Anyone have experience with Kidney stones?

[conorsmom2000]

Mike is going through his 2nd bout with kidney stones - the first time was 10 years ago, 2 months before we got married. At that time, he ignored the pain in his back (thinking it was muscle strain) until it was a full blown attack (vomiting, traces of blood, etc...). He immediately had same day surgery to have a stent put in, then had the ESWL (shock waves) treatment to break the stone up.

This time, when Mike started with the back pain on Wednesday night, we both had an idea of what it was (due to the location of the pain). The pain was really bad Thursday night so I took him to the ER and they did a cat scan and said that he did have a 3 mm stone and that it was actually 2/3's of the way out.

He went to the urologist on Friday and he said the stone was big, but that he had a "greater than 50% chance of passing it on his own", but that if he didn't pass it by today, he'd have to come back in and see what the next step would be. Poor Mike has done nothing but drink water and gatorade all weekend, and he's been unable to sleep due to the pain (it's worse when he tries to lie down).

So, he called them today and was told that he needed same day surgery tomorrow to put a stent in, but he had to come into the office to see the dr today. So, when he got there, Mike told him that he actually hasn't had any pain since last night (and he slept fine last night). The Dr said that Mike may have passed the stone without knowing it - he said it's rare, but it does happen. So, they canceled surgery for tomorrow and scheduled him for a cat scan for Thursday to see if it's still there.

So, my question is, has anyone ever heard of someone passing a stone without knowing it? It would be wonderful if that's the case, but it almost seems too good to be true! From the stories I hear, if he has indeed passed it, he's a lucky guy!

[offwego]

Kind of.

My step dad had a similiar issue last month or so. (was off work for 3 weeks with it).

What happened according to his Dr. is the stone "wandered" out of the area and will now be floating around where it does no harm (or cause pain).

Apparently this does happen but just not often. They'll keep monitoring via cat scan to see if it "wanders" back.

[disneydeb]

When I've had kidney stones, if I remember correctly, there is a lot of pain while the stone is in the -tube that goes from the kidney to the bladder- but when it goes into the bladder, the pain is relieved.

Good luck! That pain is some of the worst pain I've ever had.

[Wrigley]

My husband had 2 kidney stones about 2 months ago. He went to the ER from work with severe pain and they did the cat scan and said that they were 2 mm and that he'd pass them eventually. So, I brought him home and about 3 hours later he passed them. He didn't even know that he had, except for when he saw them. We thought this was great and that the pain would go away. It did for awhile. However, a few hours later it came back and worse than ever, so I took him back to the ER and they just gave him some pain medicine and sent us home, but he had to see the urologist the next day. He was still in alot of pain. The urologist told him that the pain comes after you pass the stone because the stone is like a piece of glass cutting the "tube" on it's way out. So, he was in pain for almost a week with these spasms. Thankfully, he hasn't had any problems since!

[Christine]

I can't imagine a man passing a large kidney stone without noticing. My father passed one, and had to have reconstructive surgery! It may have just moved around to a more comfortable spot??

If/when it is passed or removed or blasted, be sure they test the make-up of it.

They were able to find out that substances/chemicals in tea and carrots were what caused my father to build his.

He hasn't had trouble in over 20 years!

Good luck to him!

[conorsmom2000]

I can't imagine a man passing a large kidney stone without noticing.

Well, that was our first thought too! The only reason that we think it might be a possibility was because the cat scan showed it was almost out already, and for the most part, this was before Mike had any pain... But, we'll know Thursday for sure.

If/when it is passed or removed or blasted, be sure they test the make-up of it.

Yep, they will definitely test it - last time it was calcium, I believe.

[Christine]

Well, that was our first thought too! The only reason that we think it might be a possibility was because the cat scan showed it was almost out already, and for the most part, this was before Mike had any pain... But, we'll know Thursday for sure.

That's amazing! If he has passed it without notice, he is VERY lucky!!!

Yep, they will definitely test it - last time it was calcium, I believe.

Okay, my dad has easily avoided tea and carrots that build his stones, but how can Mike avoid calcium?? Bless his heart!

I will add him to my prayer list...give him my best!

[conorsmom2000]

Okay, my dad has easily avoided tea and carrots that build his stones, but how can Mike avoid calcium?? Bless his heart!

Actually, he's really only kept dairy to a minimum and that worked for 10 years - the funny thing is that we just read an article that said a study showed that it's not calcium in food that causes kidney stones - that kind of calcium can actually prevent them. It said that it's calcium in pill form that is believed to cause them (at least for the people prone to them, I guess) - and, Mike does take a fair amount of tums with calcium, and for the past three or four months, we've all been really good about taking our vitamins, every day! And don't you know, 4 months of this and boom, Mike gets a kidney stone. He does plan to talk to his doctor about this and whether he believes it to be true or not.

Thanks Christine!