I've got a Kidney Stone! (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

A week ago Monday night, I awoke at midnight in great pain. The worst I've ever felt. Making it worse was I didn't know what it was. I went into the emergency room, after 2 more hours of pain, they gave me drugs which made me feel much better.

Than a CT scan revealed the stone. The emergency doc said it was too big too pass and I should see someone in the morning. He said they'll want to do a procedure right away. Yeah right.

The urologist says wait a week. So I get another CT scan today and I've still got it, which doesn't surprise me. I go in at 6:30AM tomorrow for the procedure. It's the sonic wave thing where they shatter it.

Sorry guys, no pics this time.

 

[TonyD]

ooh, so sorry to here that.
i had one of those procedures a few years ago.

i won't say anything for now but good luck with it.

 

[Johnny Angell]

They're going to do the sonic wave thing that shatters the stone. Then I get to pass the smaller pieces. Supposedly the procedure takes about 30 minutes, once they get down to it. Of course pre and post op stuff will add to that.

The doc says they hope not to do anything invasive. Sometimes that can't see the stone well enough and have to insert a camera. Guess what opening they stick that up?

 

[Shawn.F]

Oh man, from someone who has had two of them in the past few years, believe me when I say that I really do feel your pain. Best of luck on this.

 

[Bob Graham]

I've had them a couple of times and they are definitely no fun. A woman friend once told me that they are more painful than giving birth.

I can't believe that the urologist told you to wait a week. That is much easier said than done. Good luck!

 

[Johnny Angell]

They cynic in me says it's managed care that made me wait a week. They were hoping not to pay for a procedure.

Thanks all for the best wishes. I will post again, after the procedure. I'm hoping I'll feel well enough on Friday to do so.

 

[LDfan]

Damn. I've known a couple of former coworkers that had them. They said it was the worst pain ever. Grown men curled up and screaming and crying from the pain.

Hope all goes well with getting that damn stone out!

J

 

[Blu]

I've had over fourteen since I was 18 and three in the past few weeks. Well I've had them longer but they have become a problem in the past few weeks.

Two on the right side and one on the left side. The big one on the right side was 12 millimeters. The other one on the right side was much smaller.

I had lithotripsy on both sides, two weeks apart. It is under general anesthesia and you won't know anything but you went to sleep. You won't be in a lot of pain or anything.

The bad thing though is they put a stent in on the right side from my kidney to my bladder to keep the passage open and keep the fragments from getting stuck and causing damage.

THAT is very uncomfortable and you can find more information here if your doctor plans one for you.
Ureteric Stent

It SUCKED for the first week and was very uncomfortable. The doctor removed it when they did the left side, again I was completely out and unaware of anything.

You feel it all the time. The second week was better as it seemed to settle in a bit but that first week was horrible.

On the upside they gave me LOTS of Lortabs. Which keep me awake at night so I didnt' really use many of them at all.

Lithotripsy is nothing to be afraid of, it is mainly pain free but you might feel a bit bruised afterwards and you will urinate blood and debris from the stones.

Pray they don't want to give you a stent though!

 

[Francois Caron]

Ugh! Been there, done that. Once. And I HOPE it's only once! Those things are nasty!

I have a picture of it. Wanna see it?

Good luck and get better!

 

[Buzz Foster]

I wanted to jump from my truck going down the highway. I had mine in 2000, and no reoccurrence.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Lots of good info in your post, Blu. I did get a stent. After I woke up, I noticed a thin string extending from my penis. Apparently they use that string to remove the stint.

My experience right is frequent and urgent trips to the bathroom to pee through a strainer. So far, I'm getting very few particles I can see. A day after the procedure, the blood in the urine has noticeably decreased.

I have a bone to pick with the medical profession, they don't want to talk with you. When I first saw the urologist, he spent less than 5 minutes with me. The second meeting was only a little better. The urologist I had my appointments with wasn't available Friday (I wanted to so it sooner, rathr than later), so the on call doctor was used. He did not talk to me or my wife before or after the surgery.

I was told I'd have bloody urine for at least a day, and that was about the extent information provided to me. I wasn't told how often I should need to pee, the likelihood of finding stone fragments, how big they might be.

I'm learning more about the procedure from this thread than I have from my doctors.

In the past 7 months I've been put under general anesthesia 3 times. This last time I told myself I'm going be aware of going under. Nope, couldn't do it. One moment I'm in the pre-op area, and the next I'm waking up in recovery.

The first drug they gave was an "I feel so good, I don't care what's next" kind of drug. My wife told me I was quite talkative to everyone during this period and I don't remember any of it. Fortunately, Stacy told me I said all the right things.

Francois, of course we want to see the picture.

 

[Blu]

Well I've got to say in my area I had no less than three doctors (the urologist, and two anesthesiologists) not to mention a handful of RNs telling me what to expect. From the pre stuff, what they were going to do, and the post stuff. I had lots of information.

