Chronic Kindey Stones

[Jeffro600]

Well, i had my first kidney stone about 6 months ago...you can read about it here and see all the lovely pictures of it....

http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=109081&highlight=kidney

Anywho...flash forward to 1 month ago today. I wake up at 6AM, once again, in agonizing pain, rush myself to the ER again and they proceede to tell me i once again have another one. They didnt do a Cat scan this time due to the fact that i had one recently before and figured i had all the same sympytoms as before. I agreed with them and figured, another stone...FAWK! :mad: 3 days go by and nothing passed...the pain was nowhere near what i felt during my first stone but it was still enough to make a grown man double over in pain and nearly cry. Although a stone never came out, i did have the typical blood in my urine and as gross as this may sound, had what looked like little strings of meat in it. Went to the Urologist and they did a 24 hour urine test on me which i get the results in two days. Anywho...i got up for work this morning and as i was going out the door and getting in my car, sure enough, its starting again! Lets just say the emergency room is starting to know me by name, has a room all setup for me with an IV and a healthy shot of dillatin to kill the pain and my usually percocet prescription ready to go home with me.

But seriously...WTF?!?! Why do i keep getting these? I drink water...LOTS AND LOTS of water!! Its all i freakin drink anymore! Seems like at least a gallon a day!! I changed my diet and cut out alot of the stuff that supposably caused my first stone(it was a calcium oxalate stone) but im still getting them...and with alarming frequency! I hope the Urologist has some good news for me on Wed. This is getting ridiculous! Im at a loss here...ive tried everything i can think of to get rid of them. Anyone have any indian snake oil remedies??

[Steve]

Anyone have any indian snake oil remedies??

Nope, wish I did. I only get them every 5 years or so, and that's way too often. I wouldn't wish that pain on anybody. Hope you find out some way to prevent them, at least for longer periods of time.

[newracer]

I have heard that adding lemon to your water helps. :shrug:

[supremebeholder]

Maybe you should talk to a doctor, not a bunch of wheelers. Just a thought. ;)

Did they test it? What kind of stone was it? I have a friend who got like three in a year and they told him to change his diet based on the kind of stone. Can?t remember which one it was but they told him to cut down on his meat.

[Jeffro600]

Maybe you should talk to a doctor, not a bunch of wheelers. Just a thought. ;)

Did they test it? What kind of stone was it? I have a friend who got like three in a year and they told him to change his diet based on the kind of stone. Can?t remember which one it was but they told him to cut down on his meat.

Ive come to the conclusion MOST doctors are stupid...and i probably would get better advice here than i would at most Dr offices. About 90% of the info ive found on them came from the internet...go figure. :rolleyes: Hopefully the quack on Wed can give me a little more insight into why i keep getting them as he will have the results of my 24 hour piss test.

It was a Calcium Oxilate stone...basically, any and everything has oxilate in it in some form or another...the idea was to get rid of or limit things i was eating or drinking that had alot in it...Teas, sodas, energy drinks, lots of chicken, certain vegetables, etc...i changed my diet totally, pound water like its going out of style and exercise regularly and i still get them.

[sweater]

...and see all the lovely pictures of it...

So, I'm like scrolling through that thread. And I get to the pictures.

Oh, god.

I'm sitting there looking at my monitor, and I think my brain refused to let me make the connection between what I was looking at and where it came from and the route it had to take along the way.

Ohmigod.

I always thought stones were little rounded things, not middle-ages morningstars or some sh*t. I hope I never, ever have to deal with that...

- mike

PS: i've got nuthin' for you in the way of remedies. Had a friend who got them a lot, and she just made sure she had good medical insurance...

[Clint]

So, I'm like scrolling through that thread. And I get to the pictures.

Oh, god.

I'm sitting there looking at my monitor, and I think my brain refused to let me make the connection between what I was looking at and where it came from and the route it had to take along the way.

Ohmigod.

I always thought stones were little rounded things, not middle-ages morningstars or some sh*t. I hope I never, ever have to deal with that...

- mike

PS: i've got nuthin' for you in the way of remedies. Had a friend who got them a lot, and she just made sure she had good medical insurance...

X2, it hurts just looking at those pics.

[Jeffro600]

So, I'm like scrolling through that thread. And I get to the pictures.

Oh, god.

I'm sitting there looking at my monitor, and I think my brain refused to let me make the connection between what I was looking at and where it came from and the route it had to take along the way.

Ohmigod.

