Discussion
wobert said:
Sorry to hear of anyone suffering kidney stones, they are an absolute bugger, and as my consultant pointed out, once you've had them, you are predisposed to them recurring until you meet your maker.....
This is my account of kidney stones from 2015.....
"Up to the 23rd June I was cycling c75 miles a week.
On the 24th June I started getting kidney pain during the morning, by lunchtime I was vomiting and the pain was getting worse. My next door neighbour who is a practising nurse thought it was appendicitis, and ran me to A&E.
I was wheeled in, in a wheelchair as I was unable to walk. More vomiting, and I had a diagnosis of a water infection and was prescribed anti biotics and Co-codamol.
The pain never went away, constant 24/7, it affected my appetite and I didn't eat for 9 days. I lost 8 kg in this time.
After a week I revisited my GP who decided it was a kidney stone and arranged a CT scan.
The following week the pain disapated, and my appetite returned, fortunately as I was then away for a week after in Ibiza.
I had my CT scan on my return and the GP called me to inform me I had an 11mm stone lodged in my ureter (the tube that links the kidney to the bladder).
The consultant Urologist called me the following evening an stated it needed urgent treatment due to the risk to my kidney function. I was booked into his clinic the following Monday, where I was told I would need two operations to resolve the issue.
Two days later I went in to have a stent fitted under GA, and told not to lift anything heavy or do any exercise.
Six weeks later I returned to have the stone blasted with a laser and this time to have a temporary threaded stent fitted again under GA.
They access the kidney from the normal route out, there are some rather unpleasant side effects with the surgery, peeing rose wine is the least worst side effect!
Three days later the temporary stent was removed, a gentle pull on the thread by the nurse pulled a foot long length of tube from my gentlemen's sausage."
In December I had my follow up appointment to determine the stone composition. It was calcium based meaning I don't drink enough. Consultant advised drinking 3l of liquid a day, easier said than done when you spend your life travelling....
Once you've had them, your predisposition to them recurring is raised by 50%. The doctor mentioned it was likely he see me again at least twice before he retires......great!
Anyone who suffers them has my full sympathy."
I too suffered constipation from the co-codamol, utter bunged up and felt I was going to explode......As with other Ducolax was my friend, although the the toilet resembled the scene from a World War One mortar hit afterwards.....
Various suppositories...check. I too am ashamed of what I did to the hospital toilet after two of those and a dose of lactulose (this after a week of constipation after the first op).This is my account of kidney stones from 2015.....
"Up to the 23rd June I was cycling c75 miles a week.
On the 24th June I started getting kidney pain during the morning, by lunchtime I was vomiting and the pain was getting worse. My next door neighbour who is a practising nurse thought it was appendicitis, and ran me to A&E.
I was wheeled in, in a wheelchair as I was unable to walk. More vomiting, and I had a diagnosis of a water infection and was prescribed anti biotics and Co-codamol.
The pain never went away, constant 24/7, it affected my appetite and I didn't eat for 9 days. I lost 8 kg in this time.
After a week I revisited my GP who decided it was a kidney stone and arranged a CT scan.
The following week the pain disapated, and my appetite returned, fortunately as I was then away for a week after in Ibiza.
I had my CT scan on my return and the GP called me to inform me I had an 11mm stone lodged in my ureter (the tube that links the kidney to the bladder).
The consultant Urologist called me the following evening an stated it needed urgent treatment due to the risk to my kidney function. I was booked into his clinic the following Monday, where I was told I would need two operations to resolve the issue.
Two days later I went in to have a stent fitted under GA, and told not to lift anything heavy or do any exercise.
Six weeks later I returned to have the stone blasted with a laser and this time to have a temporary threaded stent fitted again under GA.
They access the kidney from the normal route out, there are some rather unpleasant side effects with the surgery, peeing rose wine is the least worst side effect!
Three days later the temporary stent was removed, a gentle pull on the thread by the nurse pulled a foot long length of tube from my gentlemen's sausage."
In December I had my follow up appointment to determine the stone composition. It was calcium based meaning I don't drink enough. Consultant advised drinking 3l of liquid a day, easier said than done when you spend your life travelling....
Once you've had them, your predisposition to them recurring is raised by 50%. The doctor mentioned it was likely he see me again at least twice before he retires......great!
Anyone who suffers them has my full sympathy."
I too suffered constipation from the co-codamol, utter bunged up and felt I was going to explode......As with other Ducolax was my friend, although the the toilet resembled the scene from a World War One mortar hit afterwards.....
(the morphine version was the only thing that got me through the first trip to A&E).
Pissing red wine afer the first laser treatment...check.
Pissing other weird stuff during kidney failure (stage 3 AKI)...check
Strong medication and walking around the hospital with a drip and a urine bag...check. BTW, having catheters, and especially having them removed is NOT fun. The stub on the pipe is for them to inflate and deflate a bulb on the bladder end to hold it in place...and believe me, when they remove it, I'm sure they sometimes don't fully deflate...
Final stent removal yesterday...check.
So much for a "day case"!