I also had the benefit of a friend who had it a couple of years ago.

I tried the being aware during the general too, nope! I was in preop, they wheeled me into the op room and I moved over to the lithotripsy table and bingo, I was out like a light.

I didn't have a string for the stent, it was all internal since they were removing it during the next procedure the following two weeks.

You can probably expect fragments for 4-5 days. It has been two weeks since the last lithotripsy and I still see the occasional fragment.

I'm sure they told you to drink LOTS of water. It helps a lot. I have my follow up appointment tomorrow with the urologist, it seems that the largest stone that was on the right side is still there, or at least most of it.

So I will have to have it a third time but honestly I haven't felt this one so I know it is smaller and you couple that with the 80 ounces or so of water I drink per day and I might be able to put it off for a few months.

I'm happy everything went well for you though! They aren't fun when you are having an attack!

 

[Francois Caron]

Here's what I gave birth via the "natural pathways..."

Surprisingly, it didn't hurt anymore once it reached the bladder. Even more surprising is when it jammed in the urethra, all I had to do was give it a gentle push, and it came out without causing any pain. All the pain was caused by its travel down the ureter -- which took NINE MONTHS!!!

The stone caused many attacks during those nine months. The urologist even misread the X-ray that was taken in January of last year. I have a copy of it, and could clearly see the stone in the ureter just behind the pelvis.

The doctors were SUPPOSE to remove it, but following delay after delay, the stone itself got impatient and came out on its own. I haven't had a recurrence since (cross fingers).

Johnny, good luck and drink lots of water. Pee is an excellent rinse agent.

 

[Johnny Angell]

9 months! Why did they make you wait that long? When the urologist said to wait a week, after the emergency room doc said to do it right away, I was a little ticked.

That thing looks like a boulder.

For those that have had the stones shattered, are many of the particles caught in the sieve? After a lotta pees since Friday, I've only got about 4-5 tiny particles.

 

[TonyD]

holy mackerel, that thing is a 1/4 inch.
the ones i've passed havee been barely 3 or 4 grains os sand stuck together.

ALL the pain was from the stone moving out of the kidney down the ureter.

once it went into the bladder it was a breeze.

the pain caused me to call an ambulance the first time it happend 15 years ago.

i'll never forget it.

it took less then 30 minutes for the pain to be a small twinge that i thought
was gas to full blown OH MY GOD, WHAT IS GOING ON.

it takes hours before the er or hospital gives you any
pain management.

the last time 3 years ago they decided on the same operation as Johnny A.

i also had a stent.

the pain of my first pee in the hospital immediately after i woke from the operation was proaly the most painful thing i may ever feel.

my wife had to help me stand up to keep from
falling down from the pain, while i was urinating.

i had the stent in for a week.
it felt like there was a knife in my gut.

mine didn;t have a string, the doc had to put a scope with a small loop on the end in, through you now what, to pull it out.

that was proaly the oddest thing i ever felt, the stent coming through from
the ureter all the out.

the pain was instantly gone as soon as the stent was out.

i still have at least 2 stones in one kidney just biding their time.
every once in awhile i feel a little pinch in the kidney and
feel begins to rise as that is usually how it starts.

 

[Francois Caron]

The pain would eventually go away after a day and some excellent painkillers. The stone would manifest its presence a month or two later, causing only mild discomfort most of the time, but causing horrible pain only three more times, two of them requiring another trip to the emergency room.

The doctors told me the stone's size was in a grey area where it might come out by itself, or it might not. My research on the Internet confirmed this. Still, I was pissed when I realized the urologist misread the x-ray. I was even more pissed when I went in for day surgery, and they cancelled it after spending all day in the day surgery ward worried sick about how much it'll hurt peeing afterwards and living with a stent for three weeks.

Anyway, the stone's finally out, and no surgery or stent was required, which was actually a relief. And I knew it was finally out because it went *DING* when it hit the toilet bowl. All I'm hoping now is that I never get another one. I had already eliminated soft drinks from my diet, so that's one probable cause out of my life.

Drink up Johnny!

 

[Blu]

It will take a good 4-5 days Johnny before the fragments come out. I was wondering the same thing but when the nurse called for a follow up, yes they called and checked on me, I asked that very question.

She said don't worry, it takes a little bit of time, just keep drinking water.

 

[willyTass]

remember: the stones should go to the lab so they can work out what type they are

 

[Johnny Angell]

Was it painful having the stent removed, did you get or want any kind of sedative?

How long should it take for the blood in the urine to be gone? How long for the frequency or urination to approach normal?

 

[TonyD]

pulling the stent out didn't hurt it just felt "odd" it passes by a couple of areas on it's way out.

he squirted some gell numbing solution in there first.

don't remember the blood it could be until the stent comes out.