I always thought stones were little rounded things, not middle-ages morningstars or some sh*t. I hope I never, ever have to deal with that...

- mike

PS: i've got nuthin' for you in the way of remedies. Had a friend who got them a lot, and she just made sure she had good medical insurance...

lol...after i had passed it i hadnt told my dad i had a stone. I sent him the pictures and told him, "check out the cool meteorite i found in my back yard!" :eek:

[WhtJeep]

I was going ot mention something about a diet change but see that you have already done that.

You didnt add lots of protein? The last one was a CaC2O4 stone, this one could be different, maybe a Uric Acid stone?

[Jeffro600]

I was going ot mention something about a diet change but see that you have already done that.

You didnt add lots of protein? The last one was a CaC2O4 stone, this one could be different, maybe a Uric Acid stone?

I was kinda thinking that too...after i passed the first stone, doc told me to cut back on alot of the protein i was eating. I was eating chicken 4-5 nights a week and other things high in protein and have since cut it back to 1 or 2 nights a week.

I dunno...just really frustrating the hell out of me!! :rant:

[Dagimp]

Had a old coworker friend. Hot girl! She had something they called "spongy kidneys" in layman's terms. Of course there is a real medical name.

Anyhow every 6 months she would pass a stone. And it would never go away, for the rest of her life.

[Oscar]

Don't they have the soundwave thing to break them up now?

[Steve]

Don't they have the soundwave thing to break them up now?

Yes, but it's awfully expensive and isn't as easy, cheap or painless as most people think. The best way is still to take painkillers, drink lots of fluids and pass them.

[Jeffro600]

Don't they have the soundwave thing to break them up now?

They do...but usually use it only if its over a certain size or if your having difficulty passing it. Ive read some stories on it and some people say they are better off trying to pass them than using the soundwave machine because it leaves them heavily bruised and sore for several days...on top of the pain of having the damn stone in the first place.

[newracer]

My neighbor had the them blasted and it still hurt bad when they passed. Plus she was really bruised from the procedure.

[Slacker]

Cranberry juice has something in it that stops their formation....at least according to several of my friends that used to get them but don't any more.

Just a thought.....

[Slacker]

.......and that stone looks big enough for a poser flex shot, but you'd have to be really careful so as to not cut a sidewall......

[Jeffro600]

I have heard that adding lemon to your water helps. :shrug:

I recently heard this too...lemonade is supposed to help break them up and keep them from forming. As well as Potassium Citrate. Going to ask my doc about these on wed and see what he says.

I really dont care if i have to take a pill or drink some interesting concoction every day for the rest of my life...just want these damn things to go away!

[MonkeyBomb]

I have had them 4 times. I now drink a ton of water and pee as soon as I get the opportunity. Pee in a strainer and catch the stone take it to your urologist and they will tell you what kind of stone you have. I thibk there are 3 typical kinds. They may want you to avoid milk or other things to stop from getting the stones all the time.

First time I had them I was 22. Most pain ever. But it was the power puking that got me the worst. I finally had my last one at about 28 and no problems since.

[Jeffro600]

I have had them 4 times. I now drink a ton of water and pee as soon as I get the opportunity. Pee in a strainer and catch the stone take it to your urologist and they will tell you what kind of stone you have. I thibk there are 3 typical kinds. They may want you to avoid milk or other things to stop from getting the stones all the time.

First time I had them I was 22. Most pain ever. But it was the power puking that got me the worst. I finally had my last one at about 28 and no problems since.

Did you change anything besides masive amounts of water? I drink ALOT of water...at least 2-3 liters a day...sometimes more and it didnt seem to help.

[MonkeyBomb]

No I really didn't change anything else. But the stone you posted and mine looked way different. Mine looked more like a golfball with the dimples on the outside. Yours just looked plain sadistic. I'm guessing a pyruvic stone?

[Jeffro600]

No I really didn't change anything else. But the stone you posted and mine looked way different. Mine looked more like a golfball with the dimples on the outside. Yours just looked plain sadistic. I'm guessing a pyruvic stone?

No, it was Calcium Oxilate

[MonkeyBomb]

Of course talk to your Dr. But thats what they thought mine was going to be because i used to drink a ton of milk. They wanted me to almost stop drinking milk and limit calcium intake to a minimum. Then they found out I was just constantly dehydrated from working 12 hour shifts at high altitude outdoors. I don't remember what they were called. Your Dr should have a good plan of attack and once you finish shooting those razor blades out Hopefully you will be fine.

