o/` all we want is live beyond kidney stones o/`

May 31, 2006 8:36 PM

Last week I went to the emergency room with massive bladder/stomach pains. Six hours later after a bunch of x-rays and CT scans the doc said I had a kidney stone. He gave me a vicodin perscription and told me to pee in a strainer to catch it. When I left the hospital, the pain was gone. It's now nine days later and apart from occasional but more frequent urges to pee little amounts I have not experienced the hell like pain that i've read about here and else where around the web. Everyone Kidney Stone victim I've spoken describe constant pain from the beginning until the stone comes out. I assume my stone has passed my urethra and it's just swimming around inside my bladder. Is it normal for stones to hang in your body pain free for days? Is there any way I can force it out any sooner? I've been drinking plenty of water and all my pee has been pain and stone free. I'd rather suffer now than wait for it to strike randomly. I called my doctor but he's on the vacay. I'm freaking out, living in fear, clutcing my vicodin bottle, waiting for the apocolypse of doom to strike down on me at any moment.
posted by sammich to health & fitness (23 comments total)

btw apologies for making the FPP so long! I got carried away...
posted by sammich at 8:40 PM on May 31, 2006

I don't know. You may have made it through the worst of it. For me the actual passing of the stoney bits was the easiest part. The really bad-wanna-die right-now-please-kill-me part was when it was stuck between by kidney and bladder.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 8:50 PM on May 31, 2006

"My stone has passed my urethra and it's just swimming around inside my bladder." Wrong. It would be from kidney(s) to
ureter(s) to bladder and out through the urethra (penis). I'm surprised they didn't have you follow up with a urologist. On that note, see the doc covering while your doc is on vacation.
posted by 6:1 at 9:06 PM on May 31, 2006

When I had a kidney stone, I did not experience the constant pain you describe in your post. The worst part of it for me was the intial pain that sent me to the ER; after that, I did not find myself suddenly and unexpectedly crippled by pain.
posted by Dr. Zira at 9:22 PM on May 31, 2006

Is it possible you have passed it already and just not realized it? I know that sounds stupid, but a few months ago I registered a patient in the ER who had all the symptoms of kidney stones. He went to a room, but we were extremely busy with some traumas so he had to wait quite a while for his CT results. He came up to the desk a few hours later and said that the pain had totally stopped and that he was going to head home without getting the results. I called a nurse over and she said "you probably passed it while in the room, happens all the time, come back if the pain starts up again." His results came back postive for kidney stones but he was perfectly fine when he left and we didn't hear from him again.

By the way, previous patients call triage all the time to ask nurses questions like yours. Most of our nurses would rather give them a two minute rundown over the phone of what could be going on then fill up another bed in the ER. It's a worth a shot to see what they say.
posted by Ugh at 9:38 PM on May 31, 2006

IANAD, but you've probably passed it. If the initial pain is gone, and you had only one stone, then it's probably out. Once the stone makes it to your bladder, it's all fairly large bore from there on out. Stay hydrated.
posted by tumble at 9:43 PM on May 31, 2006

As a member of the kidney stone club I'll try to relate some wisdom that I've put together from my own personal experiences. I've had episodes where I feel a strange pain slowly working itself through my system and usually after it passes I don't feel anything for quite a while (weeks or sometimes months). I'd say from the sounds of your post this seems like the situation you're in. I wouldn't worry to much about another sudden attack, keep the pain meds close by though if they are a comfort and I suggest listening to 6:1 and seeing the doc covering your doc while he is away. In comparison, my two big episodes involved a slow gradual pain that came on over about a period of an hour. It's important to note that I do have a bleeding condition which does effect how I handle my medical situations.
posted by SteveFlamingo at 10:03 PM on May 31, 2006

Ditto on the advice not to worry. I've had a stone on two occasions, and once they reached the bladder I never felt another thing.

The first experience was bad, but didn't last long. The pain stopped while I was in the ER waiting to be seen. Sounds kind of like your experience. The second time I was in excruciating pain for about 18 hours. Be thankful!
posted by shifafa at 10:05 PM on May 31, 2006

My old roomate went through exactly what you describe. He was in excruciating pain. The doc told him the stone was yet to pass, but the pain let up and didn't return. The doc later said the stone prolly broke up.
posted by wsg at 10:20 PM on May 31, 2006

dont they have ultrasound thingies now to break up the stone while its still inside?
posted by jak68 at 2:22 AM on June 1, 2006

Don't sweat it. Believe me. See your doc when he/she comes back.

But if you're not in pain, for the moment, you're okay. You'll end up seeing a urologist, getting another KUB to tell if they can see any remnants and pissing in a cup (looking for blood.)

If they had the stone, they'd be able to possibly tell you something based on it's composition.

jak68 - yes, they've had it for 20+ years. Last year I had that 2x and they had to go in,which was horrible. In other words, it doesn't always work.
posted by filmgeek at 3:32 AM on June 1, 2006

by "go in", you dont mean... ugh.
posted by jak68 at 3:34 AM on June 1, 2006

I had a very similar situation five years ago. I woke up with excruciating abdominal pain and nausea and (I think) a fever. I went to the ER and had to be given demerol twice before I quit writhing in pain. They gave me IV fluids and a CT scan and had me keep peeing through a strainer and diagnosed it as a kidney stone.

