My 9 millimeter friend not for long I hope

[rhody]

I will keep this short, over a fairly long time period I have been having nausea that has grown in frequency and intensity over time. Pain accompanies this, not debilitating but enough to get your attention and interrupt normal life and lately has been much worse.

CT scan shows a nine millimeter stone lodged in my right kidney. That is .35 inches. To give you some idea of how big that is check out this photo:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9656/9mmv.jpg

The worry and anxiety over what is wrong is over. The next step is to remove it as painlessly as possible. I know PF rules forbid medical advice and for good reason. What I would like to know (Jimmy Snyder comes to mind because I know you have had a number of kidney stones over the years) is what procedure did you decide on. What did you experience for pain, time to recover, etc... Lastly, if you had to do it again, would you choose the same procedure, or something that has come along that is better ?

I will see urologist tomorrow to discuss what he recommends. It will be nice to feel healthy for a change. Thank God it wasn't something much worse. Not knowing what is wrong with you is not a good feeling, and in my case for such a long time, which I am sure many here have experienced first hand.

Check out this http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-about-Lithotripsy-59577572. The stone is like a dancing fool in the body, but not for long. Here is another video, youtube this time showing the whole setup.



Another very good video, watch it break up the peppermint candy.

Yl8Qy79aLk0&[/youtube] Rhody...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Some details are graphic, don't read this if you are squeemish.

As you are aware, there is no way I can advise you. I can only relate my experiences with stones. I have never experienced nausea from the stones themselves. I used to take Percocet for pain and that does give me nausea as well as other unwelcome side effects. For that reason, I take Darvocet for pain now. Fortunately, although I have had great pain in the past, and continue to produce and pass stones on a regular basis. Not counting the gravel that I pass when I have a lithotripsy, I have passed about 50 stones give or take, and had 4 removed surgically. I rarely experience any pain anymore. I have never experienced pain associated with a stone in my kidneys. The pain is begins when the stones have migrated from the kidneys into the ureters. I doubt that anyone can pass a 9 mm stone naturally. I don't think it can fit in the ureter. My guess (I'm not a doctor, I don't even play one on TV) is that your stone while still in the kidney, is close enough to the opening into the ureter, that it blocks the passage of urine and that is what causes your pain.

Currently I have a bunch of stones in my kidneys that are not moving and that have grown to 6 mm, too large to pass. My urologist has put the decision in my hands whether to treat them. I have decided not to because they are not causing me any problems. They may stay with me til I die. I fear that there is a downside to lithotripsy in that it creates a large pile of gravel in the kidney. The bulk of the gravel will pass painlessly out of your system. However, if any remains, it could be the seed of a future stone. I fear that is the cause of my current avalanche of stones. My urologist claims that I am a rare case and that it does not usually happen. He thinks there is a different cause for my problem, but he is unable to say what it might be. I took a test, called a 24 hour urine test, which is supposed to be the best diagnostic tool. However, it came up negative for all known causes of stones. In your case, your stone is causing immediate problems and you may not have the luxury of leaving it alone. Again, that must be discussed between you and your urologist.

I see the urologist once a year to monitor the stones because once I went for 5 years without doing so and ended up with a stone 1 inch in diameter. Avoid this mistake if possible. At some point, a stone gets too large to be treated with lithotripsy. The procedure creates enough gravel to clog the pipes good and then you're in deep trouble. I don't think a 9 mm stone is too big for lithotripsy, but your urologist will let you know for sure. Mine had to be removed by a procedure called nephrostomy. They cut a tiny hole in your back, snake a tube up into your kidney, pass a camera and a selection of stone cutting tools into what is now a quarry, slice the stone into small pieces and pull them out. That's not a problem. The problem is that they leave the tube in your back for a few days so that the traumatized parts can drain. There is no seal between the tube and your skin, so you will essentially be peeing constantly out your back. Like I said, avoid this.

I've had three treatments of ultrasound lithotripsy, twice in water, and once dry. The lithotripsy itself is said to be painless. They give you pain killer that always knocks me completely out so I don't actually know. I woke up in the middle of the procedure once and felt one pulse which did seem rather painful to me but nothing compared to stone pain.

The number one advice I would give you is to discuss with your urologist any test that might tell you why you have this stone and what possible things you can do to prevent them. Unfortunately for me, there is no answer, but for stones, prevention is definitely the best way to go.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted on the prognosis.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I'm glad you have a diagnosis rhody, hopefully it can get sorted soon. I'm sorry but forum rules: no medical advice

 

[Evo]

Good luck Rhody!

 

[micromass]

I wish you well, Rhody!