Kidney Stones(nf)

[BITEME]

For anyone that has suffered through this is it normal to feel as though you have been punched in the kidneys constanly because it sure as hell feels that way because of the job i'm in i cant do the painkillers during the day. can anyone thats been there tell me if this is normal. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[Corey]

I feel your pain... if they are still in your kidney's, make sure you keep hydrated. That will keep your kidney enlarged and prevent the stone from jabbing the side of your kidney. If it's gotten into your uretor, drink as much as you can for as long as it takes to get the stone to pass. It's gonna hurt, alot, yes. But you either have to pass it, or live with the pain until it passes on its own.

 

I don't know where you live, but Dr. Whelan in Hamilton is the best doc for this stuff by far. If you are close and can get a referal from your doctor, go! Depending on the size of your stones (do you know? have you had ultrasound?) he my chose shockwave therapy for you (which I am pretty sure we are getting a machine in hamilton) of maybe laser lithotripsy. I had the laser last time and I was out the same day, off work for almost a week, but out of the hospital.

 

There is also a renal dietician at St. Joe's hospital who has been studying stones for like 30 years and she's really good. She is of east indian descent, make sure you get her and not one of the other basic dieticians...

 

Even if you aren't all too close, you may want to consider the drive cause Whelan is top notch.

 

Corey

[Mike the Pike]

Hey Pete I hope you get well soon .An 8 hour work day must be hell without Meds.

[Cookslav]

Ya that sucks...sorry to hear your

Have to deal with that.

never had 'em and hopefully won't.

 

Just Please don't post pictures of the stones LOL....

(its been doen before ewwww...)

Speaking of which?

 

Haven't seen Lucid in a very long time?

[aplumma]

Yes the pain is normal it comes from the blockage of the ureter and you are actually inflating your kidneys and causing it to tear. Once the stone is deemed passable by the doctor he advised me to stay as active as I could and drink plenty of fluids to help expel the stone. You should get an MRI to see were the stone is it is only in the top 2 inches and the bottom 2 inches that ultrasound can be effective. The other 6 inches are no mans land and they have to...... never mind PM me for that part of the story. Talking to a urologist is the first step to getting this taken care of it is not something I would ignore due to the damage you can do to your kidney.

 

Art

[ccmtcanada]

Ouch!!! I'm flinching in pain just thinking about what you are going through. Hope you get better real soon!!!!

[Terry]

as they say

 

This too shall pass

 

 

 

 

but they didn't say it would hurt so much as they are passing

[Chris]

BITEME, just had a stone blasted out this summer. Definately see a urologist. A blocked kidney can can cause irreversable kidney damage if left blocked for too long. Get an x-ray done...it shows where and how big. If it's too big to pass, they will either remove it surgically or perform a lithotripsy which is a series of ultrasonic blasts that turn your stone into sand that you quickly pass. The lithotripsy only means a few hours in the hospital and requires only 2 or 3 days recovery. The surgery means 4 to 6 weeks recovery.

 

Get it looked at soon bud, it takes long enough to get thru the health care system. I had mine diagnosed right away and it still took me a month until my scheduled lithotripsy. Good luck and get some medication for the pain in the meantime.

Edited November 25, 2006 by ChrisS

[Moosebunk]

The bright side of having a kidney stone is,

 

if the wife ever uses that old "well I went through childbirth.. etc... you don't know what pain is" line in a fight, you really do have the right to tell her to get lost. lol.

 

I worked a urology floor a few times... one of the few places RN's actually just carry morphine around in their pockets.

[cisco]

A pal once missed an early morning duck hunt since a stone started its painful journey.

Never seen anyone in such pain. Like a knife going through his insides he said.

 

Follow the guys advice here and get a good doctor.

 

I recall you're with the coast guard, so maybe ask if you can get a less critical thing to do so you can take the much needed pain pills. Maybe its the off season so they can get you to do something else.

 

Doesn't hurt to ask your employer...... but it'll hurt like hell if ya don't and try to work! LOL!

 

All the best for a speedy recovery!

[DanTheMan]

I never had any, and I hope I never do.Hope things work out for you bud.

Not 100% sure about this, but I heard drinking PURE cranberry juice helps,I

dont know if it works, but I guess it would not hurt to try

 

Good Luck,

 

Hope you feel better soon!!

[nautifish]

I had kidney stones a few months ago......

 

Was told to drink lots of fluid.

 

Two days later got a severe pain in my abdomen and could not even get up out of bed. Was taken to the hospital they injected the die through my body to see where they were. I never had xrays or a scan....

 

Anyway thankfully they passed on they're own.

 

Kidney stones are very very painful......But still the pain does not compare to what feels like squeezing out a water melon...lol...Sorry guys

 

Pete hope ur feeling better soon hon i feel your pain.

[Carp]

My neighbour had/has kidney stones.

Passed one recently and has it in a zip lock bag.

