MetaChat - Kidney Stone Update

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15 February 2008

Kidney Stone Update - CT scan was positive for a kidney stone in my left kidney. It's about 6mm by 3mm. Surprise, surprise - there's a 1mm kidney stone in my right kidney. Wheeeee!
→[More:]Had an appointment with a(n?) urologist today. He gave me a prescription for something that will make me pee a lot (Flomax, normally for men with enlarged prostates, yikes).

If the stone is still there and it passes over the weekend - yay. If it's still there and it doesn't pass over the weekend and I don't have to go to ER for pain relief (or other symptoms - fever, vomiting, etc.), I'll have another CT scan on Monday and see if it's still there. If it is still there I'll be admitted to the hospital Monday afternoon/evening and have surgery sometime after that. If the stone is still there and causes me lots of pain (that Tylenol 3 can't handle and/or fever, vomiting, etc.) over the weekend I'm to go directly to the ER, do not pass go, do not collect $100. ER will most likely admit me and the urologist will do surgery on Monday.

Urologist said that the stone is too big to pass on it's own unless it has broken up and already passed. This is not likely to have happened. We're not worrying about the other stone at this time. It's small enough to not cause pain and the extra urination may induce it to leave. *crosses fingers*

The odd thing in all of this is - not one medical professional has mentioned that it might do me good to drink more water.

post by: deborah at: 19:13 | 21 comments

Good grief, you hit the kidney stone jackpot! Arrgh. Hang in there, deborah! Good luck!

*hugs gingerly*

posted by BoringPostcards 15 February | 19:15

Wow.

(IF any bunnies out there ever take topamax for anything, please drink a ton of water as it makes stones more likely-a family member had to deal with that and it was no fun.)

So if the stone is so big, too big to pass, why are they making you try to pee it out anyway? OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!!!!!!!

posted by bunnyfire 15 February | 19:17

OW indeed. I hope things work out in an non painful way. Fingers crossed.

posted by arse_hat 15 February | 19:25

Yipe! Good luck with all that.

posted by bmarkey 15 February | 19:29

deborah, Ouch! I hope they won't cause you any pain before the surgery/lithotripsy!

posted by LoriFLA 15 February | 19:34

Eeeek. Good luck, deborah!

posted by chewatadistance 15 February | 19:38

From a fellow sufferer, best of luck and big sympathies. If the surgery is the orthroscopic kind I had it's really no big deal, and less painful than passing one, trust me. Either way, best of luck.

posted by jonmc 15 February | 20:02

Here's hoping it breaks up on it's own and passes, but either way - I hope you have no pain and it's over and done quickly. Hugs!

posted by redvixen 15 February | 20:05

Ouch and double ouch. Sorry for your troubles, deborah... hope you feel better soon.

posted by Pips 15 February | 20:07

Best wishes to you, dear bunny! I'll send good thoughts.

posted by Specklet 15 February | 20:11

That sucks. I hope it gets out soon.

posted by sperose 15 February | 20:58

OYSH! Easy does it, D. We're all thinking of you.

posted by MonkeyButter 15 February | 21:50

Have they talked about bombarding them with ultrasound to break them up?

The silver lining, if such exists, is that you do not have a penis in the way.

*hug*

I hope it goes as well as it can.

posted by danf 15 February | 23:05

My brother swears he flushed his out by eating a watermelon. Who knows?

posted by Pips 15 February | 23:35

My roommate's dad had kidney stones recently and they busted them up with the ultrasound. Seemed to work rather well.

posted by CitrusFreak12 16 February | 00:04

Yrrr, deborah! *sends healing thoughts*

posted by brujita 16 February | 03:18

Breaking them up ultrasonically can cause kidney damage and diabetes later in life, fyi.

I had my first last year. I remember being curled up in ER and thanking them through tears for the second morphine shot. And it was a teeny little thing.

Passing it through the urethra was the least painful part, fwiw.

posted by craniac 16 February | 10:34

Oh, deborah! Thanks for the update --- I've been wondering how you were. Take care, and let us know how things go.

*hug*

posted by Elsa 16 February | 11:04

Aw, you're a sweet bunch of bunnies! Thanks for all the good wishes.

The urologist said he'd do something called a Ureteroscopy. The options available for removing the stone are using a wire "basket", laser, ultrasound or "mechanical energy"(?!). He mentioned laser so that's probably what he'll use.

craniac - I'm already diabetic so that's not a problem and I'm sure avoiding kidney damage is a priority.

Also the doc said that once the stone was in my bladder I wouldn't feel it exiting. Maybe because I'm female?

posted by deborah 16 February | 11:33

Eeep. Eeep eeep eeep. Thinking of you, may it/they go well.

posted by rainbaby 16 February | 16:06

I hope everything goes smoothly, deborah. Gah, I'm sorry for the crap you will have to go through, but it's good to know what's up, and that it's something relatively innocuous (albeit painful).

posted by gaspode 16 February | 16:56

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