Kidney Stones
- Thread starter BubbySoup
- Start date
Man of Honour
The joys of no NHS
Ive had a brutal kidney stone, got it finally solved last Monday and life is back to normal 
Basically, I got diagnosed with a kidney stone in September 2013. They said it was a 3mm stone, gave me some tamsulosin to widen the ureter and said it'd pass on its own. After 2 weeks the pain had gone, etc and i had my follow up appointment and they said "Well, if youve had no pain then it probably passed and you didnt realise it".
Cue Xmas/January 2014, i started vomiting and getting severe abdominal pain whilst travelling in Australia. Marking it up as a bug, it went on for 2 months until i went to see a gastroenterologist thinking it must've been an auto immune disease (my family had a long history of them), such as coeliacs, ulcerative collitis, etc. After multiple MRI's, endoscopy, colonscopy and biopsies, they ruled everything out - and yet i was still vomiting and having these crippling stomach pains (8/10 easily, they stopped you going out or even getting out of bed).
After everything gastro was ruled out, it was only then i started to think - perhaps this is STILL the same stone, horses and hooves etc. I went to the GP who i managed to somehow convince to refer me to a urologist again, which took 2 months to see - during which i had to endure the same problems. 11 months gone now, i saw the urologist who ran an MRI and confirmed the stone was still there, but could only book me in for the first appointment in mid-October, a 10 week wait!
I went private, and had an appointment late September for surgery for a flexible ureterscopy, to remove the stone. After waking up in agony (and i mean, 10/10 now), i found out that i have an extremely narrow ureter - "Narrowest ive seen in 5 years" the doctor said. This is why the stone wouldnt pass on its own. They couldnt get the scope up through the tube it was so narrow, so had to put a stent in to widen the ureter for a 2nd operation - something id never heard of , but DAMN does it hurt!
I had to suffer 3 weeks of having the stent in - combined with the kidney stone rattling around, which was agony. I finally had the stone removed, but they left a stent in for 3 weeks to allow my kidney to drain. In those 3 weeks where i only had a stent, i still had crippling pain and vomiting. It was only 10 days ago when i had the stent removed under local (i saw it all, jesus wept..) that all the pain just... left my body, in one fell swoop.
14 months of kidney stone pain, but it is fixed finally! Take my advice, get it seen asap because the longer you wait the worse it is. And drink water!
Basically, I got diagnosed with a kidney stone in September 2013. They said it was a 3mm stone, gave me some tamsulosin to widen the ureter and said it'd pass on its own. After 2 weeks the pain had gone, etc and i had my follow up appointment and they said "Well, if youve had no pain then it probably passed and you didnt realise it".
Cue Xmas/January 2014, i started vomiting and getting severe abdominal pain whilst travelling in Australia. Marking it up as a bug, it went on for 2 months until i went to see a gastroenterologist thinking it must've been an auto immune disease (my family had a long history of them), such as coeliacs, ulcerative collitis, etc. After multiple MRI's, endoscopy, colonscopy and biopsies, they ruled everything out - and yet i was still vomiting and having these crippling stomach pains (8/10 easily, they stopped you going out or even getting out of bed).
After everything gastro was ruled out, it was only then i started to think - perhaps this is STILL the same stone, horses and hooves etc. I went to the GP who i managed to somehow convince to refer me to a urologist again, which took 2 months to see - during which i had to endure the same problems. 11 months gone now, i saw the urologist who ran an MRI and confirmed the stone was still there, but could only book me in for the first appointment in mid-October, a 10 week wait!
I went private, and had an appointment late September for surgery for a flexible ureterscopy, to remove the stone. After waking up in agony (and i mean, 10/10 now), i found out that i have an extremely narrow ureter - "Narrowest ive seen in 5 years" the doctor said. This is why the stone wouldnt pass on its own. They couldnt get the scope up through the tube it was so narrow, so had to put a stent in to widen the ureter for a 2nd operation - something id never heard of , but DAMN does it hurt!
I had to suffer 3 weeks of having the stent in - combined with the kidney stone rattling around, which was agony. I finally had the stone removed, but they left a stent in for 3 weeks to allow my kidney to drain. In those 3 weeks where i only had a stent, i still had crippling pain and vomiting. It was only 10 days ago when i had the stent removed under local (i saw it all, jesus wept..) that all the pain just... left my body, in one fell swoop.
14 months of kidney stone pain, but it is fixed finally! Take my advice, get it seen asap because the longer you wait the worse it is. And drink water!
Soldato
Had a stone in my bile duct last night... ouch. Now they aren't allowed to give out tramadol I have to make do with codeine. In an eight hour episode it managed to mask the pain for three hours. Useless.
