posted
I ended up in the ER last week with mind blowing pain on my left side. The CT showed that I had a 3mm stone that had already made most of it’s journey and was just hanging out somewhere around my urethra (or ureter?).
I also have a 5mm and two other 3mm stones still waiting their turn in my Kidney.
I’ve since passed the 3mm. The other three are still waiting.
Today I was urged by my urologist to get them blasted, aka ESWL -extra corporeal shockwave lithotripsy.
I asked him what the alternative was. He said you can wait and try to pass it.
I’m scared. I’m not looking forward to the procedure. I’ve read too much about it. Scared! I’m also scared to not get it done. I feel like I’ll be constantly waiting for the pain to nail me again and I don’t want to live like that. I had an issue with them 19 years ago and have been told I’ve had small ones since then, but I haven’t had issues with them in 19 years.
I don’t do well with anesthesia, it takes me forever to wake up and then I feel groggy for years.
I already feel like I have been kicked in the Kidneys. The Urologist said that Kidneys only hurt usually when you’re passing a stone. Well, I’ve had a pain there that I thought would go away when they took my Gall Bladder (that also had a stone), but it hasn’t. I’ve had a Gastrologist tell me that it could possibly be my Sphincter of Oddi having spasms. He could only confirm that with a certain type of procedure that I’d have to go to Birmingham to have. Didn’t get that confirmed. I’d never even heard of that.
I’m actually used to the pain, as much as I don’t like it. I’m worried that a sonic punch to the Kidney’s will not be good for that pain.
Has anyone had this procedure? How’d you do? It’s scheduled for next Weds AM.
posted
Sorry- I haven't ever had kidney stones, but I hear stones hurt really bad. Hope things work out for you.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
My wife has a calcium leak in her kidneys and passes about 1 stone a month. She had lithotripsy done a year ago, and spent the following 6 days in the hospital on some pretty stout IV painkillers.
She won't do it again... but that's one person's experience.
Posts: 692 | Registered: Feb 2000
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DSH, I'm sorry your wife has had such a hard time with stones. Not fun!
The procedure itself wasn't bad at all. The passing of the stones and gravel after the procedure was not fun.
What I don't understand is why some of the stones I passed were in the 3mm range along with various little gravel sized pieces. The very day of the procedure I started to eliminate stones and gravel, around 4-3mm stones included. ? I consumed large quantities of liquid after the procedure. I did have some pain passing the stones. I can't figure out why the procedure itself actually caused me to pass stones that didn't really seem to get blasted so much? What I passed doesn't add up to what they said was hanging out in there. Why did I start to pass them immediately after? Was my kidney manipulated, so that it started to spasm and then with tons of water going through my system, proceed to eliminate the stones/gravel?
I'm supposed to go back in another week to have another x-ray to make sure all gravel has passed and to turn in my stones/gravel for evaluation.
I'm glad they're out. I just don't understand why they weren't blasted to smaller sizes. I feel like maybe he blasted the 5mm in half maybe, but that's all that seemed to have happened.
I did feel like I got my butt kicked a few days later, after I stopped taking the pain medication. I felt like I had a flu hang-over.
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Glad your experience was less traumatic than my wife's was.
They have gone in twice with a scope to remove stones that got stuck on the way out, and the doc that did the last one took a look at her kidneys from inside (with the scope) and said "your kidneys are full of stones".
As bad as all this has been (mostly for my wife, but for me and the kids too), I love hearing these home remedies people keep offering. My favorite: "Get 2-3 juniper berries and crush them into a cup of boiling water, drink this and the stones will dissolve. Don't use more then 3 berries, they're poisonous." Posts: 692 | Registered: Feb 2000
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