Kidney Stones Removal.

[NONG CHOK]

Hi all, I'm a 77 yo male, exercise daily and feel very well except for acid reflux attacks. I have developed back pain and frequent urination in the past month. If I have kidney stones how much could I expect to pay for their removal. Also is there an OTC medication for this condition. Thanks.

[Mentors65]

Depence on how many stones you have and how big they are.

Ultra sound can give the answer.

 

[Denim]

50 minutes ago, NONG CHOK said:

Also is there an OTC medication for this condition. Thanks.

When I had one small stone the drug Rowatinex was prescribed by my doctor at Bangkok hospital. It is a capsule of oily mix that gradually breaks down the stone.

 

There are youtube videos by sufferers who claim their

doctor told them to drink lots of cola as this can also erode stones.

 

A friend with a large painful stone was treated in hospital using a technique that uses vibration to break the stone down into passable chunks.

( cant remember name of therapy )

 

youtube is a mine of information regarding current treatment options.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Denim

[PadPrikKhing]

18 minutes ago, Denim said:

There are youtube videos by sufferers who claim their

doctor told them to drink lots of cola as this can also erode stones.

That's an interesting idea which kind of makes sense, because Coke (cola) is terribly acidic with a ton of phosphoric acid in it. Ordinarily, this is what makes it really bad for you (the acid in it literally leaches minerals out of your bones), but since kidney stones are accumulations of alkaline material, this sounds like it would work. Not that the cola itself would reach the kidney stones to dissolve them, but probably makes your blood slightly more acidic, which would help dissolve them...?

 

Quote

A friend with a large painful stone was treated in hospital using a technique that uses vibration to break the stone down into passable chunks.

( cant remember name of therapy )

Ultrasonics. It uses sound waves to break them up.

Edited December 25, 2021 by PadPrikKhing

[ezzra]

With all the helpful posts so far, the best will be to go see a urologist have an ultra sound and take it from there that is if you want to do it the right and safe way..

[Mentors65]

I had kidney stones twice

- if there are very small you should drink a LOT of water.

First one: smaller - i got an injection

2nd one: bigger- i underwent Ultrasonic, in a smaller Thai private hospital.

1 night rest there. Paid 93'000 Baht.

Was about 10 years ago.

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Mentors65

[Mentors65]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

With all the helpful posts so far, the best will be to go see a urologist have an ultra sound and take it from there that is if you want to do it the right and safe way..

Fully agree.

If stones are just very small, drinking a lot of water will help already.

(In general: avoid white wine)

 

[Sheryl]

I doubt your problem is kidney stones, those produce a very severe colicky pain.

(also, in my experience, self0diagnoses are wrong ~90% of the time).

 

More likely you have enlarged prostate (extremely common in older men) - usually benign, occasionally cancerous. Or an infmalation of the prostate (prostatitis) or both.

 

Back pain could be from from an altogether other cause, or you might have

 a kidney infection, which often occurs as a result of urinary retention secondary to an enlarged prostate (although you may urinate often it can be what is called "retention with overflow" - you are not able to fully empty your bladder).

 

Do not attempt to self-diagnose or treat this. And it is pointless to try to get into cost when you do not yet even know what is wrong.

 

See a urologist. Where in Thailand  are you?

 

 

[tomazbodner]

I've been suffering kidney stones for a long time. Mine are uric acid ones, and the things I have for melting them are Uralit-U granules and Pocitrin tablets. If your stones are calcium, these won't help. However if stone is considered hard to pass but not too big to blow up, that is between 1-1.5 cm in diameter, then Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) would likely be suggested. The cost probably depends on hospital, but in case of Phyathai 1, it is between 110,000-130,000 baht.

 

Procedure starts with cleaning you out for CAT scan, after which you are placed on a very shallow "bath" so just your back is wet. There are shockwave and ultrasound plates below, and there's an x-ray above you. Operator is on the side with a joystick and a screen with target on it just like a WW2 airplane.

 

X-rays are taken from time to time to get a clear image of the stone, the rest is assisted by ultrasound, which shows position of the stone. Operator moves the joystick to point crosshair to the stone as it moves as you breathe. The shocks are administered about once per second and the whole procedure lasts roughly 45 minutes.

 

The feeling of it is like if someone took a rubber band, and snapped it in the same location for 45 minutes every second. I would not say it hurts but it isn't overly pleasant. I didn't take any pain remedy, but some request painkiller or even anesthesia.

 

Once stone breaks (and that depends on composition, it could break into powder for calcium stones, or to several very sharp pieces considered small enough to pass for uric acid stones) the procedure ends.

 

There's significant bleeding during urination for days after the procedure as although non-invasive, the shockwave does cause damage to the kidney. Soon after procedure however you should see the stone pieces starting to come out, but as they could be sharp, they could also cause further bleeding down the way.

 

It would depend on hospital whether and/or how long you would stay in hospital before/after procedure. Phyathai is a private hospital and does not have machine, which is rented for the procedure together with operators. As such this could be cheaper at some other hospital that owns the equipment. But I can only comment on the one I've done myself.

 

Any other questions - ask.