Kidney stones (oh how I hate thee, let me count the ways)

Currently suffering from a kidney stone for the past week. Finally decided to go to the ER last night thinking it was a bad kidney infection this whole time. Nope, CT scan revealed it to be a 4mm shard making its way through my ureter tube. Taking all damn eternity to reach my bladder so I can piss it out finally. First time having one; hopefully last time having one. The Tramadol (synthetic opiate) they prescribed me for pain is just making me feel spaced out moreso than actually alleviating the pain. It literally feels like someone has my kidney and abdomen in a vice grip. Came across a recipe on the net that said to mix one part water, second part concentrated lemon juice, and third part apple cider vinegar -- to prevent kidney stones and to help alleviate the urination pain that often accompanies kidney stones. Not the best tasting, but I'm desperate to try anything at this point until the stone actually passes. Anyone else on here currently suffering from or has suffered from kidney stones? Any tips/advice?

And for those who have never experienced it, here you go:

a reply to: Kromlech

Most pain I have ever been through passed two so far...
Yeah I did lemon juice and oil and that helped break the second one up a bit.
Just look forward to that relief when it pees out...bliss.

a reply to: Kromlech

I've never had kidney stones, but I do have gallstones.

Apparently that lemon juice and oil drink is good for those too... and must be, because I first found that "recipe" in a gallstones thread here on ATS, and I haven't had a problem since!!

Uhhhh.. knock on wood.......

a reply to: Kromlech

We Soldiers got a lot of kidney stones in the desert, for obvious reasons. Almost as bad as getting your brain rattled by an RPG.

One guy had them so bad we learned about this.

Pretty cool that they can blast them to pieces. May wanna ask your Doc.

I would suggest being careful what remedies you find on the wholistic internet. Homeopathy experts will fill your mind with questionable quack remedies if you let them.

Stones are a form of calcite the same as found in cave grottos, dissolved minerals in water are leached onto cave stalagmites and stalactites. Kidney stones grow the same way in our system, minerals we uptake get deposited on the growing 'pearl' in our guts.

How to dissolve them to pass them and control the pain? Listen to doctors, not quacks.

a reply to: Kromlech

I feel your pain!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: Kromlech

They are nasty painful buggers.
When i was suffering with mine. I used to notice that milk in coffee tasted more cheese like.
Also. I did eat cheese regularly too.
I thought it might be a connection.
Asked the specialist. Who insisted i was wrong. But, they didn't gave an answer as to why people got them. Just. Dilution is the solution.
So. After suffering them a few times over the years. I stopped eating cheese.
Coincidence. Maybe.
I don't suffer from them now.
I treat myself to cheese only on the odd occasion now.
Out of interest. Are you a regular cheese eater?

Had both stones. Kidney ones were incredibly painful. I have heard horseraddish helps to keep them away, maybe to break them down too? Wasabi and horseraddish are very closely related.

I drank a tea called "Queen of the Meadows" prepared by my great aunt when I was in my 20s , no problem for about 30 years now...

The pain is awful, but the immediate relief after you pass the stone is heavenly. But you will be a bit gun shy standing over the pisser for a bit afterwards.

Every time I hear "kidney stone" I think of Mike. He and I worked construction together and when he got them, the Doc gave him a little filter to pee through, so he could have them analyzed. [ No idea why ] One day, he steps outside to go around the corner of a house we were building and took his filter with him. 20 seconds later, I hear the most blood curdling scream I've ever heard. There was a pit, lined with rebar, which was going to be part of the front steps and I thought he'd fallen in and been impaled. About 8 of us go tearing around the house, expecting the worst, to find Mike with a blissed out look on his face and a little stone in his filter.
He looked at me and said "It passed!". I know it hurts like Hell, but you'd of laughed too, if you'd seen Mike that day.

a reply to: Kromlech

Hot bathing and a hot water bottle or heat pad against your back seems to ease the pain a little too.

a reply to: Kromlech

My dad has had a couple dozen kidney stones. I had one, when living in Tempe, AZ. The water tasted terrible, and bottled water was fairly uncommon back then. I thought I was doing myself a favor drinking Iced Tea, turns out I was dehydrating myself in the 100+ degree dry air.

I went to the hospital because I assumed my appendix was exploding. By the time we got there, I was staggering and puking through the parking lot from the pain like an amateur drinker.