I few weeks earlier, I had similar, but milder symptoms and was diagnosed with prostratitis by another doctor.

A few days after the ER thing, I had horrible back pain one night and more nausea.

I think doctors have some professional courtesy where they don't say "that other doctor was wrong," but I had some other doctors come close to saying that about the ER doc, besically saying if I had a kidney stone, I would have had the back pain first.

A couple weeks after the ER visit, I got a fever and nausea. I had blood in my urine (only visible under a microscope). The doctor ordered an IBP (a test where you fast and get all cleaned out and then they give you some dye and take perodic x-rays).

The result: nothing showed up. The blood in the urine went away, and I never had it come back in five years. Of course, every time I got a stomach ache for the next several months, I thought, "Here is goes again," but it never did.

Interestingly, a colleague told me he was reading an article in some journal like "Science," and read about a rarely diagnosed condition that many doctors mistakenly think is a kidney stone because the symptoms are so similar, but I seem to remember it is actually a problem with the deuodenum.

You are probably fine. Just don't go typing symptoms into WebMD (like I did), or you will convince yourself that you are dying. ;)
posted by 4ster at 5:01 AM on June 1, 2006

I posted in this thread about my experience. But now a small update... A few weeks ago, I was having some pain that felt close to (but not as severe as) the original pain that took me to the ER. I saw my GP, had a CAT scan, and they said I had a 2mm stone on my right side, in/around the kidney. When I was in the ER in June, that stone was 1mm. So in 10 months it doubled in size. I will be following up with a urologist, and probably have it broken up as before.

As for treatment, they said drink lots of water (I have been). I've also read that vitamin C can help break up the stone. But it seems that is only if it is a calcium stone (as opposed to struvite, uric, or cystine). But the there seems to be some controversy. Also, some foods (see the section "Oxalate Restriction") should be avoided.

Feel free to email me for more info.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 6:32 AM on June 1, 2006

Speaking of "going in"...

I've had three kidney stones. I passed one naturally and had one broken up by lithotripsy (the ultrasound mentioned earlier in this thread). Lithotripsy didn't work on the third, and my urologist informed me that surgery would have to be done, and he said he would have to "go up the water path". Ewww. Just hearing that made my nerves jangle.
posted by NewGear at 6:35 AM on June 1, 2006

I have had 2 experiences with kidney stones, neither passed. It actually could be the same stone hanging out in there since I was twelve. My most recent trip to the emergency room was last fall, when the stone gave me a kidney infection. The general consensus from doctors I've asked is that, unless it's a gigantic spiky thing, it's better to wait it out and let things pass naturally. Now I just drink tons of water and to try to keep things moving and have some strong painkillers on hand for when the stone decided to start moving again.
posted by elvissa at 6:53 AM on June 1, 2006

I've had a couple of bouts with stones - the first, around 5 years ago was a revelation of pain - an amazing new level. And that stone passed on it's own.

Then this February I got it again and this one was too large to pass - I had the lithotripsy and passed a couple of good sized chips - they said that it sometime completely obliterates the stone and there's nothing to strain.

In both cases, after the initial pain, I had moderate pain, then nothing - not even a problem passing the stone. You'll only get pain when the stone is blocking something. So, find a good urologist, drink lots of fluids, and good luck (and yes, keep the pain meds near by - I never go far without mine!)
posted by cptnrandy at 7:40 AM on June 1, 2006

I had a kidney stone - the pain sent me (a "no, I'm fine really" guy) to the emergency room. Yes, the pain was excruciating until the painkillers set in. I'm not one to exaggerate, and I gave it a 10 on the 1-10 scale.

A urologist gave me the standard schpiel and the strainer. When I visited him about a week later it was clear from an x-ray that it was still in there. He recommended surgery, which, yes, went up through there. Ultrasound was not an option in my case.

Apart from that initial day I only experienced discomfort one other day. Please see a doctor soon and figure out if you passed it or not.
posted by O9scar at 7:56 AM on June 1, 2006

If you've had kidney stone problems, you might want to start drinking lemonade regularly to prevent recurrence.
posted by spira at 9:51 AM on June 1, 2006

Is it true that drinking cranberry juice helps to 'naturally' dissolve kidney stones or in any way prevent them? Or is that an old spouse's tale?
posted by jak68 at 11:32 AM on June 1, 2006

or lemon juice...
posted by jak68 at 11:33 AM on June 1, 2006

I think the cranberry juice thing is supposedly for urinary tract infections, rather than kidney stones. Lemon juice I don't know about.
posted by The Monkey at 12:06 AM on June 2, 2006

I just got a call from my doctor (on the 4th of July).
I had been taking Cipro for epyditimitis (sp?) i.e. sore nut. It left me really tired for two days. Then my kidneys began to hurt and there was blood in my urine. Doctor told me she was thinking about my condition all night, then called me from home and prescribed a different medicine to replace the cipro.

This thread has been educational, but when I read about surgery through the "water path" I vocally "aaaaaarggggghhhhhed."

Also, I saw a headline but didn't read the abstract about ultrasound on the kidneys leading to type II diabetes later in life.
posted by craniac at 9:58 AM on July 4, 2006