terrible.

i wish you well probably gotta blast it.

I appreciate all of the information, thanks.

[emersm]

Originally Posted by Bryant Park

First off very sorry to hear. I have had several stones and have empathy for what you are going through. I am not a doctor so take this as personal experience not informed commentary.

A 9mm stone is very large. When my doctor identified a 5.5mm stone he recommended and successfully pulverized the stone with ultrasound (lithotrypsy). I was under general anesthesia and experienced relatively little discomfort post procedure. I recently had this done a second time. Once again no big deal. I hope this works for you.

Good news bad news for you I suspect is that I recall my doctor telling me that over 6mm it won't pass on its own, they will need to get it. With that said I hope this procedure proves to be an option.

Lastly Toradol was the only medication that provided proper pain relief.

Was the Toradol needed after the procedure, when you were passing the smaller pieces? Successfully pulverized, to smaller pieces that were easily passed? -- Thanks.

[HobokenRolex]

I hope all goes well. About 1.5 years ago, I had what my doctor called kidney gravel. I guess really small stones. It was incredibly painful and walking was difficult. I had a bunch of tests but no recurrences. Good luck!

[sco]

Mine was 3mm. It was miserable. I feel for ya.

[Big Tone]

I am not aware of treatment options, but have read that cranberry juice can cause them among other things. Some say Apple cider vinegar can help dissolve them. I routinely drink 2 tbsp each night with water. Can’t say for sure if it helps with stones, but it certainly has other benefits. Best wishes to you.


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[returntorolex]

When I was rushed to the ER, they tried Toradol to reduce the pain. Nada, next they tried Morphine with no luck (I was completely doubled over on the bed). No reduction in pain....then Dilaudid. Still nothing! I was passing an 7mm stone.

It wasn’t until I went under general anesthesia did I get relief. Problem was....I was pumped so full of pain meds, it took over four hours to bring me out and finally wake up. Lesson: Stay in front of the pain cause no amount of pain meds is going to help if you hit the 10+ on the pain scale.

[boxxiee]

whew, first off I'm glad you're not in any pain. My kidney stone was the worst pain I've ever experienced, by a long shot. My main cause was simply not drinking enough fluids. I have a bad habit of rarely drinking anything (I've since forced myself to drink a TON of water).

When I went to the ER, they tried several pain killers via IV until they found something that works. Some folks just react differently. I ended up having to have mine busted up by laser. My Dr. advised that the crushing method may work, but recommended the laser. The roughest part was the stent that was inserted to help me pass the fragments. I had the stent for approx. 1 week. The removal of the stent was excruciating. I still feel them yanking it out of me to this day.

with that being said, just do whatever the Dr. wants you to do....he knows best. It's best to get it taken care of before it starts moving, because once it does, I guarantee it will be the most painful thing you've ever experienced

[Brenngun]

This one was my Christmas gift to myself this year. Started moving Christmas eve afternoon. Finally out Feb 21. 2 days before planned surgical procedure. Pain was excruciating. Now without any anywhere. Very happy about that. Your 9mm is a very big one. Likely will need to blow it up. Good luck.

[swils8610]

Sorry my friend. I’ve had many. Some I’ve passed with little issue. My urologist says anything larger than 5mn is usually to big to pass. Lithotripsy is the easiest solution. They pulverize the stone into sand essentially while you’re in lala land. You pee out some sand with no pain for a few days. From what I recall the stone must be in a particular location to use lithotripsy. If not...well sad to say it’s not fun. They have to go in and manually retrieve the stone. If it’s to big to remove in one piece they will laser it into smaller pieces and remove them. There’s only one way in to get it...luckily it’s your knocked out cold. In my case as is most they will put a temporary stent in the ureter to keep it from swelling shut. Take pain meds. The strongest they will give you. Don’t try and tough it out. Trust me on that. Then the stent has to be removed a week or so later. Once again only one way in and out. I feel for you. Get it dealt with and over with. Better to be proactive than reactive.


