The Kidney Stone Sympathy & Appreciation Thread

I’ve had 2 kidney stones. Both were too big to pass, so I’ve had lithotripsy twice. My second one was 8x10mm. After the first one, the PA told me to drink 2 liters of water every day, so I did. 10 years later, I was back at the ER for drugs.

After the second one, they did some tests and decided I had oxalate kidney stones, and now I drink 2 liters of water, and take calcium citrate supplements. It’s only been 3 years since my second stone, so, hopefully the supplements will prevent any more.

Some women who have delivered babies without any pain meds have said that kidney stone pain is considerably worse. I believe them.

I could imagine poor Hank Hill with his narrow urethra trying to pass a golfball-sized kidney stone…

“Bobby! Get the pro-pane!”

Glad to hear that it should pass, and also very happy to hear you got pain meds

Golf balls are 4.268 cm in diameter, there is no way you are passing a 5cm stone without lithotripsy.

I had a “stack of stones” in my left ureter that added up to 1.5 cm and they passed individually over 24-48 hours or so, but none of mine were more than 2-4 mm, were all irregularly shaped and had the texture of pumice. Fun times.

I wish you the best, I would not want anyone to have kidney/bladder stones. Those tubes were not designed to stretch easily.

Kidney stones look painful.

If you Google pictures of them, there are pictures of kidney stones over 5cm. They aren’t round though. They are weird shapes with irregular spikey protrusions all over them.

It looks like passing one would feel like urinating a gerbil-sized porcupine. OUCH!!! :smiling_imp:

Yeah, basically mineral growths. Nasty stuff.
But I’m told gallbladder pain is even worse!
Hang in there Joe,
All the Best,
Jeff

I’ve had both, but suprisingly the kidney stone was worse for me. Of course the gall bladder stone, being the aize of a ping pong ball, had to be removed via surgery and i was out for that haha.

Let us know how it turns out!

It’s not just passing them that’s painful (I’ve never passed one). When they move in the kidney and cause blockage, that causes incredible pain and discomfort. I went to bed one night thinking I might be coming down with a cold, and woke up with so much pain, I could barely move. The nausea was terrible. I heaved so hard I broke blood vessels in my face.

I’m sure he means mm and its just a metric unfamiliarity issue.

5 cm or even larger kidney stones actually exist. If you Google it, you can see lots of photos of them, some next to rulers.

Yes they do, the guinness book of records one is something like coconut size iirc.

But at that size you go back to my previous post, dude then needs surgery.

I can’t find pics of some of the bizarre ones that came through the lab but once in awhile something really amazing would show up. And if you’ve ever seen the stones that dogs and cats get…ouch, those look even worse, hurts to even think about.

Correct.

Glad to hear you don’t need surgery and hope it passes soon and quickly and with as little pain as possible :beer:

“Yikes!”

<<< runs for a bottle of water >>>

I had it twice… Both with me ending up in ER…

First was in the middle of the night… Excruciating pain and I tried to pee and saw it was dark brownish coloured… Got a shock as I’ve never encountered it before…and the pain… Nothing I’ve ever encountered before… I was just curled up on the floor in a ball before calling my wife who got help from my brother-in-law staying nearby to drive me to the hospital.

It only got better after they jabbed me wih painkillers at the ER… Had to wait till morning before the procedure(using ultrasonic waves to break it up) was done… Had to stay a nite in the hospital and was peeing blood coloured urine for 2 days after that.

Second instance happened on the way to work… Same thing …back to ER… But this time they can’t blast it out due to the location… In the end, a different procedure where they insert a device through the pee hole of my penis to reach the stone and break it up … The post recovery for this is WORSE than the first… I still get the chills recalling the incident….

Take care…drink more water…

I had a kidney stone about 3 years ago and it sucked really bad. A couple of very painful days bed where I’d sometimes curl into a ball in absolute pain. I pissed it out eventually but it was one of the worst experiences in my life. Wouldn’t wish KS on my worst enemy.

I’ve had two stones surgically removed. The last one was 8mm. There are no words for that kind and that intensity of pain. Had to wear a stint for a month with the last one because of the damage it caused to a ureter. I demanded to see the last one after they took it out. It was evil, and perfectly explains that kind of manical torture. I drink lots more water than I used to which is supposed to help. I’ll probably have to deal with this a couple more times before it’s over. Life is grand most of the time, but not always. My worst fear is coming under attack while on a nice vacation somewhere out of country. Can’t imagine the plane ride home, as I’m sure I wouldn’t want it removed in some far flung doctorless place.

Have had three of them. The latest one is sitting in a baggie waiting for analysis but I’m sure it’s an oxalate stone. Therefore I have to be on a low oxalate diet, which sucks. Dad suffered from kidney stones and now I do. I was also diagnosed with chronic kidney disease five years ago that could have been the result of low hydration for decades, taking NSAIDS for several years, and the damage from kidney stones. There’s probably a fourth stone waiting in the wings as I talk. Fortunately, my stones were small (from 1mm to 3mm), but they were so painful they made me puke. Definitely a 9 on a scale of 1-10. 10 would be a gun shot. Nothing much you can do besides making sure you properly hydrate and go on a low oxalate diet. And btw, stones don’t hurt when they’re in the kidneys. They hurt after they’ve passed from the kidney and lodge themselves at the top of the ureter. Best of luck. :slight_smile:

Mine is right at the exit point, they say. Last one was 2004. I believe this only comes from diet soda drinking, which I have abruptly quick. Nobody else in the family has this. No coffee or sodas anymore then.