Might seem strange to have taken pictures, but when you're in hospital it gets very boring/disorientating/strange, especially if they put you in a side room. Strange like...talking to people outside the main entrance who are in a dressing gown, on a drip, using a nebuliser AND smoking! Another example, before admission, I hated Gordon Ramsey, but during the week I watched very episode of Kitchen Nightmares on my phone, and now quite like him. No idea where that randomness came from, must have been the medication. It's all very odd.
The NHS sometimes gets a hard time in the news, but the staff at the hospital were absolutely fantastic, from the consultants to the cleaners.
Anyway, I don't want to tempt fate here, but since the stones are gone, and the last stent (and associated discomfort/pain/constant wanting to piss) was removed yesterday, I've not felt so well in years. I had another issue with undiagnosed groin pain for the past 4 years which has now gone. Looking back, a whole load of symptoms and associated GP visits were probably caused by these stones forming. I *thought* I could see a change in urine colour a year or so ago...and had two supposed UTI's. It seems common for a GP to mis-diagnose stones as an infection. Even when I went to the GP the afternoon before the A&E visit, she said it was just an infection, despite nothing showing in a urine sample, and the sample looking like Coca Cola. I wish I'd insisted on a CT scan four years ago with the groin issue, insted of messing about with pointless physios and the like - I knew it wasn't a physio thing, but they insisted it was.
Moral of the story - drink lots of water folks!
wobert said:
The one equaliser in hospital is you can always find somebody worse off than yourself....
My "Edward Woodward" was a guy I got chatting to pre-op the second time around, kidney cancer and a bladder stone....the size of a satsuma apparently.....
Very true. Some great folks in there.My "Edward Woodward" was a guy I got chatting to pre-op the second time around, kidney cancer and a bladder stone....the size of a satsuma apparently.....
Piginapoke said:
Jesus. Get well soon dr_gn.
Are you kidneys now working?
Thanks! Yes, everything back to normal now - in fact better than normal (thouch wood).Are you kidneys now working?
As I mentioned, I think the stones had been forming and causing problems for a long time, maybe even years.
I'll be having checks every few months for a while to make sure they catch any new stones before they get out of hand.
Vantagemech said:
The recurrence is unfortunately true - 20 years between for me. I remembered the pain from the first time (and a subsequent reaction to an eye medicine incorrectly prescribed - always tell medical staff youve had kidney stones as the junior doc didnt read my notes and gave me medication that caused such pain only 2 shots of morphine would sort it) and told the doctor which sped things up. Its bizzare that stones can be so difficult to diagnose.
My symptoms were
constant feeling to urinate, passing perhaps an egg cup of pee then relaxing, followed by the same 10 mins later.
throbbing pain from left side to groin area and tingling pins an needles down the inside of my legs.
Urine test showed blood in the urine but again I never noticed any change in colour.
I dont drink enough water by far, having been in motorsport 20 years you dont get to stop and think I need a drink! I now take a 1ltr bottle of cordial with me to work and drink a large glass of water with breakfast and 2 more with my evening meal. Sadly by the time Ive drank that water the urge for a cold beer disappears...
I think the blood in urine not showing visually is because it could be white blood cells they found (or of course a very low concentration of red)?My symptoms were
constant feeling to urinate, passing perhaps an egg cup of pee then relaxing, followed by the same 10 mins later.
throbbing pain from left side to groin area and tingling pins an needles down the inside of my legs.
Urine test showed blood in the urine but again I never noticed any change in colour.
I dont drink enough water by far, having been in motorsport 20 years you dont get to stop and think I need a drink! I now take a 1ltr bottle of cordial with me to work and drink a large glass of water with breakfast and 2 more with my evening meal. Sadly by the time Ive drank that water the urge for a cold beer disappears...
kwaka jack said:
Well I've just found this thread and wished I hadn't now. I'm now a member of the stones club. I got sent in from offshore Friday morning after waking the medic up at 2am with the worst pain I have ever experienced. Entonox didn't touch the sides and after consulting the on shore doctor I got a shot of morphine. CT scan relieved 2 stones, one 3mm the other 5mm. The larger one was making its way down to my bladder while the smaller one was still in my right kidney. Got sent home with pain killers and I'm currently on day 5 getting VERY bored.
Same score of some of the other posts. Completely lost all appetite, constipated, feeling very uncomfortable, go from boiling hot to freezing cold in seconds then back the other way. I'm now getting a massive burning pain when I wee which from what I understand mean the stones are now in my bladder. This morning I inquired in to how much a private clinic would charge to zap the little f
kers.....4 GRAND!!!!!
Haven't they put you on the NHS waiting list to get them sorted?Same score of some of the other posts. Completely lost all appetite, constipated, feeling very uncomfortable, go from boiling hot to freezing cold in seconds then back the other way. I'm now getting a massive burning pain when I wee which from what I understand mean the stones are now in my bladder. This morning I inquired in to how much a private clinic would charge to zap the little f
kers.....4 GRAND!!!!! FiF said:
Besides the painkillers you should have been prescribed drugs to dilate the ureter to assist passage. These make you about 1.5 times more likely to pass the stone without further intervention.
