Kidney Stones (Can they kill you?)

[panicagain]

I've posted on here before about my kidney stone and have since googled some info about them, i know that wasn't a good idea but i wasn't googling symptoms,,, i know i have a kidney stone so i figured what could it hurt? But i found out they could cause all kinds of problems and death!!! I've been to the emergency room for it and they told me it was too big to pass (10mm) and they also said i'd hafta have surgery ($36,000) but there's no one that will do it cuz i don't have insurance:weep: so they sent me home with heavy pain killers. If i go into the emergency room and its "life threatening" right there and then they will hafta do the surgery but apparently they didn't feel it was life threatening when i was there but I don't want to be half dead before they will do anything:mad: I've looked for some kind of help but there is none here, they won't do any decent payment plans, they said they'd do it if i put $8000 down:scared15: (i don't have it and can't get it) , so i turned to "natural" things which haven't helped yet and i'm in pain all the time:weep: Does anyone have any kinds of "natural" things for kidney stones? Or any other kinds of suggestions? I'm obsessed with this now,,, all i do is sit at the computer and look for natural solutions all day before it kills me, or before the pain drives me crazy! Hubby is threatening to shut off the internet:lac:

[Krakers]

Hi there - seems an awful lot of money for a kidney stone.

My brother has had 2 and they did some sort of ultrasound on him to hlm to break them up to pass them. He was in a lot of pain though, but once it came out (they were about 4 years apart) he was back at work in a few days.

My other halfs mum was admitted to Hospital 2 months back - she has gall stones, not kidney ones. They can be complicated and she has to have her gall bladder out at some point (waiting lists in the UK) and she's got quite a few.

One thing I only found out when she went in is that they don't show up on X-ray unless they're at least 8mm. So is 10mm that big ?

I'm not a doc, and it sounds like you need a docs advice here. I've no idea how big my brothers kidney stones were as he didn't know he had one the first time until he got to hospital. Second time it was just as painful but not as scary as he kinda guessed what was wrong.

I've done a lot of reading on gall stones and the pancreas as this is what my other halfs mum had, but sadly little on my brothers kidney stones as they were sorted quite quickly.

Have you had a second opinion ? It just seems an awful lot of money for something that my brothers doctors sorted easily without surgery.

Again, I'm not a doctor or medically qualified, but would it hurt to ask somewhere else ?

Krakers.

[NervousNellie]

Isn't healthcare in the US wonderful???

My only suggestions would be to try to get some health insurance. It's a lot cheaper than paying $36,000 for surgery!! I don't know what state you live in, but I'm in New York and since I own my own business, I have to pay for my own health insurance. I pay about $520 a month for my whole family through a state-mandated plan. Do you have any plans like that in your state? I really think the health insurance would be your best bet/cheapest option. If the doc says that you need to have surgery to get this stone removed, then I would do whatever I had to do to get that surgery!! Didn't they offer you the laser treatment - to break up the stone into smaller pieces so that you could pass them? That's what is usually recommended, but it seems that 10mm is pretty large, so maybe they would rather do the surgery than have you suffer with passing a whole bunch of little stones? I dunno....I don't know much about kidney stones other than the fact that my mom had them and passed them.

If I were you, I'd try to talk to my doc and see what insurance options are out there. You can contact your state department of health as well. But one recommendation is.....don't tell them that you need insurance because you have to have surgery. They may consider it a pre-existing condition and you'd have to wait a year before they'd cover it.

[panicagain]

Healtcare in the US SUCKS!
Now every time i have a symptom i think its from my kidneys:weep: :weep:
I've tried state help, I've tried insurance (not enough money),I've tried everything,,I had 3 opinions,
:weep: I'm PANICED:weep: My kidney's are gonna fail and i'm gonna die:weep:
That is all

[NervousNellie]

Well panic, you really need to do something about this. There has to be somewhere that you can either get insurance or get some help. What state are you in?

[panicagain]

Well panic, you really need to do something about this. There has to be somewhere that you can either get insurance or get some help. What state are you in?

I know i need to do something but i've been working on a solution for awhile now and can't figure anything.

I'm in Alabama:weep:

[Trish]

I'm a first class moaner when it comes to The National Health Service here in the UK but after reading your post Panic i won't be moaning again that's for sure:ohmy:

I'm so sorry for what your going through and i hope you will find a way to get the treatment you need.

:bighug1:

Trish x

[NervousNellie]

Hi Panic,

I really wish I could help you in some way. Unfortunately, I don't know anybody in Alabama (I have family all over the country). I was hoping that you would name a state where I knew somebody to see if they could do some research for you!

I've never heard of anybody dying from kidney stones, but I know that they could cause some problems. I just don't want you to get into a situation where you "need" to have surgery because it's become an emergency. Can you try contacting a local government office to see if there's anywhere that you can get help? I know that in New York, we have programs here for low income families and they can get health insurance for free or at a low cost, depending on their income levels.