I find it a bit weird, but hey, I'm sure lots of stuff I do

seems weird to him.

 

He's in the asphalt paving business. Working with shovels and rakes or in the bobcat

all day for 10 to 12 hours. I can just imagine the pain he was feeling. He had to take

a couple of days off too.

 

Luckily, I've never had to go through it.

All I know is you drink lots of fluids to help the stone

pass through your urinary system.

[Corey]

Please don't take this the wrong way anyone, but cranberries/cranberry juice is very high in oxalates, which is the type of stone in 90% of cases.

 

If you don't believe me, there are numerous studies about it, such as this...

 

http://www.newhope.com/nutritionsciencenew...un_01/news4.cfm

 

Cranberry's are good for preventing UTI's... that would be urinary tract infections, and has no bearing on the kidney's. Cranberries keep your bladder lining in nice shape, but only help to promote kidney stones.

 

I can post a pic of fragments of my smallest stone... doc let me keep it... a bunch of chunks about 1/4" in diameter... Go get an ultrasound if you think you have stones. If your kidneys backup and rupture, you are in for a world of hurt and a very long hospital stay. What's that saying... an ounce of prevention or something?

 

Lots of water, which should be in everyone's diet, regardless of stones or not.

 

Corey

[Rich Clemens]

Man's equivilant of giving birth I heard - so your pain is felt. My dad just went through this several months ago and ended up in the hospital - the thing got too big to pass. They went in, broke it up, and pulled out the little pieces. I understand my grandfather had problems with kidney stones as well, so I may be in for the same thing one of these days. As the others have said, don't put this off. Keep well hydrated and get it out of there before any damage is done. My father drinks a lot of tea and the Dr. said that tea can be a contributing factor to these things. Needless to say ... no more Tea.

Edited November 25, 2006 by Rich Clemens

[Corey]

Man's equivilant of giving birth I heard - so your pain is felt. My dad just went through this several months ago and ended up in the hospital - the thing got too big to pass. They went in, broke it up, and pulled out the little pieces. I understand my grandfather had problems with kidney stones as well, so I may be in for the same thing one of these days. As the others have said, don't put this off. Keep well hydrated and get it out of there before any damage is done. My father drinks a lot of tea and the Dr. said that tea can be a contributing factor to these things. Needless to say ... no more Tea.

 

I'm guessing when you say they went in to break his up it was percutaneous... hole and tube into the back and in with the drill to break it apart? Must have been a large stone. My first surgery was this type, cause the stone was around an inch in diameter. The surgery is alright because you are under general. It's when they put the tube in the day before that hurts. The tube is done under local and I have never felt so much physical pain in my life as I did when they shoved the tube in.

 

Here's the 3 types of lithotripsy...

 

up to 1/4" stones, shockwave. I haven't had shockwave, but from what I understand its a bad case of discomfort with a little burning pee afterwards. In and out the same day.

 

up to 1/2" stones, laser. Done under general, they stick a laser up the peepee and burn the stone away while fushing the ash/fragments out. Day surgery, with possible overnight for observation. You also get a stent for about a week. This was my last surgery, it was a breeze with exception to a blood clot in the uretor for me 1.5 weeks after which ended up with me in a 104 degree fever.

 

larger that 1/2, percutaneous. Day 1 you get day surgery to have a 1/2" tube inserted in through your back, directly into your kidney (there's something to be said for walking around with a bag full of blood and pee hanging on your side, yes, you pee out half yer pee through the tube into the bag). Day 2 you go under general for the actual surgery. When it's all done, you are in the hospital until a few events happen. These are, you have to have a bowel movement, you have to have a clear uretor (I won't tell you how painful it is when they clamp the tube and the uretor is still swollen closed), then finally once they pull the tube out of your back it has to begin to heal from the inside out and until it's closed, you are dribbling out of your back... takes 1/2 day to a full day. Once that is all done and over with, you generally get to go home. You have to be very careful though cause a couple of times after I got home I twisted too much and the hole in my back opened up and I started leaking all over the place.

 

The moral of all this is that kidney stones suck. I have more in me right now, I can feel the pressure when I get dehydrated... gonna be time for another go at the surgery I think.

 

Corey

[Rich Clemens]

For Dad ... they went up through the urethra to get it ... no external surgery. You're right ... they suck. I'm still wondering how much of this is heredetary and I get to look forward to this.

[Chris]

Thanks Corey "lithotripsy" was the word I was trying to remember.

[Corey]

Thanks Corey "lithotripsy" was the word I was trying to remember.

 

Ya... after my first surgery Percutaneous Nephro-Lithotripsy was the word of the hour for me... sounds impressive, but in reality it friggin hurts. And for what it's worth, the tube is called a nephrostomy tube.

 

cd.

[Bassledgen]

I've had a few kidney stones before, and found the best way to kill the pain was to either soak in a hot, hot bath, or use a heating pad on your lower back. It helps with pain but nothing helps when they come out. ~L~