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

[Kim D]

Johnny Angell -- thanks for starting this thread.
Francois Caron -- thanks for sharing your experience.

My husband had incredible pain in his flank and was vomiting early one morning. We had just moved to a new city and were set to close on our house the next day. We didn't know any doctors, didn't know the hospitals and didn't want to postpone closing. After throwing up, the pain went away. And stayed away for a couple of weeks.

On Tuesday morning, the pain was back. My husband, the tough guy, decided he was going to go to work. I walked with him to the bus stop. After he doubled over in pain and started vomiting, he decided it was finally time to go to the hospital.

The cat scan showed a stone in the grey area size. But it's sitting just above the bladder. He has an appointment with a urologist on Monday.

Today was the first day that he felt well enough to go to work.

This thread has helped him to have a better understanding of what to expect. Thank you all.

- Kim

 

[Johnny Angell]

That's the idea behind posting a thread like this, to share experiences. I'm sure we are all glad we helped your husband a little bit.

 

[Francois Caron]

If the stone can fall into the bladder on its own, your husband will be all right, especially if the stone is of the same "boulder" type as my former nemesis. Just keep an eye out for it with a strainer. It's highly possible for it to sneak out without him realizing it.

What a coincidence! He gets an attack when closing a real estate deal! Just like it happened to me one week before the stone finally came out!

 

[Doro]

I would suggest sleeping on your speakers for exactly one week, while playing an endless loop of Rap music. You will either go insane or be cured.

Mark

 

[Kim D]

I wonder if stress has anything to do with it. We've had plenty of that this year.

Ok, I feel really strange asking this... Did your urine change after your stone made it into your bladder? And did you feel "tingly in your wingly" when urinating?

He has an appointment with a urologist this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to having a more healthy interest in his penis.

- Kim

 

[Francois Caron]

I'm not so sure about the stress issue. Stones can take a very long time to form before they finally decide to migrate. My first attack started at a time I wasn't under any increased level of stress. It was pretty much an ordinary Saturday morning, and the attack only lasted a few minutes. I originally thought I had a very bad case of gas.

When the stone finally reached my bladder, my urine didn't change color. It was pretty much the same from what I remember. As far as tingling is concerned, it varies from one person to another, and depends on the size and type of stone. Some stones can look like complex jumping jacks while others look like boulders (like mine). I was lucky my urethra was wide enough to accommodate my boulder. It HAD to be wide to allow a ¼" stone to work its way out without any pain whatsoever and with barely any perceptible tingling at all!

The only time the urine changed color was one week before the stone came out. The stone caused a painful bladder infection. When I finished urinating, a few drops of blood would come out. And it hurt like Hell! A bit of flesh sheared off from my ureter and decided to come out during that time. It was a bloody mess!

Nope! Kidney stones are NO fun at all!

 

[Kim D]

My husband just called. He said the urologist said he has a 60 to 70% chance of passing it on his own and that the stone is 5mm.

If it doesn't pass on its own, the urologist can use a device to go in, grab it and pull it out.

Ok, that made me cringe and I'm a girl.

 

[Johnny Angell]

In the emergency room, the doc told me it was too big to pass and to see someone right away as they would want to do a procedure very soon. The next morning the urologist I saw, said to wait a week to see if it would pass. That bothered me some, the two differing opinions.

A week later the stone hadn't moved and the procedure (shattering the stone with sonic waves) was done. A stent was put in, apparently to enable them to better visualize the stone and was left in until my follow up, which was 10-14 days later.

I had not realized how much the stent was bothering me until it was taken out. I was feeling better within 10 minutes. Combine that with the risk of anesthesia and the risk of any procedure, I now agree that waiting to see if it resolves itself is a good idea.

The risks involved with doing a procedure are low, but if they can be avoided, that's always a good idea.

 

[dany]

I've had them since i was 18. I'm 55 and my last one was last year.

 

[Sam Posten]

Welcome to the club, I've had over a DOZEN of em. None of mine never hurt once they reach the bladder, its all in the area before that =)

 

[dany]

When it travels from the kidney to the bladder. BTW it's not good when they get stuck on there way out to the toilet. Been there also.

 

[Kim D]

My husband passed his kidney stone yesterday morning. Said it was the weirdest feeling when it came out. I was surprised by how big it was. Now that he knows the symptoms, he's sure this isn't his first stone. Now we need to figure out what causes them so we can modify his diet.

 

[Francois Caron]

Kim, congratulations on your new addition!

One suggestion in the diet modification program is to cut out all soft drinks. I've eliminated them three years ago and I feel great! The stone I've had started to drop only six months after I stopped drinking fizzy drinks, so it's not impossible the years of drinking Coca Cola Classic were responsible for creating the stone in the first place. It certainly was the same color.

Now give your hubby a couple of days to fully recover before you start abusing him.

 

[Blu]

From my understanding there are two types of stones and can be caused by an array of sources. If you have it, take it to a urologist and have it analyzed. They will tell you what type it is and what you can do about it.

They might have have him take a 24 hour urinalysis to narrow it down further.

Soft drinks may or may not be the cause, coffee, ice tea, or possibly milk can be a cause just as easily so just be aware.

 

[dany]

Yep, the stone needs to be analyzed. Most are calcium. For ever they said it was from to much and told me to lay off milk, sheese and ice cream but now it might be the lack of it so who knows.

 

[bobbyg2]

What exactly causes Kidney Stones? Is it just a random occurrence?

 

[dany]

They say as in clacium that your body can't get rid of it so it builds up like Stalagmites in your Kidney and when one breaks off it travels. Heard that years ago. True?

 

[Kim D]

I'll be dropping his stone off at the urologist this morning. Office hours are only 9am to 3pm and that just doesn't fit my husband's schedule. So I get to be in charge of the stone. And maybe, if I am lucky, I'll get to be in charge of the 24 hour's worth of urine too.

 

[Francois Caron]

 

[jseese]

It is from calcium. My wife had one and she said she thought she was going to die. She did say if it was like having kids we can skip'em..lol (we don't have any yet)