Oh this just sound awful. My heart goes out to you. You must be exhausted.
Take it easy, and let time do its magic.
Bless Elvira for helping you through thes. Our dogs are the best when it comes to us feeling bad.

Let us know how you are doing.

trin

Goodness sakes! I'm glad it was just kidney stones though, even though I'm sure they're no fun. No advice, haven't had them, but hang in there and hope your over it all quickly!

Sandy is the kidney stone specialist here! She knows lots!! Poor gal deserves a medal IMO!

DH had a bout with two kidney stones and it took him forever to pass them. He went to the ER also suddenly one morning, passing blood scared us both.
Drink,drink,drink water is the only thing I can tell you for sure. I think DH drinks 4 or 5 20oz bottles per day, the more diluted your urine the less likely you are for kidney stones I think is what the doc told him? DH's were sent in too, they were calcium. I think most are.

Bless your heart!
Hope it's all over for you soon!

PS I forgot to say I hope you pass them easily and quickly!

KS were the worst pain I've every had. I spent 4 days in the hospital before I passed it. That was in 1981. Remember the days when they put you in the hospital for things like that. Now everything is drive thru.

I found that every time they gave me morphine I'd throw up. Once I figured that out they gave me something different for pain and it didn't happen anymore.

DH had stone a few months before I did. His drill sergeant, er, I mean nurse made him drink a quart of cranberry juice and hour!! He passed it pretty fast though.

Keep drinking and flush that thing out. You will feel much better once it's in your bladder.

Linda

I had kidney stones last December and went to the er because of the pain. They gave me some pain pills, some FloMax which relaxes the tube that the stones have to go through and I passed them that night. I didn't even know when they passed except that I didn't need to take any more pain pills. They told me to drink lots of water, but there were no diet restrictions.

Never had a kidney stone. But I have heard horror stories about them. (((((Clare)))))

I sure hope you get this behind your very quickly.

Helen

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and wishes. I hate it when something like this happens. That you get knocked on your butt without warning. To all of you who have similar pain and discomfort, my heart goes out to you too.
I am going to bed early, still catching up on sleep.
Clare

Make sure that you are getting plenty of water: At least 8 glasses per day and mayby more is needed to help flush the system and to prevent any more growth of stones already there.

What to eat: Chicken soup should be ok if it does not have too much salt. You do need some salt with an increased water intake, but I'd go to the minimum side. I can't have most of Cambell's soups because those are loaded with salt. I've seen cans with over 500 mg of sodium per serving with about 2 servings per can. This is 1000 mg or more of sodium (sodium from salt). Thus, one can is half of a man's daily requirement! Don't forget that the saltine crackers also add to the salt load. I use low sodium crackers, but these still have plenty of salt.

The daily requirement for a male is 2000 to 2500 mg of salt per day. go to the minimum if not sweating or performing only light labor. Increase salt intake with increased sweating and physical labor.

Check on whether or not you should be sipping on sodas all day. A diet soda, no caffine, Mountian Dew for example, contains 35 mg of salt per serving, and a 24 oz bottle has 3 servings. This is 105 mg of sodium per bottle. Some other diet sodas have more sodium.

I've heard tht grapefruit and/or grapefruit juice is good for flushing the urine system. Check with your Urologist.

You can give yourself a kidney massage. (I've done this to myself.) Chose a pillow that is a confortable thickness for your head when you lie flat on the floor. Lie flat of your back on a carpeted floor. Raise your knees and plant your feet flat to the floor. Gently move the knees from side to side and rolling your hips from side to side while keeping the sholders more or less flat to the floor. You will feel compression on each kidney area as you rock back and forth. Don't over do this. We want to merely alternate the pressure on the kidney, not harm it. Rock back and forth for about 5 minutes. After you stop, relax your body by thinking about your toes. Concentrate on relaxing the foot, then ankle, and continue to move up the leg. Continue relaxing mussles as much as possible as you move up the body. When you get to the shoulders, think of your finger tips and relax each part as you move up the arm toward the shoulder, and finally the neck and face. After this, if you feel comfortable, close your eyes and lie there awhile.

When you get up, don't rush it. It helps if you have a sturdy table or chair nearby to help boost you off the floor. Roll over onto your stomach, get onto all fours, and proceed from there.

Try the site below. Enter "kidney stones" in the search box.

Here is a link that might be useful: WebMD

I am sorry to hear that you've been through so much, Clare.

Hope you feel a lot better soon. *hugs*

Healing thoughts coming to you from NY!

Just take it easy for awhile; get your rest.

Carol

I am so sorry to hear this,what a rough time you are having.I hope you get some relief and rest soon.Hugs.

Shelley

I had a kidney stone pass about 20 years ago, before I was even pregnant. It started out feeling like a "stitch" or muscle cramp in my side. It hurt to take deep breaths. I threw up several times. It lasted three days, by the time I went to the hospital the stone had passed. Docs told me just to drink lots of water. My FIL had one about the same time, he said it was the worst pain he ever had.

