Kidney stones

[decca]

Has anyone had treatment for kidney stones ?
Decca.

[ksmith]

Hi,

Yes, I've had kidney stones twice and they have given me anti biotics and an anti-inflammatory. Also really strong painkillers (some in the form of supository). I am really not convinced the doctor knew whether they were stones or a kidney infection. Apparently, in the main, people just pass them (they can be as small as a grain of sand). I also got sent for a scan which was inconclusive as they think if it was a stone I may have already pased it.

I now drink lots of cranberry juice and drink loads of water which seems to help.

kay

[decca]

Thanks for your reply Kay,
Did they refer you to the Urology clinic ? What sort of scan did you have ?
was it an ultrasound or CT scan , did they use any dye ?
I've had two episodes now both of which resolved themselves,but I didn't feel anything pass through , I'm also drinking loads of water to try and prevent any more forming.
I've been referred to urology and waiting for the appointment, Dr says they'll also do some scans and tests,it's all making me very anxious.
Decca.

[ksmith]

I had an ultrasound scan. Had to drink loads of water to get a full bladder for some reason. Also got sent for an X ray of the stomach. The second episode I had lasted ages. Pain was with me for about 3 months but moved to front of flank from back. I didn't feel anything pass either but perhaps if a stone can be likened to a grain of sand, then you wouldn't necessarily feel it. Easier said than done, but try to keep calm and positive!

Kay

[ChristopherJ]

I went to A&E with a very severe pain in my side. I was almost literally screaming in pain - it was that bad. They injected me with a dye and took X Rays to check if it was a kidney stone (in the meantime refusing to give me any painkillers). Once they had the X Rays and knew it was a kidney stone, they admitted me to a ward, gave me painkiller injections and made me drink a litre of water every hour (you try it!) to flush it out. They filtered my urine to catch the culprit - just so that they would know when/if I had passed it out. It came out overnight. When they showed it to me, it was just like a grain of sand - say 1 to 1.5mm across. Problem was it had lodged in the tube coming out of my kidney. That meant that the urine couldn't drain out properly - and that meant PAIN!

I don't know what causes them - or what we can do to try and prevent them forming.

[decca]

Hi Kay & ChristopherJ,Thanks for your replies.
They reckon it's the worst pain anyone can experience,I passed out in the bathroom it was so bad, Emergency Dr came and gave me supositories which helped,my own Dr came later in the day and said that as it was the second attack he would refer me to Urology clinic and arrange an X-Ray, I'm still waiting to hear about both, apparently the Urology clinic have a backlog and are setting up extra clinics.
The bit that's worrying me is that I have multiple allergies,nuts,eggs fish etc. and I've read that it can cause a severe reaction to the dye they use for X-Rays to diagnose kidney stones , I think it's called IVP.
I'm just hoping that they'll do an ordinary X-Ray or ultrasound that will not involve using the dye.
Decca.

[girl26]

Hi Decca,

I recently had a problem with a kidney stone. In fact I had the problem 2 years ago, when one day I got very sharp pain out of the blue and the doctors made ultrasound and said that it is a kidney stone. That time they just gave me painkillers and advised me to drink more water/tea. Then I was symphtom free for 2 years but still having the stone. Recently I got blod in my urina lasting for a few days and went to check. The doctors said that I have kidney infection, made an ultrasound and said that it is because of the stone and gave me antibiotics for the infection. 2 days later I got very bad pain. The stone was 6mm big and the doctors decided that they should get it removed. Beside the ultrasound they made 2 CT scans before and after the removal. They removed it with Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL), I had complete anestesia and after that I had not even little pain. So don't worry. They do this every day.
Honestly as an anxiety struggler all the time I was affraid about my heart.
If you need some more information fell free to message me.
All the best.

[decca]

Thanks girl26 for your reply,
Sounds like you've really been through it, that's a faily large stone isn't it.
I'm not worried about having ultrasound scans or plain x-rays, it's just the dye I'm worried about because of all my allergies and any reaction I might get from it. I know I'd be in the best place to deal with any adverse reaction but I'd rather not take the chance on it in the first place, so I'm hoping they'll just do Ultrasound scans or even CT scan would be OK if they don't use a dye .
Decca.

[Alisonj]

I have one in my left kidney but its been there for years so I am hoping it just stays put!

[decca]

Oh yes, Have they offered to break it up or remove it for you ?
Decca.