They didn't give me those until I'd been to have the first one removed, and was waiting for the second.IIRC the side effects weren't nice - very light-headed, couldn't really drive.
ETA, after being given the all-clear (x-ray) in November, I passed two stones last month...previously I didn't pass any of the stones and had to have the op. They sent me for CT-scan and apparently this time there really are no stones left.
Not sure if the drugs (or the op) opened some tubes up making them easier to pass or what.
Edited by dr_gn on Wednesday 4th April 12:35
wobert said:
wobert said:
Sorry to hear of anyone suffering kidney stones, they are an absolute bugger, and as my consultant pointed out, once you've had them, you are predisposed to them recurring until you meet your maker.....
This is my account of kidney stones from 2015.....
"Up to the 23rd June I was cycling c75 miles a week.
On the 24th June I started getting kidney pain during the morning, by lunchtime I was vomiting and the pain was getting worse. My next door neighbour who is a practising nurse thought it was appendicitis, and ran me to A&E.
I was wheeled in, in a wheelchair as I was unable to walk. More vomiting, and I had a diagnosis of a water infection and was prescribed anti biotics and Co-codamol.
The pain never went away, constant 24/7, it affected my appetite and I didn't eat for 9 days. I lost 8 kg in this time.
After a week I revisited my GP who decided it was a kidney stone and arranged a CT scan.
The following week the pain disapated, and my appetite returned, fortunately as I was then away for a week after in Ibiza.
I had my CT scan on my return and the GP called me to inform me I had an 11mm stone lodged in my ureter (the tube that links the kidney to the bladder).
The consultant Urologist called me the following evening an stated it needed urgent treatment due to the risk to my kidney function. I was booked into his clinic the following Monday, where I was told I would need two operations to resolve the issue.
Two days later I went in to have a stent fitted under GA, and told not to lift anything heavy or do any exercise.
Six weeks later I returned to have the stone blasted with a laser and this time to have a temporary threaded stent fitted again under GA.
They access the kidney from the normal route out, there are some rather unpleasant side effects with the surgery, peeing rose wine is the least worst side effect!
Three days later the temporary stent was removed, a gentle pull on the thread by the nurse pulled a foot long length of tube from my gentlemen's sausage."
In December I had my follow up appointment to determine the stone composition. It was calcium based meaning I don't drink enough. Consultant advised drinking 3l of liquid a day, easier said than done when you spend your life travelling....
Once you've had them, your predisposition to them recurring is raised by 50%. The doctor mentioned it was likely he see me again at least twice before he retires......great!
Anyone who suffers them has my full sympathy."
I too suffered constipation from the co-codamol, utter bunged up and felt I was going to explode......As with other Ducolax was my friend, although the the toilet resembled the scene from a World War One mortar hit afterwards.....
Thread update.This is my account of kidney stones from 2015.....
"Up to the 23rd June I was cycling c75 miles a week.
On the 24th June I started getting kidney pain during the morning, by lunchtime I was vomiting and the pain was getting worse. My next door neighbour who is a practising nurse thought it was appendicitis, and ran me to A&E.
I was wheeled in, in a wheelchair as I was unable to walk. More vomiting, and I had a diagnosis of a water infection and was prescribed anti biotics and Co-codamol.
The pain never went away, constant 24/7, it affected my appetite and I didn't eat for 9 days. I lost 8 kg in this time.
After a week I revisited my GP who decided it was a kidney stone and arranged a CT scan.
The following week the pain disapated, and my appetite returned, fortunately as I was then away for a week after in Ibiza.
I had my CT scan on my return and the GP called me to inform me I had an 11mm stone lodged in my ureter (the tube that links the kidney to the bladder).
The consultant Urologist called me the following evening an stated it needed urgent treatment due to the risk to my kidney function. I was booked into his clinic the following Monday, where I was told I would need two operations to resolve the issue.
Two days later I went in to have a stent fitted under GA, and told not to lift anything heavy or do any exercise.
Six weeks later I returned to have the stone blasted with a laser and this time to have a temporary threaded stent fitted again under GA.
They access the kidney from the normal route out, there are some rather unpleasant side effects with the surgery, peeing rose wine is the least worst side effect!
Three days later the temporary stent was removed, a gentle pull on the thread by the nurse pulled a foot long length of tube from my gentlemen's sausage."
In December I had my follow up appointment to determine the stone composition. It was calcium based meaning I don't drink enough. Consultant advised drinking 3l of liquid a day, easier said than done when you spend your life travelling....
Once you've had them, your predisposition to them recurring is raised by 50%. The doctor mentioned it was likely he see me again at least twice before he retires......great!
Anyone who suffers them has my full sympathy."
I too suffered constipation from the co-codamol, utter bunged up and felt I was going to explode......As with other Ducolax was my friend, although the the toilet resembled the scene from a World War One mortar hit afterwards.....
Currently sat in A&E waiting to be admitted for another stone, this time only 8mm.
Surgery in the morning, oh joy.
I have the words of my consultant ringing in my ears regarding drinking 3 litres of water a day...
It's just Ultrasound, but better than nothing.
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