I hope you are feeling so much better by now. I have never had a kidney stone, but it must be terrible to have them. Big hugs to you.

Sue

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this Clare! But, at least you know what it is you are going through!

I have passed about 21 since 1979. I have went through every test known to see why I make them...the answer? You are one of those few that your body just makes them! (that was told to me by a specialist!)

And with most of those stones, I have reacted a bit different! Some I have gotten violently ill from, others I didn't know I was passing a stone until it was in the bowl. You do need to drink alot...it doesn't matter a whole lot what it is, but you want to keep fluid going through you! I usually stick to water, cranberry juice (some Dr. say it helps with infection, others don't..but it doesn't hurt anything!) and clear pops. Drink, Drink, Drink!

6mm is pretty large. I had one that size 2 summers ago, and I ended up with lithrotripsy on it..2 stones actually. You could also have a surgery where they go up and capture them with a net. (both have pros & cons!) I am not saying you can't pass a 6mm tho! I have 2 4mm sitting in me right now...found on an ultra-sound.

I have never had any food restrictions! I eat what I want when I feel like eating while I have one going through! I do stay away from really rich food then...it will upset your stomach more.

Good luck with your stones!!! Hopefully you have some good meds and you also got some FloMax! I haven't been in the hospital with stones for many years. I have a WONDERFUL Dr. here in our town that gives me what I need when I need it. I have had to go to the clinic to get a pain shot (the last one, nurse told me to go home and I could get about 4 hours of sleep...slept 20 min! BUT, I passed the stone after that quick nap!!) to stay ahead/on top of the pain. The less pain you are feeling, the more relaxed everything is, and the easier to pass that stone through.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks again everyone for your well wishes. I am still waiting for the Dr.'s office to call back and schedule an appt. He has to review the information from the ER report and decide when he wants to see me. It is still there because the pain is mild but there.

jemdandy, sandy_in_ia - Thanks for the detailed information and sharing your experiences. I will try all the things you wrote. I am at the point that I will try anything to get it to pass. I am hoping that I am not going to have these on a regular basis but probably will. My Dad had both gall and kidney stones so must have inherited that from him. Thanks also for the link. I didn't know that about salt intake. I will have to watch that.

Clare

I hope you'll be posting soon to tell us, "It's gone!" Can't happen too soon.

I've had two 'cheap' kidney stones at home, one in each kidney, about a year apart; both passed within 24 hours. I've also had two expensive ones!

1. One struck before dinner the day after DH, DS and I were visiting Santorini on a cruise. The ship's doctor gave me pain meds that night and we cruised on to the next port. DH and DS got to see the site of the original Olympics; I stayed in the cabin and ate pain meds. Next port was the end of the cruise: Venice. We had planned to stay for a few nights then go on to Rome. However...my stone still hadn't passed. I didn't want to go into hospital in Venice! DH and DS ran around trying to find space on flights home. They succeeded, and we left on a flight to Toronto, via London Heathrow. The ship's doc gave me a shot before we left, but it wore off before we got to Heathrow. The pilot threatened to put me off the plane in London. Two MD's on the flight had him call ahead to arrange for a nurse to come aboard. She gave me a shot and left a 'spare' on board. (Bless the UK and its free medical service!) I drank and peed all the way across the ocean. We'd just landed in Toronto and were heading for the gate to fly to Chicago when I realized the pain had stopped; I'd passed the darn thing! Four days of pain and no Rome.

2. My LAST kidney event (I hope) wasn't painful at all -- at first. My doctor sent me for a CT w/contrast for another problem. (You know you have something 'interesting' when the tech calls others in to observe.) I had a staghorn calculus filling my left kidney. That involved surgery. They make a little tunnel into the kidney from the back, then blast the calculus into pieces, then suction out the pieces and rinse the kidney. It was a painful recovery, but I've never had another stone; it's been ten years. (Hope the inflictors of kidney stones aren't reading.)

Hope it helps a teeny bit to know others have survived!

Sorry to hear about this, Clare. And so soon after you got back from your trip! I was just thinking about you yesterday and the day before, wondering how your trip went. Maybe you can post about it when you are feeling much better. My dh had kidney stones about five years ago but has not had them since. He was so darned happy that the crotchety nurse agreed that they are worse than labor w/o drugs, but I'm not so sure about that. However, I've not had them before, so what do I know? I do hope they all pass quickly. As I recall, dh was told to stay away from asparagus (he doesn't,) and anything with calcium in it, including orange juice, which he drinks every morning. Feel better!

Feel better soon, Clare! Woody has had 3 of them and each time he felt awful. I think there's a list of foods and drinks that you should avoid in the future, to inhibit the growth of new stones, depending on what kind of stones you make. Once you know that, you can find out what not to eat or drink, or at least in moderation.

Sounds painful. I hope you feel better soon and I hope you don't develop any more stones.

Anne