Kidney Stones From Hell

[Momgonepostal]

OK, this is NOT a seeking medical advice thread.

My husband has a kidney stone that is completely kicking his butt. Doctors say it's on the big side to pass, so he has surgery scheduled for Tuesday, which is the soonest they could do. He is in utter agony, nauseated, and miserable.

I'm curious if anyone else here has passed a large stone...and how big?

Commiserate with us!

[scarlet_owl]

I've never passed a stone, but I hope your husband feels better soon.

[_testify_]

1. I passed one recently.

It was about the size of a caper, maybe a bit smaller. It caused me great pain when it was bouncing around in my kidney, but passing it was somehow nearly painless.

[ThomCat]

2. Last one was slightly larger than a large chick pea.

I had surgery to have it removed. x(

I'm prone to kidney stones. Had 2 already and I'm likely to keep getting them. I already think a third one is growing from the familiar twinge I get in my side. I'm not looking forward to going through all of this again.

That sonic lythotripsy where they use sound to break up the stone doesn't seem to work very well. Hasn't worked for me. I then had to go for the laser lythotripsy. (I think I'm mispelling that, but whatever.)

I hope your husband passes his stone. The laser surgery was horrible. I was in in pain and oozing blood for 5 weeks because of the surgery and the stent they had to leave in. Removing that stent was the most painful experience I have ever had in my life, and that was under the influence of both a local and morphine.
x(

I wish your husband a very easy time with his stone. I hope it shatters easily and fully.

[Momgonepostal]

4. Holy Toledo!

A Chick Pea????

OWWWWWWW!

That's exactly the kind of surgery he's having. I hope you don't mind if I don't show him your post. Your experience sounds awful. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that.

[ThomCat]

5. Keep a lot of gauze handy.

After his surgery he's going to be leaking blood for as long as that stent stays in. You don't want him ruining his clothes with blood stains.
x(

I'm glad he's got you there with him. Going through it alone was not fun.

[Momgonepostal]

6. Ugh...what they are telling us...

is that he should be able to go back to work on Thursday, and that some people can even go back the next day. When were you able to go back?

[ThomCat]

7. I only took one day off from work.

I wasn't moving around very easily, and I had to run to the bathroom to change gauze repeatedly, but I did make it back to work. Your husband won't need to stay home, but he may want to.

[Momgonepostal]

8. So what did your stone measure?

Geez, a CHICK PEA!

[ThomCat]

10. The x-ray tech said 12 milimeters

But the surgical nurse said 14. So someplace is that approximate range.

[Momgonepostal]

12. That's a monster!

My husband's is only about half that size, in the range where they say it has about a 50 percent chance of passing on its own, but it's been 8 days so far and no luck. And it has still wiped him out.

[jus_the_facts]

14. Oh yeah..the STINT did more damage later that night after he went to sleep

....they left it in for a couple days and didn't put enough length in the threads...he got an erection and it pulled on that stint...OMFG the BLOOD and PAIN he was in was just HORRIFIC. :cry:

[evirus]

17. will doctors?

Will doctors at the paintents request put you out before they do crap like that? cause id be just like "screw it just gas me"

[ThomCat]

25. The MUST put you out. They can't do it while you are

conscious. For the laser surgery you're out, with a oxygen tube down your throat and an IV in your arm. It's real surgery.

[qnr]

3. Ugh ... hope Tuesday comes "soon" for both of you n/t

[jus_the_facts]

9. My b/f had one yanked through his penis...it had lodged between his kidney

....and bladder...he was only 23 then...now he's 39....the surgery has left scar tissue all through his urethra and damaged his prostate as well...he was misdiagnosed at the *charity* hospital ER....they sent him home after only doin' a urinalysis with antibiotics...after two more days he was almost septic because his body had shut down and he couldn't hold down a sip of water without vomiting...went to his GP then to have x-rays where the gas in his bowels could be seen in the x-ray....it was horrific...I can totally relate. :(

Hope he has better care and they don't have to go that *route* with him...good luck. :hi:

[ThomCat]

11. Oh yes, the scar tissue definitely makes itself felt.

My scar tissue is at the upper end of the urethra at the kidney. I feel it every time it rains.
x(

It seems that younger guys really do not get treated well when they have stones. Doctors don't seem to believe that young guys can get stones. Thankfully, I was in my 30s already by the time of my first one.