I've been clear of kidney stones for 9 years and then 8 weeks ago Bob appeared from nowhere - rushed into a & e and after 6 hours of trying to persuade them it was a stone they gave me a scan which showed Bob being a 9mm stone which is masive by all accounts - so they admit me and bounce me around the hospital and fit me with a nephrostomy tube which goes into your kidney from the side of your body, this is done under local and hurts like hell as they push a needle into the kidney and then thread a tube. I have this in me for 6 weeks until 2 weeks ago I manage to snag the tube and pull it out of the kidney ( felt like someone had used a cricket bat on my *****) so I'm admitted into hospital again and they put another nephrostomy tube and add a stent to make it more painful - lucky they have removed half of Bob using camera and laser last Wednesday and I should be back to have Bob fully nuked within the next two weeks.
Associate
I have had them a few times...luckily i have always passed them without knowing.
The pain while they are still there can be unbearable though!!
The pain while they are still there can be unbearable though!!
After last Wednesday treatment they stocked me up with a multitude of painkillers to get me through until I get completely sorted - the biggest issue I had was they couldn't give me anything for the pain when I first went through A & E so by the time they agreed it was a stone they gave me three doses of oral morphine which didn't take hold as I was burning through it so fast - it was the same when they did the second nephrostomy tube They gave me 3 shots of something that didn't control the pain and only when another chap came into the theatre he gave me a full dose of something that killed all the pain within seconds. It's a shame that the nurses were so damn attractive or I would have swarn like a trooper and then cried.
Well it looks like I was slightly confused as to what they did to me the other week and it looks like they completely nuked the stone and just left the stent in - I only find this out after going back into A & E yesterday with severe pain in my kidney and they mentioned that I'm scheduled to go in on the 29th dec for things to be finished. So a letter turns up today telling me to go to the central treatment suite at the local hospital which all seems fine until I check what they actually do there and it would appear that they are going to remove the stent under local anesthetic. I'm not really sure I can cope with seeing someone inserting something into my ***** and then watching them drag something out 
.
I guess my next stage is to try and speak to the consultant and DEMAND a general anesthetic.
. I guess my next stage is to try and speak to the consultant and DEMAND a general anesthetic.
Well it looks like I was slightly confused as to what they did to me the other week and it looks like they completely nuked the stone and just left the stent in - I only find this out after going back into A & E yesterday with severe pain in my kidney and they mentioned that I'm scheduled to go in on the 29th dec for things to be finished. So a letter turns up today telling me to go to the central treatment suite at the local hospital which all seems fine until I check what they actually do there and it would appear that they are going to remove the stent under local anesthetic. I'm not really sure I can cope with seeing someone inserting something into my ***** and then watching them drag something out
I guess my next stage is to try and speak to the consultant and DEMAND a general anesthetic.
I had a stent removed under "local". Which was an anaesthetic gel. Which really didn't do much at all.
The clunk you feel inside when they try and grab the stent with the little grippy claw is uncomfortable, the pain when they pull the stent out is excruciating but nothing compared to the pain of your next wee!
Hospitals don't like to use general if they dont have to because there is the risk of death you don't really get with local. Kidney stones are VERY painful though I can attest, I ended up in hopsital with excuciating pain that even tramadol could not fix!
Through each stage of treatment they have struggled in controlling the pain and even with the last General anesthhetic it felt like someone was sitting on my chest until I went under so the thought of having this last bit done by using some numbing gel has me feeling slightly worried that unless they smother me with the stuff it won't work.
The pain is relatively fleeting tbh. Hurts like hell when they are doing it but fades really quickly afterwards. The worst of it is right at the start when you look at the instrument they are about to use and think "There is no way something that big is going to fit down a tube that narrow!". But they make it fit...
Still makes my eyes water when thinking about it!
Associate
Good luck I had gallbladder stones for 2 years (thanks NHS for saying is was acid ) before having my bladder out. The pain was unbelievable
Stent update - finally got it removed yesterday and I must say it was one of the most weird operations I have had in that having seen the size of the camera and thinking there is no way on earth that thing will fit down there and then watching it on the to screen get pushed down and into my bladder plus the grabby thing going down and doing its thing ( shame they took two attempts. )
No real pain apart from a slight pulling sensation when the stent comes out of the kidney and a sudden urge to pass water (quickly)
Then after drinking a few pints of water I passed what I hope is the last part of the stone which was roughly 4mm in diameter.
So fingers crossed I'm all sorted
and thinking there is no way on earth that thing will fit down there and then watching it on the to screen get pushed down and into my bladder plus the grabby thing going down and doing its thing ( shame they took two attempts. ) No real pain apart from a slight pulling sensation when the stent comes out of the kidney and a sudden urge to pass water (quickly)
Then after drinking a few pints of water I passed what I hope is the last part of the stone which was roughly 4mm in diameter.
So fingers crossed I'm all sorted
Associate
My mate had his chicken stolen by a cat when he was passing a kidney stone hahaha
Had a kidney infection years ago if that counts, agony like nothing else, sweating gallons, head pounding like a 10x migraine, insides absolutely in agony and pretty much same as rest of body. Had to count to 10 for something to focus on to try and comfort my mind. Every second was a nightmare.