[salsashark]

I feel your pain man... Much like MoneyBomb, I had my rounds with them. I was on a first name basis with several nurses at the ER. When I had my first one, the Doc warned me that the xrays and catscans showed I had more, so I knew what I was in for.

My last one passed from my kidney to my bladder, then floated around in my bladder for about a week... this sucked extra bad cause we took a road trip to Vegas during this time... SUCKED!!!

My changes included:
- Blood pressure meds (they make you pee)
- 1 to 2 liters of water a day, previously I may have consumed a liter a week
- Severe dark soda rationing.
- Reduce or eliminate sports drinks... I used to play tons of paintball and we were gaterade junkies. Well, getting really dehydrated and drinking salt water is not good for the kidneys.
- Sever reduction in milk consumption... which is ok cause now that I rarely drink it, I'm not that fond of it anymore.
- beer rationing - on a recent doctor's visit, my doc pulled up a new report that showed drinking one beer a day can help reduce the forming of new stones. Well, I asked him if I could save up my "beer a day" ration til the end of the week and he said no :( . So I guess I have to have beer every day... my doctor said so!

The most important thing is to continue to drink water, lots of water, and don't stop... The idea is simple, flush your kidneys regularly and stones can't form.

Oh, and one other thing... get Vicoden and keep it on hand... provided you don't have any substance abuse issues... Upon onset, take one and wash it down with about a gallon of water. This always seemed to speed up the process for me.

[newracer]

I wonder if your are just now passing stones that were previously formed. Maybe your dietary changes are working but you just have not gotten rid of them all yet. :shrug:

[salsashark]

I wonder if your are just now passing stones that were previously formed. Maybe your dietary changes are working but you just have not gotten rid of them all yet. :shrug:

ding ding ding...

that was my issue. Stones were already there, haven't had any since and it's been close to 9 years...

***knocks on wood***

[57willys]

Ive been getting them almost every year and went to hosp. once but I found this online and I ordered it and it works within 3 days I passed stone and felt like new day later! It's called URIFLOW and it's at uriflow.com I think it cost $65 which is better then what Doc visit cost!!!!

[drueg]

I've had 6 calcium oxalate stones and with the guidance of my urologist have eliminated them and for the last 6 years have stopped them from forming.
Recognize that there are about 70 different chemical compositions of stones, Oxalates are the most common. The primary thing that must be done is to reduce the oxalates ingested and to alkanalyze the urine to keep the crystals from forming. I take 4 1024 mg tablets of Uricit-K (potassium citrate) per day, and 50 mg of Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) per day. Lemon is a good method of adding citrates and Gator Aid is also a high source of citrates as well, I drink at least one liter of Gator Aid each day, I have removed any dark sodas (High in soda ash) from my diet and dropped chocolates, strawberries, teas, and dark leafy green veggies to a special occasion status only. Following this diet and med routine I haven't had a stone in 6 years, down from 1 every year.
Go to a good Urologist (Dr Wilson in Cheyenne is highly recommended by friends) and start not dreading the next stone.

Dan

[Jeffro600]

Thanks guys for all your ideas and suppport...i did learn a few new things in this thread alone and will give em a try. :thumbsup: Ill let you know what the doc says tomorrow.

[salsashark]

One other thing that has been mentioned a couple of times. If you're doctor seems at all unsure about what's going on with you, go see a Urologist. The specialists who can offer much better advice and solutions than your primary care physician.

[Jeffro600]

One other thing that has been mentioned a couple of times. If you're doctor seems at all unsure about what's going on with you, go see a Urologist. The specialists who can offer much better advice and solutions than your primary care physician.

The doc im seeing tomorrow is a specialist(Urologist)...this will be the second time ive seen him now. He had me on one of those 24 hour urine collection programs last week and im getting the results tomorrow on it. Going to ask lots of questions tomorrow about some of the things ive read here and other places on the internet. Hope to get this sorted out ASAP!

[pinky]

Well I just returned from Moab, during the trip I wished at moments that I didn't have to squat to pee. But after reading this I'm happy with my junk! Girls have not AS bad of a time passing kidney stones, still hurts, but anywho
you should have the stones tested each time because you could have different kinds, and that may help you know what to do. Cranberry juice may be very helpful, or harmful depending on what kind you are growing.Indian Snake Remedy: Soak a washcloth in apple cider vinegar (stinky) and put it on your back or wherever it hurts for 20 minutes at a time with a little pressure.