[jus_the_facts]

13. It's really bad....thankfully he's not had any more that were large....

....he passed a much smaller one this summer...he's a surveyor and works outside and is never hydrated enough...he has pain in his side and one of his testicles every so often...scares me everytime he tells me that as that was such a horrible ordeal for us both at the time and I never want it to ever get that bad again...ugh. :(

:hi:

[flamingyouth]

18. Geez, that's horrible

I know that pain, and I can only imagine how scary it must be that he's outside in the heat. Poor him and poor you. :hug:

[jus_the_facts]

22. Hey girl....

:hi: :hug:

....he had to sell his soul to get paid the big bucks doin' pipeline surveys...but it pays so good he can work for a few months and now afford to take extended periods of time off between jobs...that's helped a lot. :)

[flamingyouth]

15. Yes, I passed a pea-sized one back in early 2000.

I no longer fear childbirth. x(

Unfortunately it caused scar tissue to build up in my ureter, which has been a problem ever since. In fact, I'm dealing with yet another kidney infection right now. Surgery might be a good option if he can hold out that long. I am currently weighing my own options.

Best of luck to him. That is a horrible, horrible feeling.

[mockmonkey]

21. OMG n/t

[Momgonepostal]

16. Kick for kidney stones!

[mockmonkey]

19. I recently had a lithotripsy

The stone was 1.6cm. I had a pain in my left side and they found 2 stones. They arranged for me to have the lithotripsy at the end of the week. Two days before it was to be done I was in too much pain so they inserted a stent.

The stent insertion and the lithotripsy were easy since the put me under before hand. There was some bleeding when I urinated for about 5 days. I would have a small amount of bleeding when a piece of stone was about to come out.

When I first had the stent put in there was some sharp pain in my kidney when I had to urinate followed by me swearing a lot. Not fun but not the worse thing.

After 3 weeks they took the stent out. This was last Thursday actually. Sometimes they use a stent that you can pull out yourself since a part of it is left hanging out. I didn't have that.

The stent removal wasn't fun since they had to go in to get it. They used a numbing solution and that's all. Then they use a camera guided tool? to go in and get the stent. Definitely the worst part of everything. They used a saline solution to flush me out after they remove the stent. It was painful but I got through it with some "AHHHHH" sounds.

They showed me the stent they took out I swear it was 8 inches long. I never saw the thing they used to remove the stent and I am GLAD. My partner saw it and told me about it later.

Since I had the stent removed I've passed the largest stones so far. Passing the stones hasn't been that painful.

The only pain meds I had was some Oxycodone since they don't want you to take aspirin and some Promethazine for nausea. The Promethazine worked well but put me out like a light. I hardly used the Oxycodone.

Kidney stones suck. Having never had them before I wasn't sure what exactly hurt when you have them. My only source for comparison pain wise was when Kramer had them on Seinfeld.

For me the pain is in the kidney when I urinate not in the stones actually coming out.
Stent removal was the other major pain.

Maybe it was different for others.

Good luck to your husband. If he can keep his sense of humor about it he'll be ok.

[flamingyouth]

24. I had lithotripsy too for the stone that wouldn't come on its own.

That stent procedure sounds.... :scared:

I do hope you're feeling better now.

Wow, there are a lot of who've had kidney stones here on DU. And I forgot about Kramer... :rofl:

[Momgonepostal]

31. This is another scary story I will not be passing on...

I can't even imagine 1.6cm. OUCH!

I'm sorry you had to go through all that. As personal as it all is, I appreciate you sharing your experience. I hope you'll never have to deal with that again.

[Roon]

20. Ow! Ow! Ow!

I hate can't even think of such things.

[ironflange]

23. I had one many years ago

It hurt like bloody hell for a couple of days on its way down from the kidney, but when it finally came out it was just a "WHOOOOOEEE!" moment. It was about the size and shape of a mung bean. I fished it out and the doc had it analyzed. Oxalic acid, in the unlikely event that you care in the least.

