Kidney Stones?

[paladin]

Maybe this closes the book on my Kidney Stone saga... :o

Underwent a laser blasting procedure with "basket retrieval" of stone fragments...

My Uro. said he dissected the devil stone into 3 fragments ( trisected? :o ) and was able to remove them with his ureterscopic tool set...

I am urinating what looks like cherry kool-aid and the pain is pretty bad, but nowhere near the actual stone attack pain... :)

My hopes are high that I will soon be back to old form and then continue to improve beyond that... :D

I have faith that is what will happen and I want to thank everyone for their well wishes, sympathy & empathy, the PM's & the posts here on this thread...I feel as if my brothers in steel helped me through a (physically) rough patch... :)

Once I get back up to speed, my first order of Spyderco business is taking some pics of some tremendous covers Ted crafted for me for my Bushcraft UK... :cool:

It was really fun working with him and realizing my vision for one of my favorite fixed blades...Thanks everyone & Phillipsted! :D

[SpyderNut]

Hey brother, I'm glad to hear you made it through the "fire" of your ordeal ok. (Don't know how I missed this post before now? :o ) Anyway, glad you are feeling a little better. I never had kidney stones, but my father did. Said he wouldn't wish that kind of pain even on his worst enemy. :eek: Heal quickly and we'll see you back in the ranks here shortly!

[D1omedes]

I know I'm late to this thread but I'm glad everything worked out for you, Paladin. I had a urinary tract infection as a kid and wouldn't dare dream of how painful passing a kidney stone could be. Thank God for modern medicine, indeed.

One thing I've learned after the tract infection and from reading various nutritionist advice: drink plenty of water. Our bodies really do crave it and need it in "large" quantities to run at optimum performance. With all the processed stuff we put in our bodies, our poor kidneys often have to work harder than they were really designed to do. Depriving them of H2O is just asking for trouble.

[paladin]

One thing I've learned after the tract infection and from reading various nutritionist advice: drink plenty of water. Our bodies really do crave it and need it in "large" quantities to run at optimum performance. With all the processed stuff we put in our bodies, our poor kidneys often have to work harder than they were really designed to do. Depriving them of H2O is just asking for trouble.

Yup...this thread was very therapeutic for me but it also would serve as a PSA to my brothers & sisters...

I had no other risk factors for the stones except for working at my job "dry & thirsty" most of the time--- I had conditioned myself to it.

My doctors said there is conjecture & controversy still about how the stones form in different individuals...even in this modern age...

But they all agreed "super-saturated" (too high % of solute to solvent ratio) urine would for sure put anyone at a higher risk tier.

So if you think you have a job where you "don't have time to got to the restroom" let this be a cautionary tale that you may very well be setting the stage for one of the most physically painful events a human can endure...

And I haven't even brought up the $ cost...but let me give you an idea-- my ambulance bill arrived last week: nearly $800...my 1st ER visit which included CT scan, ultrasound, multiple narcotic/non-narcotic pain medicines such as Morphine, Dilaudid, Torodol (?): $11,000 + ... :eek: :eek: :eek:

Consider the fact I haven't gotten billed for my initial shockwave procedure nor an additional 3 day hospital admission for associated kidney infection which involved another CT scan ( megabucks, brothers!) and multiple labs with hourly vital checks...Also, my latest laser lithotripsy procedure just completed today has not be billed yet, of course :eek: x 100!

I have great insurance, but I have already paid out $2000 + in co-pays & co-insurance up front each procedure...

Research how much Kidney stones cost America each year as a nation, it will rock your world...

On the + side I feel that I could not had received better treatment from my health care pros if I were the POTUS....

Also kidney stone pain has put all other pain I've experienced in a different perspective, it's made me tougher for sure...

No worries here brothers, life's still good :)

And thanks for well wishes Spynut...I don't care if it's belated, it's still much respected!

[tvenuto]

Drinking water is important for sure. Also, a quick note that you can get water from your foods! Don't skimp on the fresh fruits and veggies, and a higher water intake will just be one of your many benefits. [/health soapbox]

[defenestrate]

Have heard numerous stories of cranberry juice helping with kidney stones, added to a reasonable amount of water as well. Have also heard that most forms of soda are not good for helping with stones, though this may vary depending on what sugars and acids are in them.

[kiwisailor]

I know of two people who have had great success with getting rid of Kidney stones when apparent, by drink pure (undiluted) orange juice which dissolved the stones to stage they were passed as small smooth crystals like sand.
One chap said that if He hadn't been peeing into a small container, he wouldn't have known they passed.

Certainly worth a try..

[flasharry]

My wife had a medium stone and subsequent kidney infection two years back.. said the pain was worse than anything she had ever experienced. Got to the doc same day, hospital same day - all over in the "passed" after two days... I won't go into the cost as that could be construed as apolitical discussion..

[demoncase]

Get well soon good sir.

The good old British NHS has a great page on the "devil stones"- When reading everyone's advice above I'd take a look at the 'causes' and 'prevention' pages to draw your own conclusions:
A couple of big things I'd point to are-
1. There are 4 different types of kidney stones that result from quite divergent issues
2. There doesn't appear to much rhyme or reason to why you might end up with one- or if you'll get one again
3. I'd only use diurertics as directed by a medical professional- cranberry juice and other high vit-C fruit juices are diuretic, so have a care with them
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms/

There is an apparent family history of the blessed things with me- but I've managed to avoid them thus far probably down to a rather healthier lifestyle more than anything else.

[tvenuto]

[JD Spydo]

Sorry didn't realize it was an old thread I had already responded to :o

[Naperville]

While I've dealt with pain in my lower back that sends me to the floor from time to time, I don't think it's as bad a pain as kidney stones or gallbladder attacks.

I had the fright of my life in 2017 though. After watching my heart (bicuspid aortic valve with senile stenosis) for a decade as I moved in to heart failure territory (also diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) I had open heart surgery to replace the valve and perform a 3-way bypass after a heart attack at the age of 57.

Knowing the diagnostics did not make the wait for the life saving open heart surgery any easier. Talk abt a wake up to a reality that has you saying what the **** did I do to deserve this. I feel you.

[Naperville]

D'oh!

[JD Spydo]

Even being it's an older thread I had already responded to there are some more items I want everyone to consider. I'm here to tell you all first hand after my old boss who was a M.D. Doctor and a pain specialist at that>> he said that of all the pain patients he treated over the years that Kidney Stones were among the worst of any.
Kidney Stones are something we all want to prevent at all costs. After my old boss who like I said was a Doctor in the field of pain and anesthesiology he made it plain and clear to me that Kidney Stones are something you do not want to deal with ever. He also told me that there were cases of people dying of shock because of the pain being so bad ( especially in the elderly). Drinking a lot of water daily and eating a decent diet would probably work well for most of us.
If you don't like to drink tap water I completely understand which is one of the main reasons I bought a top notch water filter. The water out of my AQUARAIN Filter tastes like it came out of a mountain spring. I do believe that high quality, purified water would probably be the best preventative of such an insidious health problem as kidney stones.
The American diet is so trashy and disgusting in the fast food arena alone that i'm kind of surprised that cancer, heart disease and other health problems are not any worse than they are currently in our society. One of my late aunts always told me that "health is wealth">> and now I know exactly what she meant.