Kidney Sones

[Shepp]

Anyone else out there battling these little hellspawn bastards?

[BadJeff]

Had a few friends tell me their stories, hope to never have to deal with that. Aren't they smashing them ultrasonically these days? Then again, what would be more fun, passing a bunch of shards or a small boulder?

[Shepp]

They may blast them, but it really depends on how big they are and where they are.

I was going to have mine blasted with lasers (sounds fictional, I know, but that's the Dr.'s words) on Thursday but unfortunately the tubes down from my kidneys are way too damned small for anything to get to the stones (yes, I have 2 on the same kidney, it must hate me). So now I have some stints in for a week to widen the tubes.

Next week the Doc will go in again and blast the stones with lasers.

I imagine it'll be a cross of the movie Innerspace and the game Asteroids. I'll be knocked out so I can imagine whatever I want.

[tripleb]

had them about 5 times over the past 10 years, I passed them all on my own (OUCH!!!). I wouldn't wish them on my worse enemy! they are by far the worse pain I have experinced in my life thus far!!!
good luck with the blastin' next week! everytime I discovered mine via X-Rays, they had move out of the kindey and into the ureters, which ment no blastin'!

[Shepp]

Mine don't show up on x-rays, which I'm told means that they aren't made up of calcium. They do show up on a CT scan though.


I've had kidney stones twice before, but they broke up and passed so there wasn't really anything to collect and analyze.

I'm hoping this time I can find out what they're made of and then figure out how to prevent them.


Its too bad we don't have those teleporters from Star Trek. I mean, they could just teleport the stones out.


I've never passed an actual stone before. The pain I've been with for most of this month is insane. And that is while being on heavy narcotics.

I don't suggest people get into heavy narcotics for any recreational purposes. That shit will mess you up.

[Scrapper6]

I don't have any and never have, but I may have Gall Stones. Ugh. I feel for your pain though man, I would never want to experience that in MY LIFE.

I might be geneticially safe though, I am unaware of my father ever having to deal with Kidney Stones, so with luck I won't face this dreaded problem.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

I don't have any and never have, but I may have Gall Stones. Ugh. I feel for your pain though man, I would never want to experience that in MY LIFE.

I might be geneticially safe though, I am unaware of my father ever having to deal with Kidney Stones, so with luck I won't face this dreaded problem.

It could also come from the mother's side. A couple of my uncles on that side of the family have dealt with kidney stones for a number of years.

[Phy]

Originally Posted by BadJeff

Had a few friends tell me their stories, hope to never have to deal with that. Aren't they smashing them ultrasonically these days? Then again, what would be more fun, passing a bunch of shards or a small boulder?

Probably the shards. Even if they are sharp, the original stone is an aggregation of crystals and is likely no less sharp. It's not like it forms smooth, like a pebble or anything. Plus, since it's bigger, it'll distend your urethra a lot more on the way out.

Incidentally, "lithotriptor" is one of my favorite words.

[CobraCommander]

Are they passed on through genetics or can they also form by diet?

[Shepp]

As far as I know, its mostly diet. So someone who doesn't have a family history of them at all can still get them if their diet is heavy in minerals like sodium and calcium, etc. Or if they drink a crapton of orange juice.

But if there's a family history, chances are your body is going to do the same thing to handle those minerals. So having a family history would probably predispose you to kidney stones. It wouldn't guarantee you would get them.


Now my case is pretty bad, since I've cut out an abundance of salt and calcium out of my diet for well over a year, since my first hospital visit on account of kidney stones. And yet I still got them. That is why I really want to know what these things are made of so I can more effectively reduce my risk.


I do plan on drinking plenty of lemonade from now on, since there's a chemical in lemon juice (not orange or grapefruit juice, usure about limes) that helps the body break up stones.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to break them up and pass the grit before they grow into bigger, less manageable stones.