[REP]

26. Mine Pass Too Quickly (Every 30 Days or So) To Get Too Big

I think my biggest one was 3cm (wheddelite/whewellite/apatite stone). I had surgery to remove one that was lodged in the lower pole of my left kidney; it was by far the WORST pain I have EVER had in my life - and remember, I pass stones every 30-45 days and have done so for about 20 years. I had a cystoscopy/ureteroscopy/holmium laser procedure with basketing and double-j stent placement; since the stone was so far down in my kidney, they tore the hell out of my ureter getting all that equipment in there. I believe it's easier with a stone in the ureter and not in the kidney itself, but I'll be damned if I ever test that hypothesis! (I'm a chick, too.)

[Giant Robot]

27. I pass them well

or as well as a person can. Unfortunately I make a crap load of them. I have 4 in me at this very moment hanging out. Think the largest one is 5mm. Hate it cause the urologist I have does not take insurance period. That's $167 a visit. I would love to work closer with him to manage this problem, but financially I just can't. I go to him when it just gets so bad. Once I had surgery scheduled, as it was on the large side and somewhere between the first CT scan and the one before surgery I passed it. Could nto tell you when. But I wish you both luck, him for what he is going through and you for being supportive, as my wife is a saint sometimes when I am in pain and there is nothing that can be done.

[hippywife]

28. Here's a pic of the last one I passed.

Never passed one this big before. Usually they look somewhat larger than a grain of sand and are painful enough at that size.

I can fully sympathize with your husband and wish him luck and lots of pain meds. Are they doing a lithotrypsy?

[Momgonepostal]

30. I'm not sure what they're calling it

But they'll send a little camera in to see where the stone is exactly and then zap it with a laser to break it up. As you can see, I do not work in health care. :-)

Thank you for your kind words. Your stone doesn't look very pleasant either.

[yellowdogintexas]

33. That is a urethroscopy w/stone destruction. Lithotripsy is the

big water tank with the aimed ultrasound waves at the stone itself. Used mostly for really big ones stuck in the kidney itself.

I empathize completely

[hippywife]

39. Actually, even tho they still do

keep the big water tank around, they don't use it much anymore. They direct the sonic wave though the skin directly at the kidney now. I had one done a year ago September that way. The picture of the stone I posted was what they couldn't blast because after there are so many particles floating in the kidney, it becomes less effective so they can't always blast the entire thing. Had one with the water tank way back when they first came out with the procedure.

My stones are uric acid. If it's a calcium stone, they can't use lithotrypsy. Not sure about the oxalate ones. I think they can use it for those.

[bikebloke]

29. Not really large

When I was working in the Negev Desert, it was thought I had one. Crikey, as I ever bloody sore, mate. But the X-rays didn't show anything. Maybe it vanished into thin air or was just an infection. Anyway, I learned my lesson. Hydrate. I would skip water breaks to keep working the fields - damn work ethic. Now I'm a big water drinker.

That was in 1984. The last time I ever missed work for illness. Last spring, I felt the familiar ache and hence guzzled even more water. It passed in a couple days.

[Momgonepostal]

32. They say the stones are more common in warm climates

...so drinking lots of water is the way to go. My husband already is a decent water drinker and has been drinking copious amounts since feeling the stone, but his just isn't passing.

[yellowdogintexas]

34. giving birth is less painful, I know from experience

Fortunately, I had the stone before I had the baby. After the stone, labor was a piece of cake.

FACT: the uterus and cervix are designed to allow a baby to come out. The ureter is not designed for anything but liquid.
FACT: Babies have nice smooth heads. Stones do not
Fact: Ureteral spasms and Renal colic are the devil's own work.

Your Hubby now knows the closest thing to labor pains, except it is really worse, if the birth is relatively normal (on edit)

[Pied Piper]

35. I've had 4 lithotrypsies

I've been passing stones since I was 25 (I'm now 42). Most of the stones I have passed were about the size of a pencil eraser. I had my 1st lithotrypsy at 28 - it was horrible - I was flat on my back for a week. Fortunately, each episode has been less excruciating.

After my 2nd, my roommate brought me home from the hospital and we went Christmas shopping that evening; I went to work the next day - no problem.

The 3rd was more or less like the second.