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[TheVTCGuy]

I’ve had four myself. The first was taken out surgically and incredibly painful. The second hurt for about 15 minutes then passed. The third was painless, popped out and shocked the hell out of me, never felt a thing. The last was painful for several weeks, diagnosed as prortititus. Again it passed and I was shocked. They are one of the worst malidies a person can have in my opinion. Pain is terrible, but also the fact that... well... it just feels so “unatural.” I had a cat scan a while back and have two very small ones in my kidneys, one on each side, but no problems yet and they may break and pass without me even knowing it. My advice is follow what your urologist says, best of luck and get those things out!

[Rock]

All the best, Merle.
9mm is big and the key, as Steve said, is to get the jump on this thing before it moves and causes real problems.
I had a 5mm one, 2 yrs ago and my doctor was away, resulting in delays that could have caused problems if it had blocked the exit of urine.
Took over a week to get into surgery and in the space of time between the last X Ray and the surgery the stone had 'disappeared'. The surgeon wasn't amused and it cost me thousands of bucks unnecessarily. Took 12 months before my 'waterworks' felt anything like normal.

[emersm]

Thanks, guys. I will see what route the urologist wants to go and let you know how it goes. I appreciate all of your feedback.

[JasoninDenver]

Good luck man. My fingers are crossed for you and after reading some of these posts, my legs are as well.

[123Blueface]

Good luck. I feel your pain. In fact, I have felt it 45 times now in the past 25 years.
All sizes, passed in many states, have visited more hospitals than I care to. One of them, they had to go in under anesthesia, in an unGodly manner, then ten days urinating drops from small catheter.

I take Royal Breakstone daily and since then, it’s been here years now since the last one v. Two or three a year at times.

[swils8610]

Royal Breakstone? Where do you get it?


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[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by swils8610

Royal Breakstone? Where do you get it?


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I just ordered a bottle off of Amazon, 22 bucks (about). It had great reveiws so I am giving it a try!

[TheVTCGuy]

OMG! Guys, i just read this revieew on Amazon for the Breakstone product. OMFG! Read what this poor dude went through!


History: early 2011 hospitalized w/kidney stone attack/protenuria prescribed pain pills/antibiotic sent home (stone did not pass) protenuria continued thru mid july 2011 when i was taken to ER diagnosed w/sepsis and had emergency surgery/stent put in, 3 weeks later stent removed and ESWL done and new stent put in..this cycle continued like clockwork every 3 weeks until mid january 2012. At that point I cld no longer endure the thought of another ESWL/Stent so I started taking Diatomaceus Earth and avoided surgery however, I was still showing blood in my urine and infection. I was reapeatedly given antibiotics and was able to pass a 4MM stone which I took to my Primary for analysis. I awaited a referral appt w/a nephrologist to try to find out what was causing the stones. In sept 2012 I was able to meet w/the nephroloigist who ordered many blood tests,24 hr urine and CT scan of both kidneys. Moving into late Sept 2012 my Nephrologist called to tell me that I needed to go to the nearest ER, that I had Sepsis and and blocked ureter and needed emergency surgery. She wld not allow me to wait until a sched appt. She sd that I needed the surgery immediately! I went to Mayo (JAX) and they did my 1st lithrotripsy ASAP and from there it was LIthro's again, every 3 weeks they wld remove the stent and empty one kidney and re-stent for 3 weeks..back n forth. I continued w/antibiotics as well and was also in Pain Management at this point. On extended release Morphine 3x day, perc 10mg 4 times day, baclofen 3 times day! my Eurologist at mayo was stumped as to why I was making so many stones so fast and they were growing bigger and bigger too! from 4mm to 1.2 CM! this last surgery 1/31/13 they removed 11 stones all 1-1.2 cm and one was embedded in my L ureter that had to b dug out! also they were already showing a 7mm blockage on the right side that was gonna require further surgery along w/a cascade of other stones raining down on the right side and my new MAYO Nephrologist sd he cld not perform the necc tests to see why these stones are forming until I was infection, stone,stent and surgery free! so I was so disgusted, I got on the web and started looking for another option. The reviews of Chanca Piedra were overwhelmingly abundant and positive so i bought this and started 2/19/13..so far i havnt needed the surgery to remove anymore stones! I have however been passing tons of sand/stones and remnants up to 5mm w/only slight pain in the kidneys and none upon exit! i have passed aprox 1tblsp of debri n a measurable stones EVERY day! My urine showed 30% reduction in infection w/in 24 hrs of starting and my B/P has stabilized too! I take 2-400mg tabs every 6 hrs. I have not increased my morphine. i reduced the percocets to 3/day this month. I will have many more tests over this month but i continue to see debri passing daily so i am continuing w/the high dose..i read if its an active stone event u need to take 32-3600mg daily then 1-2 pills day for preventative. I dont think it has to b this brand though as these results are pretty common and you wld prob get the similiar results if u drank the tea etc too, i imagine, i just found a deal thru swanson for $4.99/bottl and they r 500mg tabs instead of 400mg and they got free s/h this month if u spend $50..(also used promo code) so I ordered 11 bottles!!! lol..i know i will be on this forever if not a VERY long time since for the 1st time in 2 years-I do not have blood in my urine, The infection is going away (without antibiotics!!) and I am now 3 weeks past my last surgery date! (shld have had surgery on my right and now be headed back in for the left again!! I wld HIGHLY recommend Chanca Piedra if u have kidney stones and it REALLY is possible to avoid surgery by taking this! I will try to update this when my next test results come in or if there is any significant change..meanwhile If u have any questions u can hit me up.