My advice to you: tell the doctor to grow a pair and not prescribe Tramadol. It's awful and close to useless for pain, just easier to prescribe. They gave me a few shots of morphine, two via IV (my blood pressure was through the roof) and then one in the quadriceps "for the road" before leaving me with an actual opiate. I combined those with an herbal remedy and peed that sucker out the next morning.

Remember... This, too, shall pass! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)😂 Good luck.

ETA: I don't know how, but I caught the bastard right out of the stream. Like 3 grains of sand stuck together. Still have it in a little ziplock bag 20 years later.

ETA2: Don't get into any conversations with women regarding whether childbirth or the stone hurts worse. Praise them and say, "I don't know how you do it - women are just tougher than men." Say that, while knowing you're right, then pop another of those worthless Tramadols.

Oh, man. My PROFOUND and most empathetic sympathies. >_< You are experiencing the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life to date.

What has kept me stone free since I passed 4 of similar size to yours. (Pain killers didn't help me, either. Not even "alternative" pain killers, although they did help the anxiety.)

• Drink as much water as you can (although right now you have an obstruction, so it may cause vomiting. Still, drink what you can, even if only sips between bouts of pain and/or vomiting. Stay hydrated. It will help it to pass and dilate your ureter.
  
• Once it has passed (and the pain may be intermittent as it moves, don't assume it has passed until and unless you see it when peeing. Try to pee into a container if you can actually, to "catch" it, unless the doctor gave you a dedicated stone sifter, then use that instead,) have the stone analyzed to find out its composition.
  
• If you're like most people, it will be primarily of calcium oxalate composition. If so, start avoiding sources of oxalates in your diet. If you're a heavy coffee drinker, cut down or eliminate it. This is a hard balancing act. An oxalate free or low oxalate diet is VERY devoid of fiber, potassium, and magnesium sources, so you have to be creative, and/or supplement.
  
• Drink lots of water. Enough that your pee is never too dark any time you pee. If you are prone to waking up with dark urine, drink during the night. I know it's a drag to get up during deep sleep but it will help.
  
• IF your stones ARE oxalate based, mix a small amount of lemon juice extract with two liters of water, and drink it slowly over the course of every day. Although it seems counterintuitive because lemon juice is citris, the net effect is that you raise your urinary citrates, which can help break down or prevent stone formation (though, don't expect magical cures from this, or apple cider vinegar if you already have stones; they can help them pass POSSIBLY, and it is fairly well supported that they can help prevent them, but they aren't going to magically disintegrate a stone that size or larger that's already present.)
  
• Cut down on salt. Limit it to 2000 mg a day if possible, or less.
  
• Cut down on sugar.
  

Oh and if you're male, ask your doctor about Tamulosin. It may or may not help it pass. (Also called Flowmax.) Tamulosin hasn't been approved for women or children yet (original use was for prostate issues,) but it can have a similar effect of making a stone easier to pass in women as well if prescribed for that reason.

Don't know what your beliefs are, but either way, I will pray for you. I KNOW the pain is absolutely unbearable.

Peace.

originally posted by: dogstar23
a reply to: Kromlech


ETA2: Don't get into any conversations with women regarding whether childbirth or the stone hurts worse. Praise them and say, "I don't know how you do it - women are just tougher than men." Say that, while knowing you're right, then pop another of those worthless Tramadols.

While I'm sure this is true, for whatever it's worth... my female doctor with three children told me, "Men who have kidney stones are the only men who can ever appreciate the pain of childbirth." Also note my stone took days to pass so.... there's that. :p Forgive me ladies! I have the uttmost respect for your sufferings and for bringing us into the world! She said it, not me!

Peace.

I have a genetic kidney disease, ADPKD, and at point during me decent into
End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) I was passing a stone every 3 weeks. There
are 2 basic types of stone, calcium based, as mentioned earlier or uric acid
based.

It's important to understand which one you have, so make sure to get it analyzed.
In the end I had to stop eating high purine foods for mine to cease. Eventually
had to have both kidneys removed, together they weighed approx 70 lbs and
eventually was transplanted. 15 years on and still kicking.

I realize mine was a bit of extreme case, but the best thing you can do is totally
understand your particular case, research and make changes as needed. I strongly
believe in taking control of your own healthcare as it has prevented mistakes
in my case.

