Kidney Stones

Just wondering if anyone else has ever had one?

Last Sat am whilst in Spain I was sick several times and got stabbing pains on my right hand side (of course we panicked it might be appendicitis!) and ended up going to Marbella hospital. My urine and blood tests were completely normal and so the doctor's diagnosed that I had a small kidney stone. They prescribed some medication (it's in Spanish so I don't know what it is!) that I need to take every 8hours for a minimum of 2days and a maximum of a week and that I must make sure I drink at least 2litres of fluid a day.

Just wondering what treatment other people have had for Kidney Stones and whether it would have differed had I been diagnosed in the UK. Also how long did it take for you to feel compeltely better? I no longer feel sick nor do I have stabbing pains but occaisionally I do feel sort of bloated and have slight pain in my stomach.

Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

Rebel87

I just recently had surgery to to remove a kidney stone, but it's kind of different because my kidney was basically full of it and it formed because of a genetic disorder I have (cystinurea).

Treatment in this country varies widely which is the main reason for my post - it's worth pushing until you get to see someone who understand/knows about kidney stones (normally the renal/urology dept. I think). After I left the "child" catagory, one hospital set me free to manage my problem for myself with no monitoring or suchlike, the hospital I ended up in to have surgery were far from impressed as I should have been referred to the adult section there. I guess it's kind of typical of hospitals in general though, the don't seem very choreographed or aware and always need a prod to get them to do what you want.

Are back in the UK now? Have you been to hospital for any scans, etc? (ultrasound or x-ray are used normally to see if you have any stone formation) I don't know your situation, but ideally you don't just want to assume it has gone away, I personally only had discomfort when my stone was really bad so don't use how you feel as a definitive guide.

As for the medication, I don't know, could it be something to make the fluids in the kidney more acid/alkali in the hope that it will breakdown a stone? That's all I can think of. I always thought lithotripsy was the most common treatment, but I'm not massively aware tbh.

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/Kidney_stones.html - is worth a read, enough info to be interesting, but not to scare you to death, lol... in a way I'm lucky - despite having cystinurea management/control is relatively simple (just a matter of drinking enough and consistently to prevent formation - around 4litres a day spread evenly atm).

Hope you're well :smile:

Reply 2

Hoofbeat

OP

14

Hiya, thanks for all the information. :smile:

Yeah I'm back in the UK and still taking the medication, although have felt completely fine all day. No longer having nausea feeling in stomach and eating as usual (too much!). The medication is tablet form and I'm guessing will help it dissolve (that's what the doctor told me). I think I'll keep an eye on how i'm feeling and if I have any pain next week then I'll definitely go to a hospital and get it checked out.

Reply 3

arowe16

Sorry i know this isn't answering your question but wow a kidney stone. Apparently along with pregnancy and a hernier its the most painful feeling you can have according to doctors i this vaguely true (sorry your probably havent been pregnant etc but was it worse than anything you'v had before?) also just out of curiosity how do these kind of things form-- is it only genetic or is it to do with what you eat etc???

Reply 4

check_me

Hoofbeat

Just wondering if anyone else has ever had one?

Last Sat am whilst in Spain I was sick several times and got stabbing pains on my right hand side (of course we panicked it might be appendicitis!) and ended up going to Marbella hospital. My urine and blood tests were completely normal and so the doctor's diagnosed that I had a small kidney stone. They prescribed some medication (it's in Spanish so I don't know what it is!) that I need to take every 8hours for a minimum of 2days and a maximum of a week and that I must make sure I drink at least 2litres of fluid a day.

Just wondering what treatment other people have had for Kidney Stones and whether it would have differed had I been diagnosed in the UK. Also how long did it take for you to feel compeltely better? I no longer feel sick nor do I have stabbing pains but occaisionally I do feel sort of bloated and have slight pain in my stomach.

Thanks :smile:

Hi.

My dad had had this a few years ago. He said the pain was really horrible and was put in hospital for a few days because of it.

That's all I can tell you. :smile:

Reply 5

The_Spod

For men it is more painful than childbirth apparently

Reply 6

Hoofbeat

OP

14

Yeah it was incredibly painful (haven't been pregnant but it certainly was the worst pain I've ever had)! I thought I had appendicitis and so did my mate who's house I was staying at. He'd had his appendix removed when he was younger and appreciated how much agony I was in and it was thanks to him and his family that I went to hospital! I believe that the stones are when calcium deposits build up...don't know why that happened to me...I was in Spain and had been drinking large amounts of Mineral Water (water supply not safe) and don't know whether it was the minerals in that that caused it or what...my nan has had them before but I don't believe they're hereditry (sp?). Luckily I feel absolutely fine now! Thanks for your concern!

Reply 7

Gexko

2

The_Spod

For men it is more painful than childbirth apparently

i think thats when you pass them out through the urethra :smile:

Reply 8

Fluffy

15

Hoofbeat

Hiya, thanks for all the information. :smile:

Yeah I'm back in the UK and still taking the medication, although have felt completely fine all day. No longer having nausea feeling in stomach and eating as usual (too much!). The medication is tablet form and I'm guessing will help it dissolve (that's what the doctor told me). I think I'll keep an eye on how i'm feeling and if I have any pain next week then I'll definitely go to a hospital and get it checked out.