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Medical Forum / General / General / May 2005kidney stones...alleviate my worries, please?
i'd like to ask a question or two, i guess because having passed a stone, i would like to hopefully alleviate some concerns. background..... i guess my concern stems from the fact that my mother died while in dialysis. thus,,,i have always associated kidney stones with life threatening health. i realize, now, that they can be, when left untreated, but i am coming to realize that stones in their most common form are left to the patient to treat, ie good nutrition and plenty of h2o. am i correct??? i tend to violate these rules, especially when it comes to hydration. my situation. i passed a stone 20 years ago, and thought it was a one time thing. the doctor at that time even alluded to this probabilty. it was about the size of a grain of sand, calcium oxilate, and i passed it while giving a urine sample. well, the same thing happened again few days ago, only this time i might have passed two, one large one,,, and i THINK one that passed or may still be in me. i believe i passed the second one because i haven't felt anything since that fateful day. having read a few things on the internet, i have come to think that maybe i have been passing quite a few stones since the first one some 20 years ago....i'd say about one or two every year. these occur with little consequence......i fell a tiny ache below my stomach that feels more like a concentrated arthritic pain. a little achy but doesn't hurt,,,i drink lots of water, and the ache goes away. i never feel them passing through the penile shaft. i used to feel a very discomforting ache in that lower region when i had to sit upright for long periods(like at the movies) this would be molified by me slouching and stretching out my body. while this discomfort is no longer pronounced, i still do feel "something" when i sit upright or lean a little forward. what complicates all these achy feelings is that i have an arthritic condition in the pelvic area that i self treat with cod liver oil and gluc/condroit tablets. i don't know whether these aches are stone related, arthritic related, or both. i'm posting so that someone here can quell my fear......ease my anxiety. i will be seeing my doctor(stone sample in hand), i'll ask for some kind of xray and urinalysis, other tests for any kidney disease possibility?? in the meantime, i am hydrating properly, cut out diet cola(i used to drink this stuff by the gallons), no more night shade foods, i am going to take calcium pills to balance my ph(or should i wait for test results first) thanks for hearing me out ps,,,can i take some kind of disolving medicine as a precaution(with no side effect) or MUST there be stones present for me to take this route. > i'd like to ask a question or two, i guess because having passed a > stone, i would like to hopefully alleviate some concerns. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > patient to treat, ie good nutrition and plenty of h2o. am i correct??? > i tend to violate these rules, especially when it comes to hydration. I think you really need to discuss this with a nephrologist or your regular doctor. Jeff > i'd like to ask a question or two, i guess because having passed a > stone, i would like to hopefully alleviate some concerns. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > patient to treat, ie good nutrition and plenty of h2o. am i correct??? > i tend to violate these rules, especially when it comes to hydration. I am not a doctor, but I am someone who passes kidney stones every 30-45 days and had one removed surgically about a week and a half ago. Most kidney stones are calcium oxalate or uric acid or a combination of both. Uric acid stones are somewhat easier to treat as there are a variety of drugs out there to counter the uric acid (Allopurinol, Poly Citra-K, etc). Calcium oxalate is another problem, as it's in just about everything, and diets limiting high oxalate foods don't always work. Sometimes, a diuretic called hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is given to help remove some of the excess calcium. Good hydration does help; even if stones do continue to form, it can help get them moving while they're still small. For some kinds of stones, drinking lemonade daily (for the citrate) is recommended As far as I know, there are a couple of ways to rell what kind of stones your body is forming; one is to take a stone to your doctor for analysis and another is a 24-hour 'stone panel' where urine is collected for 24 hours and then analyzed. A simple pH test can give a hint as to what is going on; a low pH (acidic urine) rules out certain kinds of rare stones. Your doctor will have lots more information about this. Stones *can* be life-threatening, but mostly, they just feel that way. Most of the stuff I've seen usually describes kidney pain as some of the most severe known to humans, and I can vouch for that! Most stones, though, are small enough to pass without problem. Signs that there might be a problem include: high fever, vomiting, and not being able to urinate. This being said, if you have any symptoms that cause you concern, don't trust some yahoo on the internet like me - go see your doctor as soon as possible. Don't mess around with your kidneys! In general, 'regular' kidney stones don't cause kidney failure. By regular, I mean uric aid and calcium oxalate stones. There are some very rare stones, called struvites, that can form stones called 'staghorns' that can cause hydronephrosis and even death. These are sometimes also called 'infection stones' as they are associated with urinary infections. So, yes, kidney stones can be very painful, but they're unlikely to be life-threatening or cause kidney failure. Be sure to talk to your urologist or internist about your concerns, and to have a stone panel done so you and your doctor can decide which, if any, stone-prevention measure is right for you. (And if you're wondering, I had one surgically removed because it was harboring bacteria that causing chronic kidney infections, which was causing some renal scarring. This sort of scarring can lead to kidney failure as well, but my case is not very usual.) PS: See your urologist/internist! And good luck!  Signature"Did Father shoot him? I will eat Grandfather for dinner." - Helen Keller, on learning of the death of her grandfather i'm seeing my doc next week, but in the meantime, i've been experiencing what i think are "nervous anxiety" over passing a stone for the second time. in fact, i think i'm going to cut the waiting short and just go in, give him a urine sample, ask for an appointment with a specialist, and get a catscan or something. i'm thinking all kinds of scenarios, but i think you've confirmed what i expect. i passed an calcium oxilate before and it's probably what i passed this time. interesting what you said about consuming oxilate foods because it is not what i gathered from reading. thanks again > i'm seeing my doc next week, but in the meantime, i've been > experiencing what i think are "nervous anxiety" over passing a stone > for the second time. That's certainly undertandable. I've passed so many I'm kinda used to it, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant. > in fact, i think i'm going to cut the waiting > short and just go in, give him a urine sample, ask for an appointment > with a specialist, and get a catscan or something. If your insurance doesn't cover CT scans, many stones (like CaOx stones) can be seen with a renal sonogram, which might be cheaper. If you're worried about your kidney function, be sure to talk to your doctor about that, too; a simple blood test can set your mind at ease about that. As for the sample, you'll probably be given a large container to collect 24 hours worth of 'sample' for your doctor. I call it the Howard Hughes Test. > i'm thinking all kinds of scenarios, but i think you've confirmed what > i expect. i passed an calcium oxilate before and it's probably what i > passed this time. interesting what you said about consuming oxilate > foods because it is not what i gathered from reading. Again, I'm not a doctor, just a person who passes LOTS of stones (uric acid and CaOx) and I've been told by my urologist, nephrologist and internist that there's not much that can be done to prevent CaOx stones, since it's in everything we eat. I can't take HCTZ, but I do take Lasix to help clear out the excess calcium, plus I'm on a calcium restriction (my stone panel found 200%+ of high normal urinary calcium, but oddly enough, CaOx was within normal limits). If your doctor determines that you're at risk of developing more stones, s/he will figure out a stone reduction plan that works for what's going on with you. Don't worry - but DO see your doctor! A stone can hurt enough that you might wish it would kill you, but odds are, it won't! Again, good luck, and I'm glad I could answer some questions for you. Signature"Did Father shoot him? I will eat Grandfather for dinner." - Helen Keller, on learning of the death of her grandfather |
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