Here is an example from just last week. My wife cut her hand with a knife
slicing an onion. I could see she needed sutures. Went to ER where she told
the nurse that she was allergic to sulfa drugs. Well the Doc, who was not
in the room at that time prescribed Bactrim. I had to point out a that was a sulfa
drug. There was a breakdown in communication here between Doc and Triage nurse.

Sorry it turned into a bit of an off topic rant.

Hey there!

I suffer Chronic Kidney Stones. I have about 6 left to pass in each kidney (RIP ME)

I started passing them when I was 15. I am now 25 and have been to the hopsital 7 times for Kidney Stones.....

They usually give me delaudid (spelling?) or morphine for the pain.

Signals that s is about to htf: Back locks up. Back feels like airbubbles are trapped inside my lower back and going to burst out. Vomiting (This isn't normal vomit by far, it is usually purely stomach acid and foam) This all feels very comparable to labor contractions in that it feels like someone has metal gloves on and is twisting your lower most spinal area like an "Indian burn".

Solution: ER TRIP.

Long term solution: I hate water and love all things salt, which is my problem. So I drink cranberry juice to assist with breaking down the stones and passing them, and avoiding producing more.

My kidneys suck too, I'm with you lol.

-Alee

a reply to: Kromlech

Ohh man, I get them at least once every two years. I think the natural remedies to get rid of them while you have them is a huge waiste of time..they will pass on their own but you have to drink tons of water...It only hurts when it passes through the kidney not when it passes through your wiener.

You need to take the pain meds consistently because you want to stay ahead of the pain that will come. I did the coke with asparagus trick and not luck. I drank 6 cans of coke in hour and it did nothing to relieve the stones as they still came out sharp like tiny grains of clumped up sand with spikes of death on them

I kept a kidney stone that I did pass in lemon juice for a two days and it did little to dissolve it...kind of my own experiment.

Ibuprofen works pretty good but I would suggest taking about 600-800 milligrams. Ask your doctor for a prescription of those because with insurance it will probably cost you 4 bucks...they are worth it to keep in the house should you feel another one coming on.

A lot of people get them so you are not alone...just know the signs next time, I get some pain in my testicles and blood in the urine when they are getting close. I usually go to the doctor as soon as those symptoms present themselves and get a ultrasound. Usually they prescribe the painkillers a head of time just in case but I'm always correct with the assessment.

I wish you a lot of luck but when it passes the pain will all too quickly be forgotten until you meet again....I have it on good authority that they can hurt more than child birth. When we were delivering our second child the nurse came in to check on us...we talked about kidney stones and she emphatically stated that the pain is often more painful than giving birth..I looked over to my wife and said I feel your pain...she told me to F off...

No stones yet at the age of 27. Hope that remains the case.

I do drink more water than most people and I don't drink coffee. Who knows why, my cousin has had several and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
Hey there!

I suffer Chronic Kidney Stones. I have about 6 left to pass in each kidney (RIP ME)

I started passing them when I was 15. I am now 25 and have been to the hopsital 7 times for Kidney Stones.....

They usually give me delaudid (spelling?) or morphine for the pain.

Signals that s is about to htf: Back locks up. Back feels like airbubbles are trapped inside my lower back and going to burst out. Vomiting (This isn't normal vomit by far, it is usually purely stomach acid and foam) This all feels very comparable to labor contractions in that it feels like someone has metal gloves on and is twisting your lower most spinal area like an "Indian burn".

Solution: ER TRIP.

Long term solution: I hate water and love all things salt, which is my problem. So I drink cranberry juice to assist with breaking down the stones and passing them, and avoiding producing more.

My kidneys suck too, I'm with you lol.

-Alee

I suffered from chronic kidney stones for many years. Was having them at a rate of about 5 per year. Then one day after the latest one had been tested to be composed of calcium-oxalate (as most of them had), I started doing some research. I found a group on Yahoo that was all about oxaltes and the problems they can cause with a list of foods that contained the highest amounts. There is information here:

oxvox.com...

After realizing that my diabetic diet was also an extremely high oxalate diet, I cut oxalates out of my diet. It has been over two 1/2 years now for me on a low-oxalate diet and I haven't had a kidney stone since I started it! I was kind of pissed off at my doctors who never mentioned this and I found my cure without them. But since about 85% of all kidney stones are calcium-oxalate, I think this information should be the first thing doctors recommend!

Hope you find your solution too. They do make life miserable. I had to deal with one on an airplane from Brussels to D.C. once. Worst experience ever.