The 4th was the first time they inserted a stent. They didn't tell me beforehand, so I was a bit surprised in the recovery room when I discovered a string dangling from, well, my dangly bits! I only share this because, unlike the poster above, it was NOT painful. Uncomfortable, yes, but not painful. I had to keep it in for 3 weeks. I only had bloody urine for that afternoon and no spotting, ever. It was removed in the doctor's office with no anesthesia, none needed. I was scared to death, because I was unconscious when they put it in, and I had seen the tool they used to insert it. The doctor told me to lie on my back and then take a deep breath to prepare myself. While I was breathing in, he just grabbed the string and gave one smooth pull. It was a most indescribable sensation, a bit irritating, but NOT painful, and besides it lasted less than a second. I practically floated back to my office - I felt like a new person.

Sorry to be so graphic, but I just want to reassure your husband before his surgery, that it won't necessarily be such an awful experience. Not a day in the park, to be sure...

The doctor will give him something to strain his urine for the weeks after the procedure. Expect to find little bits that look like grains of sand and maybe a few bigger bits. And don't be frightened if his urine is VERY bloody for a day or two. Urination will be painful for about a day, but that heals quickly. If he has a stent like mine (and they might not insert a stent), the string acts like a wick, so there might be some leakage. After they removed the stent, he will probably pass some stones that are bigger than the earlier ones.

One last piece of advice: the pain reliever that they gave me was Percocet or its generic substitute. It did a real number on my stomach and made me quite nauseaus. I found that taking an, um, "herbal" supplement (you know what I mean...) about 20 minutes before the Percocet really helps. In fact sometimes the herbal supplement is all that is needed.

Best of luck to your husband - feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

Pied Piper

[Momgonepostal]

36. Thank you...

hopefully his experience will be more like yours. The bummer is, he's been off work because of the pain and nausea, and with a one day recovery time after surgery, he will have used up 9 out of his 10 sick days, so he'll only have one more to last him through May. He's normally not a person who gets sick often, so I don't think he's used 9 sick days in his last 4 or so years combined.

Did they give you the percocet for before or after the procedure? He's on some form of Vicodin now, but it doesn't really help that much.

[Pied Piper]

40. I got my percocet after the procedure

The doc gave me a script in the recovery room. Your husband will probably be so drugged up after the procedure that he won't need anything until later in the day. He should be prepared to drink LOTS of fluids, even if he doesn't feel too well.

I've never taken Vicodin, so I don't know the effects. Percocet didn't really kill the pain, but it really relaxed me (kidney stone spasms are not only painful, but it also feels like a charlie-horse in your gut - your muscles get all tensed up).

[Momgonepostal]

43. Vicodin just takes the edge off, and...

makes you constipated, even if you are drinking super human amounts of water to help expell the stone. Lovely.

I'll ask about Percocet, thanks.

[astonamous]

37. I just spent the night in the ER with my husband...kidney stones

And yes they are the most miserable thing. Pure torture for the victim. We follow-up with the doctor on Tuesday and if it hasn't passed by then he will have lithotripsy.

I hope your husband's surgery goes well. And I hope he never has another kidney stone again.

Trudy
www.pryorsplanet.com
www.richardpryor.com

[Kali]

38. I agree with Yellowdog. Worse than childbirth.

Very painful. But when it's over it is really over. One more word ....MORPHINE. It is your friend.

[BlueIris]

41. You will shortly have a PM.

[Momgonepostal]

44. got it, thanks! nt

[xchrom]

42. i just got over them about three weeks ago.

worst. pain. ever.

the worst part was going to the emergency room and being told it 5 hours before they could see me.:grr:

went to my doctors and while they treated me{morphine, at last!!!} -- they bitched and bitched about how i should be at the emergency room.
:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[SOteric]

45. Not me personally, but a very close friend

has had a couple of cases of kidney stones. She describes the experience as "giving birth to a 75lb porcupine during a 6 hour heart-attack."

[Pied Piper]

46. KIck for Momgonepostal

Good Luck to your husband for tomorrow! It won't be a fun ride, but he should feel fit as a fiddle by the end of the week. I'm sending good vibes your way.

Pied Piper