[superdog]

This thread is causing me some serious discomfort.

I’ve got a big gouty foot and I’m limping around.

But from what I remember stones are the worst. Gosh, I hope I never go through this again. Give me gout any day.

[swils8610]

Stones are bad. Gout sucks though. I feel for you Seth. I once had a gout flare up the 1st day if 7 day vacation with my wife in Mexico. Luckily we were at a resort and I didn’t need to walk far.


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[cruise_bone]

I've had about 10, maybe 12, although I have not had one in at least 5 years.

My first one happened at this exact time of year 15 or so years ago, as I recall driving home from work in the middle of tax season at around 9pm. I started to feel what I thought was some kind of gastro distress mixed in with back pain. It was definitely a sensation I had never previously felt.

15 minutes later I was in my apartment on my hands and knees literally crying in pain as I called my mother to find out WTF was going on. My identical twin had one a couple of years earlier and thought he had the same symptoms but he was on some world cruise somewhere so I couldn't confirm my symptoms with him.

Oddly enough, as painful as that was, I never passed that stone, or didn't notice it.
I have passed many though over the years.

I now travel with Percocet just in case. The thought of being on a flight from JFK to Istanbul when a stone hits without Meds is the most dreadful thing I can think of besides death.

I had lithotripsy once. I kept thinking I had passed the broken up stones, but no. One day all hell broke loose and those little stones fired out of what felt like a cannon. There was uncontrolled muscle movements that I had never experienced before. Think of another type of male release, only 25 times more intense and not enjoyable at all. I mean, the noise of those stones hitting the urinal was so f"ing loud I could hardly believe it. It didn't hurt but it did feel weird as hell. I think I could have shot them out about 15 feet or so it was so forceful. The body is an amazing vehicle.

As for your smaller stones behind the large one, if done properly the lithotripsy should make them all small enough to fire out of your cannon.

Drink lots more water than you think you should. I believe the amount of water I currently drink is why I've not a stone in so long.

[cruise_bone]

Originally Posted by Brenngun

This one was my Christmas gift to myself this year. Started moving Christmas eve afternoon. Finally out Feb 21. 2 days before planned surgical procedure. Pain was excruciating. Now without any anywhere. Very happy about that. Your 9mm is a very big one. Likely will need to blow it up. Good luck.

At least it was mostly round! I've sharp f*ckers that are really killers.

[Brenngun]

Originally Posted by superdog

This thread is causing me some serious discomfort.

I’ve got a big gouty foot and I’m limping around.

But from what I remember stones are the worst. Gosh, I hope I never go through this again. Give me gout any day.

I agree Seth, I suffer from gout as well as stones. Trust me gout's a cakewalk in comparison.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by Brenngun

I agree Seth, I suffer from gout as well as stones. Trust me gout's a cakewalk in comparison.

I seriously have the heebie jeebies.....

I need to stay away from this thread.

[Brenngun]

Originally Posted by superdog

I seriously have the heebie jeebies.....

I need to stay away from this thread.