There must be something that you can do....don't give up! Keep looking!

[panicagain]

Hi Panic,

I really wish I could help you in some way. Unfortunately, I don't know anybody in Alabama (I have family all over the country). I was hoping that you would name a state where I knew somebody to see if they could do some research for you!

I've never heard of anybody dying from kidney stones, but I know that they could cause some problems. I just don't want you to get into a situation where you "need" to have surgery because it's become an emergency. Can you try contacting a local government office to see if there's anywhere that you can get help? I know that in New York, we have programs here for low income families and they can get health insurance for free or at a low cost, depending on their income levels.

There must be something that you can do....don't give up! Keep looking!

The problem i'm having is, we (hubby and I) are right in the middle with our income, we make too much money to get assistance but not enough to get insurance or pay "out of pocket" for dr visits and surgery:weep:
Thanks For Trying though:hugs:

[lauren6]

Panic, they can cause a blockage and your urine can back up...you can't fool around with this. I have had them myself but they passed at home with a lot of water. However, I knew the size was 3 mm. from the cat scan so knew they could pass on their own. I also go through thinking that every twinge is from another stone. My dr. told me to drink 12 glasses of water a day and I try to remember but I don't. Your stone is large...these are my thoughts. You can get insurance very quickly. Try to get the money together for even one month and get to a urologist fast. Even if this means an individual plan, just for you. You can resolve this in a week, then if you need to drop the insurance, fine. I am wondering why your husband isn't covered on his job but that's another issue, really, you need to get this stone out of you and yes, it can cause permanent damage, you have already googled this so I'm not telling you anything new.

Start checking google for insurance plans, call around, make sure it's legitimate. I feel badly for you, please let us know what happens. By the way, there are NO natural solutions unless it's a uric acid kidney stone and you don't know that now as it hasn't been analyzed....and chances are it is not, most are calcium stones which cannot be dissolved despite the claims on the net from people trying to make money. They will tell you afterwards what type it is so you can reshape your future diet.

[NervousNellie]

Panic - I tend to agree with Lauren. Now knowing that she has experience with kidney stones and knows what can happen, you need to make the adjustments to get some health insurance! You don't want to end up in an emergency situation in the even that they can't fix the damage! Do what you have to do.....sell a car, take out a second mortgage, cancel your internet, cell phone....for crying out loud, whatever temporary fix is necessary to get at least a month or two of insurance!!! Health care is extremely expensive in New York State. If I can get a decent plan for around $500 a month, it should be much cheaper in Alabama. This is your health that you're talking about - you can't ignore it. At this point you don't really have a choice. Please think of yourself first. Material things don't mean anything if you don't have your health!

[panicagain]

Panic - I tend to agree with Lauren. Now knowing that she has experience with kidney stones and knows what can happen, you need to make the adjustments to get some health insurance! You don't want to end up in an emergency situation in the even that they can't fix the damage! Do what you have to do.....sell a car, take out a second mortgage, cancel your internet, cell phone....for crying out loud, whatever temporary fix is necessary to get at least a month or two of insurance!!! Health care is extremely expensive in New York State. If I can get a decent plan for around $500 a month, it should be much cheaper in Alabama. This is your health that you're talking about - you can't ignore it. At this point you don't really have a choice. Please think of yourself first. Material things don't mean anything if you don't have your health!

Thanks for trying to help. No i don't wanna end up in an emergency situation and an unfixable situation! Your response is kinda harsh don't ya think? I don't have a car to sell, Don't have a mortgage to take a 2nd out, don't have cell phone, and internet,,,lemme see, ok i'll cancel that for $30 extra a month and that'll get me where??? Plus if i didn't have the internet to go to in times when my panic is Worst i'd probably be in a corner curled up in a ball. I'm sorry, i'm not normally this annoyed but come on, your reaction leads me to believe that you think i have all these choices. You say think of myself first, well i can't do that when i have 2 kids that need food, we can't afford $500 a month cuz then we'd hafta figure out how to buy food for that month. I really did appreciate the encouragment until it got personal and harsh but thats where it went too far. Puts my anxiety into Super OverDrive for tonight! Thanks!

[LeeBee]

We're all just trying to help one another here. Nellie and Lauren are just worried about you, panic.

Like others, I'm so glad that I live in a country where healthcare is at least partly funded by the state. I'd rather pay a bit more in tax, knowing that the money will help people who need it, than pay less and let them suffer. The insurance companies in the US are dictating this so that they can make money. They should be ashamed of themselves. Perhaps the new president will do something about it.

Can you go to your primary healthcare provider for advice on this? Surely they can offer you some options if you say look, I have this kidney stone, it's got to come out before it turns into an emergency situation, this is my financial situation - what can I do?

You've probably already seen it but I found this:

http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/statespecificinformation/a/alabama.htm

There is in particular info about coverage if you have left a job that had insurance. I don't know if this will help but I really feel for you and wish you well.