7mm Kidney Stone

[nteeman]

As those of you on FB know, I went to the ER yesterday in extreme discomfort and was admitted with a 7mm kidney stone. I already had an appointment with the urologist when I noticed blood in my urine earlier in the week. The pain started Thursday morning and I did not make it to the 4pm appointment. 7mm is big for a stone and they are hoping it passes or at least moves down closer to the bladder if surgery is called for. Meanwhile getting by on dilaudid and flowmax in the Emergency Ward.  Wish me luck!

Neal

[ombrerose4]

Neal,

I know that kidney stones cause excruciating pain   So sorry you have to deal with this. I hope the stone is moving- what kind of surgery are they talking to you about? I believe sometimes they can use shockwaves to crush the stone so it can pass more easily. Hope you start feeling better real soon.

[nteeman]

Hopefully it will pas on its own (with the help of all the fluids, but if it doesn't move they have a procedure that puts a very fine laser scope up the you-know-what through the bladder and up the tube between the kidney and the bladder and they use the laser to shatter the stone.

Neal

[leapyrtwins]

Yikes!! 

Hope all turns out well for ya, Neal.

Jan

[Keri]

How are you doing, Neal??

Keri

[nteeman]

How are you doing, Neal??

Keri

I got out of the hospital on Saturday night. Been drinking lots of water and peeing threw a strainer but so far- no stone. At least the pain stopped - for now. I saw Urologist today. The rock is still around the same area in my Ureter. If it moved it was not much. The good news is that I feel well enough to go back to work tomorrow. I need to carry some pain meds with me because the pain can return any time, and, of course, my strainer. The doc informed me he is scheduling a Ureteroscopy for me in 2 weeks. If I pass it before then fine else they are putting a laser-scope up my wing-wang. (general anesthesia will be used I am happy to report).  They will also leave a plastic stent in my ureter for about 10 days then I will have to go under general anesthesia again to have it removed.

Sounds like fun, eh?  I am drinking lots of water and praying this stone will pass. But no matter what I will survive this.

The funny part of all this is my kid brother - he is a big hypochondriac. When I had my AN he started getting headaches and feared he had one too. Now, well he is on course and is all freaked out that he may get stones as well. At least his wife is a nurse.

Neal

[saralynn143]

Can they break it up with ultrasound? Or maybe that is a myth.

[sgerrard]

My neighbor is a medical tech who specializes in lowering people into a bathtub for a round of ultrasound to break up their kidney stones. So it is not a myth. It is used more often, I think, when the stones are too big to even get into the ureter in the first place. They break them up so they can be passed out in smaller pieces. I passed a wee little 1 mm stone a few years ago, and have been drinking water ever since. 7 mm = owww!

Steve

[Keri]

yikes, oww, maybe childbirth wasn't so bad.

[Suu]

Keri beat me to it.  Ouch!

I'm wondering which is the more painful - the stone being inside or the event of it coming out.

I wish you luck mate.

Suu xx

[Soundy]

Keri beat me to it.  Ouch!

I'm wondering which is the more painful - the stone being inside or the event of it coming out.

I wish you luck mate.

Suu xx

hate to say it since it is not encouraging , but the event of coming out is worse

I have had stones near that size ... I hear they are worse on men (again sorry for non encouraging statement) ... I have had the surgery twice where they put the laser up the you know where and blast it ... as Neal said I am happy to say I was under general anesthesia for both the surgery and the the stent removal ... I took any and all pain killer they offered

I told the doctor that it was worse than child birth ...and all I got was a test tube with pebble and some sand to take home ... at least with childbirth I had something cute and cuddly to take home with me


Good Luck

[nteeman]

OK since you asked: the shock wave treatment is called Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and is performed when the stone is lodged in the kidney.

My 7mm stone is stuck in the Ureter so they are planning the Ureteroscopy. This is the method used for stones stuck in the Ureter.  I think the ESWL would damage the Ureter so they don't use it for this situation.

Right now I keep drinking fluids and hoping it passes and I am not in any pain, armed with some good pain killers just in case and am preparing myself mentally for the Ureteroscopy.

I do appreciate the kind thoughts, thanks.
Neal