Medical Suffering from Kidney Stones: My Story

[Jimmy Snyder]

I notice that your stones appear in the warmer months. I went through that for a number of summers.

Thanks edward, I hadn't noticed that angle, I will keep an eye on it. I had an ultrasound test about 2 months ago and 6 stones were found in my kidneys. Today's is likely one of the them. I have had several of my stones sent off to the FBI to find out what they were made of. Basically it's calcium and uric acid. This last one is different so I will probably get it analysed too. Also, I have had extensive tests to determine the root cause of the problem but with no result. I don't know what to do about preventing them, and I no longer treat treat them but just take the pain when it comes. Like I said, this one not only gave me no pain, I had no clue I was passing it until it was in my bladder.

 

[Moonbear]

Do you let yourself get dehydrated during the summer? Perhaps you should drink more than the average amount of water? Sometimes that can help reduce stones for those prone to them. Do you drink tea or iced tea? If so, avoid that...tea can worsen stones for those prone to them (I have a friend who had that problem...she's from the south and would drink LOTS of iced tea in summer, and had to give that up when she started having problems with kidney stones).

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=617474"

Mea culpa.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I'm going in Tuesday for another procedure. This time there's a stone that got almost all the way down the ureter from the kidney, but got stuck about 1 cm from the bladder. The doctor wants to go in there and pull it out. Meanwhile, there are about a dozen stones of various sizes still in my kidney. The largest is 1.2 cm. I've been taking a drug called rapaflo which is normally prescribed for prostate problems. However, it has been found to help in situations like mine where a stone gets stuck in the ureter. Unfortunately, the drug did not ease the stone out and so the procedure. Now for the too much information part - they won't cut me.

 

[Evo]

I'm going in Tuesday for another procedure. This time there's a stone that got almost all the way down the ureter from the kidney, but got stuck about 1 cm from the bladder. The doctor wants to go in there and pull it out. Meanwhile, there are about a dozen stones of various sizes still in my kidney. The largest is 1.2 cm. I've been taking a drug called rapaflo which is normally prescribed for prostate problems. However, it has been found to help in situations like mine where a stone gets stuck in the ureter. Unfortunately, the drug did not ease the stone out and so the procedure. Now for the too much information part - they won't cut me.

Oh my, you must be in terrible pain!

I thought they could blow those up with lasers?

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Oh my, you must be in terrible pain!

I thought they could blow those up with lasers?

This stone was very painful when it was on the move a few months ago. However, since it got stuck it hasn't caused me pain. However, it does cause constant irritation. The plan is to either literally pull it out using something called a basket, or failing that, to cut it into smaller pieces with a laser. Ultrasound is out because the stone has been irritating me for so long that the tube material is in bad shape. Ultrasound can shake the stone rather violently and that may damage the tube. After the stone is out, a stent goes in. I have had a stent before and it was nearly as painful in its way as the stone itself. I wasn't able to make water without first taking a pain killer.

 

[Evo]

This stone was very painful when it was on the move a few months ago. However, since it got stuck it hasn't caused me pain. However, it does cause constant irritation. The plan is to either literally pull it out using something called a basket, or failing that, to cut it into smaller pieces with a laser. Ultrasound is out because the stone has been irritating me for so long that the tube material is in bad shape. Ultrasound can shake the stone rather violently and that may damage the tube. After the stone is out, a stent goes in. I have had a stent before and it was nearly as painful in its way as the stone itself. I wasn't able to make water without first taking a pain killer.

Oh you poor thing! There just is no happy scenario.

If I was religious, you'd be in my prayers. I hope your lovely wife and wonderful children are pampering you.

 

[lisab]

Jimmy I'm so sorry...that's just painful to read. I hope it's better soon!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I hope your lovely wife and wonderful children are pampering you.

You mean more than usual? Thanks yes. My son is even doing his homework without waiting for me to ask him.

 

[Louise M]

I have suffered from stones my entire life. I happen to have a stone right now in my kidney but it is not causing me any pain. Due to its location they aren't doing anything until it moves.

I wish I could tell you what to do with the stones but I have no clue. Mine are calcium stones and yet I am calcium deficient. In fact, my calcium has been so low for so long that I am now 34 and have osteoporosis. So obviously reducing calcium is not an option for me.

Good luck.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I have suffered from stones my entire life. I happen to have a stone right now in my kidney but it is not causing me any pain. Due to its location they aren't doing anything until it moves.

