Kidney Stones - Your experience/ journey

[jastheace]

It's that time of life where i'm suffering with suspected kidney stones. What has been your experience? i would like to know your early signs, how long before you sought medical advice, how bad did it get, how it was diagnosed, treatment if any. If you had any treatment, where did you go? timeline from diagnosis to feeling back to 'normal'... appreciate yr stories... TIA

 

[blackshadow]

i was told years ago to drink plenty of H2O to flush stones out !!!

[jastheace]

13 minutes ago, blackshadow said:

i was told years ago to drink plenty of H2O to flush stones out !!!

yeah i'll do that in future, but the horse has bolted before i closed the gate so to speak...

[richard_smith237]

About 8 years ago I experienced kidney pain (left kidney), an ultra-sound and CT-Scan conformed the stone. I was given medication to pass the stone (it was about 5mm) - Dr wanted to do a follow up CT-Scan to check if the stone was there but told me if it was there was no further course of action. 

I opted not to take the CT-Scan (unnecessary risk of exposure to radiation). 

 

The following year, a routine medical check up (ultra-sound) did not identify any kidney stone which the Dr. noted must have passed the year previously. 

 

Two years ago a routine medical check up found a 9mm stone in my right kidney. No pain I didn’t know it was there. The Dr recommended lithotripsy (shockwaves) to shatter the stone and remove it. 

I got pre-authorisation from insurance and received the treatment. 

The treatment didn’t work, a follow up ultra-sound showed the stone still present. 

As there was no pain I left it at that.

 

A few months later I started receiving e-mails from insurance and the hospital.

Insurance reneged on their pre-authorisation because the kidney-stones were a pre-existing condition. 

I contested but, they rejected and refused to pay.

 

So, I still have a 9mm kidney stone. I’ve had no trouble for the past 15 months (since the stone being identified).

 

Having attempted lithotripsy previously, I won’t bother with that again it doesn’t always work.

There are other options and I wondering if they are necessary.

I work in remote locations (where healthcare is limited) thus, wonder if I should get it dealt with rather than risk the pain if there was to be a problem while in a remote location. 

 

But, having carried out research the general consensus seems to be that most people who have kidney stones live with them without knowing - if there is no discomfort don’t bother. 

 

Thus: from what I understand, getting treatment to remove a kidney stone comes down to a personal decision. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, jastheace said:

It's that time of life where i'm suffering with suspected kidney stones. What has been your experience? i would like to know your early signs, how long before you sought medical advice, how bad did it get, how it was diagnosed, treatment if any. If you had any treatment, where did you go? timeline from diagnosis to feeling back to 'normal'... appreciate yr stories... TIA

 

Note - the pain can be completely debilitating - thats when you will definitely seek medical attention. 

 

Depending on the size of the stone impacts the possible treatment. 

 

There is medical which enlarges the ‘tubes’ to help the stone pass, but the stone has to be in a position it ‘wants’ to pass in the first place. 

 

Additionally: It depends on the type of stone.. most commonly calcified or ureic acid.

IF the latter and Uralyt-U  (powder mixed with water) can be drank daily to lower the pH in your kidneys to try and help dissolve the stone....

 

To know if your stones are Calcified or Ureic acid - A ureic acid stone is hard but not dense enough to show up on x-ray, both will show up on Ultra-Sound.....   its possible both could be shadowed by ‘something else’ (ribs etc)... the only 100% sure fire way to identify kidney stones is CT-Scan (if the stone is larger than 3mm due to slice of scan). 

 

IF you are having signs of discomfort - its perhaps a good idea to get it checked out now.