Soldato
I *think* I had these myself - about three years ago I awoke one night feeling the need to [ahem] sit down - that proved uneventful, but the feeling I had in my lower abdomen spread slowly but surely from the back left side, through my stomach and to the right - kidney to kidney I believe.
I was literally doubled over in pain, and couldn't stand, my Wife found me and rushed me to A&E - being a Saturday night in Bristol, it was full of drunks and me moaning about the pain.
I was dosed up with morphine after seeing the Locum doctor and had a two the three hour stint of this until the pain settled down - I was prescribed anti-inflammatory tablets and sent on my way; the case being recorded as 'Undiagnosed Abdominal Pain'.
Since then, I've had this same bout of pain 5-6 more times over the years, each time it eventually settles after a few hours - either with or without painkillers.
A couple of months back I had another 'attack' and went to the loo - during the flow it was as if someone had turned a tap off - though it still felt like I was still going... I then hear a clink in the bowl and literally 60% of the pain went immediately! And the flow carried on.
I had the same about 30 minutes later, and all pain went away - though my "wee pipe" was sore has hell!
I'm guessing that I must have passed something along the lines of stones, and touch wood, I won't be getting them again...
I was literally doubled over in pain, and couldn't stand, my Wife found me and rushed me to A&E - being a Saturday night in Bristol, it was full of drunks and me moaning about the pain.
I was dosed up with morphine after seeing the Locum doctor and had a two the three hour stint of this until the pain settled down - I was prescribed anti-inflammatory tablets and sent on my way; the case being recorded as 'Undiagnosed Abdominal Pain'.
Since then, I've had this same bout of pain 5-6 more times over the years, each time it eventually settles after a few hours - either with or without painkillers.
A couple of months back I had another 'attack' and went to the loo - during the flow it was as if someone had turned a tap off - though it still felt like I was still going... I then hear a clink in the bowl and literally 60% of the pain went immediately! And the flow carried on.
I had the same about 30 minutes later, and all pain went away - though my "wee pipe"
was sore has hell!I'm guessing that I must have passed something along the lines of stones, and touch wood, I won't be getting them again...
Can anyone shed any light on my symptoms please and if it sounds like stones?
Had kidney pain both sides through the night a month back felt terrible. Went to Gp and told there's blood in urine although not visible. Given antibiotics felt better after a week on them.
Back to normal for 5 days after then the same symptoms come on me in work. The colour drained from me. Felt sick and had kidney pain/back/groun pain. Given more antibiotics and told there's still some blood in urine showing on there test. Took the different antibiotics which where crap and 5 days later in pain again all night with same symptoms and sweating loads. Told to try different antibiotics which I've been on for few days.
Doctor said recurrent infections in a young male normally = stones. Been off work now for over a week just drinking lots of water feeling like crap.
Had blood test today and got to wait for ultrasound appointment possible long wait for that.
Did any of u guys have symptoms or infections like this with kidney stones? There telling me it looks like that but don't know till I get tests done.
Had kidney pain both sides through the night a month back felt terrible. Went to Gp and told there's blood in urine although not visible. Given antibiotics felt better after a week on them.
Back to normal for 5 days after then the same symptoms come on me in work. The colour drained from me. Felt sick and had kidney pain/back/groun pain. Given more antibiotics and told there's still some blood in urine showing on there test. Took the different antibiotics which where crap and 5 days later in pain again all night with same symptoms and sweating loads. Told to try different antibiotics which I've been on for few days.
Doctor said recurrent infections in a young male normally = stones. Been off work now for over a week just drinking lots of water feeling like crap.
Had blood test today and got to wait for ultrasound appointment possible long wait for that.
Did any of u guys have symptoms or infections like this with kidney stones? There telling me it looks like that but don't know till I get tests done.
Associate
I've been to A&E 3 times with Kidney stones but nothing like what you're describing.
With me it was just suddenly the worst pain I've felt in my life coming from my back around the kidney area and coming in waves, vomiting and a fever, got admitted, given morphine which did nothing to help and that drug which apparently widens the urinary tract and over the course of the night the pain slowly moved around my side, into my groin then eventually the next day the sense of relief as it "popped" out.
You could have a big one that's stuck, my old man had one that they had to "Blast", lipotripsy I think, to break it up so it would pass.
With me it was just suddenly the worst pain I've felt in my life coming from my back around the kidney area and coming in waves, vomiting and a fever, got admitted, given morphine which did nothing to help and that drug which apparently widens the urinary tract and over the course of the night the pain slowly moved around my side, into my groin then eventually the next day the sense of relief as it "popped" out.
You could have a big one that's stuck, my old man had one that they had to "Blast", lipotripsy I think, to break it up so it would pass.
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