I wish I could tell you what to do with the stones but I have no clue. Mine are calcium stones and yet I am calcium deficient. In fact, my calcium has been so low for so long that I am now 34 and have osteoporosis. So obviously reducing calcium is not an option for me.

Good luck.

Good luck to you too. Obviously, I can't give you medical advice. However, I think it's safe to say that you should see a urologist periodically to see if your stone is growing too large. I went through a period of about 5 years during which I was passing stones about 2 a year without pain and so I didn't see the urologist about them. Then I had a painful one and the x-ray revealed that behind it was a 1-inch diameter stone that had grown in the kidney.

I had extensive, but inconclusive tests about 10 years ago to determine why I produce so many stones. My urologist said he wants to investigate again and there was a set to his teeth that told me he was serious this time.

 

[Evo]

Good luck to you too. Obviously, I can't give you medical advice. However, I think it's safe to say that you should see a urologist periodically to see if your stone is growing too large. I went through a period of about 5 years during which I was passing stones about 2 a year without pain and so I didn't see the urologist about them. Then I had a painful one and the x-ray revealed that behind it was a 1-inch diameter stone that had grown in the kidney.

I had extensive, but inconclusive tests about 10 years ago to determine why I produce so many stones. My urologist said he wants to investigate again and there was a set to his teeth that told me he was serious this time.

The pain men feel is a hundred times worse than women, from what I hear.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

The pain men feel is a hundred times worse than women, from what I hear.

I can vouch for that. Oh, wait a minute, no I can't. A hundred might be too much though. Just by coincidence, my mother passed a kidney stone while she was still in the hospital having given birth to me. She always said that her stone pain was worse than the pain of childbirth.

 

[Evo]

GREG! When you move a thread, please leave a redirect!

I fixed it.

 

[gravenewworld]

Do you drink enough water?

 

[Proton Soup]

have you tried taking methionine? it seems to help my cat

edit: eh, maybe i joke too soon. seems it is used in humans, too.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1736401
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8766146

 

[Louise M]

@Jimmy. If your comment was directed to me, then rest assured I see a urologist and a nephrologist on a regular basis. Kidney stones is just the beginning of my urinary tract problems.

As far as it being worse for men, I am not sure how one could determine that. As no man knows what a woman feels and no woman knows what a man feels. Personally, I have passed out and stayed out due to the pain of a stone. Not sure how it can get much worse than that. But everyone is entitled to an opinion.

 

[Evo]

@Jimmy. If your comment was directed to me, then rest assured I see a urologist and a nephrologist on a regular basis. Kidney stones is just the beginning of my urinary tract problems.

As far as it being worse for men, I am not sure how one could determine that. As no man knows what a woman feels and no woman knows what a man feels. Personally, I have passed out and stayed out due to the pain of a stone. Not sure how it can get much worse than that. But everyone is entitled to an opinion.

Sorry to hear of your problems Louise, I hope that you can find some relief.

I think it's the anatomy of men. The stone, if passed naturally, has a bit farther to go through a very narrow tube in a very sensitive part of the male. So maybe they have a point.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I think it's the anatomy of men. The stone, if passed naturally, has a bit farther to go through a very narrow tube in a very sensitive part of the male. So maybe they have a point.

The passage through the 'sensitive part' is painless, the pain is during the passage through the ureter, the tube from the kidney to the bladder. I think that's the same in men and women. Perhaps I'll get a sex change operation and settle the matter once and for all.

 

[turbo]

The passage through the 'sensitive part' is painless, the pain is during the passage through the ureter, the tube from the kidney to the bladder. I think that's the same in men and women. Perhaps I'll get a sex change operation and settle the matter once and for all.

I can vouch for that, Jimmy. I once passed a stone on a long road-trip from Atlanta to Dothan, AL. I commandeered the front passenger seat of the Caddy so I could slide it back and get all the leg-room I could muster. I had an early morning presentation to management, but was in no shape to pull it off. I got my project manager to buy me a lot of beer, and I drank beer and resisted urinating until I felt about to explode. Finally, I had to let it go, and never heard such a pleasing sound as that "tink" as the stone hit the porcelain. I was a bit hung-over during my presentation, but at least I was there and not in pain.

 

[Louise M]

The passage through the 'sensitive part' is painless, the pain is during the passage through the ureter, the tube from the kidney to the bladder. I think that's the same in men and women. Perhaps I'll get a sex change operation and settle the matter once and for all.

This confirms what my doctor says. He insists the pain comes from it temporary blocking urine from passing through the ureters. He says without the blockage, you would not feel anything, which is why I do not feel most of my stones. I have large ureters and thus the stones can pass through them with ease.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

This confirms what my doctor says. He insists the pain comes from it temporary blocking urine from passing through the ureters. He says without the blockage, you would not feel anything, which is why I do not feel most of my stones. I have large ureters and thus the stones can pass through them with ease.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that the intense pain of a kidney stone is caused by the blockage of the ureter. However, I've been told that if the stone scrapes along as it goes, that can cause pain too. The urethra, the tube from the bladder to the outside has a larger diameter and that's why it doesn't hurt there. I had a stone that caused severe blockage on my right side about a decade ago and as a result the ureter ballooned out to 4 times its normal diameter. It never shrank back down so stones that pass on that side do so painlessly. Today I had my stone removed by snaking a laser to the site and using it to slice up the stone. Until today, I thought that the term lithotripsy referred to the breaking up of kidney stones by means of ultrasound. However, my doctor told me that lithotripsy just means stone breaking and today's procedure was called laser lithotripsy. He removed the stone and put a stent in its place. As a result, I have to go back to his office in a week to have it removed. The stent is no picnic and while the pain is not as intense, it is the same kind of pain as the stone.

 

[lisab]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that the intense pain of a kidney stone is caused by the blockage of the ureter. However, I've been told that if the stone scrapes along as it goes, that can cause pain too. The urethra, the tube from the bladder to the outside has a larger diameter and that's why it doesn't hurt there. I had a stone that caused severe blockage on my right side about a decade ago and as a result the ureter ballooned out to 4 times its normal diameter. It never shrank back down so stones that pass on that side do so painlessly. Today I had my stone removed by snaking a laser to the site and using it to slice up the stone. Until today, I thought that the term lithotripsy referred to the breaking up of kidney stones by means of ultrasound. However, my doctor told me that lithotripsy just means stone breaking and today's procedure was called laser lithotripsy. He removed the stone and put a stent in its place. As a result, I have to go back to his office in a week to have it removed. The stent is no picnic and while the pain is not as intense, it is the same kind of pain as the stone.

Oh wow, that sounds like a horrible experience - so sorry, Jimmy! I hope they gave you good drugs, and also that the removal goes smoothly.

 

[Louise M]

If I remember correctly, there is a tiny string attached to the stent. All they have to do is grab the string and pull it out. Again, if I remember correctly, it can be done in the doctors office without any anesthesia

 

[Evo]

If I remember correctly, there is a tiny string attached to the stent. All they have to do is grab the string and pull it out. Again, if I remember correctly, it can be done in the doctors office without any anesthesia

 

[lisab]

My sentiments exactly!

 

[Dembadon]

If I remember correctly, there is a tiny string attached to the stent. All they have to do is grab the string and pull it out. Again, if I remember correctly, it can be done in the doctors office without any anesthesia

*passes out*


I hope the procedure goes without a hiccup, Jimmy.

 

[turbo]

*passes out*


I hope the procedure goes without a hiccup, Jimmy.

It's probably no more painful than a rapid tear involved in Brazilian bikini-wax. Though gender-specific issues limit my expertise.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that the intense pain of a kidney stone is caused by the blockage of the ureter. However, I've been told that if the stone scrapes along as it goes, that can cause pain too. The urethra, the tube from the bladder to the outside has a larger diameter and that's why it doesn't hurt there. I had a stone that caused severe blockage on my right side about a decade ago and as a result the ureter ballooned out to 4 times its normal diameter. It never shrank back down so stones that pass on that side do so painlessly. Today I had my stone removed by snaking a laser to the site and using it to slice up the stone. Until today, I thought that the term lithotripsy referred to the breaking up of kidney stones by means of ultrasound. However, my doctor told me that lithotripsy just means stone breaking and today's procedure was called laser lithotripsy. He removed the stone and put a stent in its place. As a result, I have to go back to his office in a week to have it removed. The stent is no picnic and while the pain is not as intense, it is the same kind of pain as the stone.

I've had two kidney stones and when it goes through that ureter, boy is it painful. I don't know how someone could go through that without some kind of painkillers. It keeps getting worse and worse. I think you'd eventually black out. I don't know why there's so many nerves in that little tube.
However, I didn't even feel them come out, so going through the urethra wasn't a problem. I don't know if it's just a myth that it's painful coming out or what, because if it's painful coming out, then how in the world did it even fit through the ureter in the first place?

 

[Evo]

I don't know if it's just a myth that it's painful coming out or what, because if it's painful coming out, then how in the world did it even fit through the ureter in the first place?

It's a one way street from the kidneys out.