Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Kidney stones

I'm not a doctor, but I like to play one when the kids are gone.


The stones are calcium that crystallizes. You can see what nice crystals are formed (from a mineralogical viewpoint). You need water to keep the fluid in your kidneys dilute to reduce crystallization. And, that's why I mentioned cranberry juice above - it lowers pH for the same effect.



Hey Doc Rocket....how'd I do?

I heard [b][color:#3333FF]Muddy Waters had a lot[/color][/b] of kidney stones.....

They knocked the screen out of my hand when I was peeing into it. Why they want to keep the evidence after the fact is beyond me. All I know is that it hurt A LOT and Oxycodone makes it worse...

The most common forms of stones are from calcium but not all(stop drinking dairy products won't stop calcium stones from forming). They have to look at em and determine what type you have. They can do a 24 hour urine collection and narrow it down even further.

I think the bottom line is lots and lots of water to dilute all the junk your kidneys take on.

ROFL!!!

Pretty good, ironbender!

I might add that some folks who are kidney stone-formers can take a med to prevent them. About 50% of stone-formers have calcium oxalate stones, which are prevented by taking generic HCTZ (hydrochlorothiazide, an old and mild diuretic/BP pill).

Of the other 50%, I can only suggest you follow Northern Dave's advice. Oh, and take pictures and post 'em here on the 'Fire. No, it won't cure your stones, but it will amuse the rest of us no end.

Well I doubt it's from calcium as I don't drink hardly any dairy products, other than some 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee.

I'm serious about the fall question. About 2 weeks ago I fell off a 6 foot porch at my buddies cabin and landed on my right side and thought I had broke a rib, x-rays say I did not. I hopeing that it did cause this stone to pass as I don't really want to go through this again. Wife better keep the pistols locked up if I do.

Calcium comes from other sources than just dairy, and it may be formed from calcium other than that which is ingested.

Ok, i'll take your word for it.........lol.

All I know is that it hurts like a mofo and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, well maybe a couple of people here might benefit from the experience.

I've passed 5 or 6 of them. Finally figured I wasn't hydrating enough in the summer here. Or thats what we figure, tests always came back inconclusive.

IF you have another one, I'd suggest asking the doc for some serious pain meds in a bottle and some serious muscle relaxant. I think I have Ketorolac that does the job for the muscle relaxant, and 7.5s on codeine, but the 7.5s wont' do squat unless you have muscle relaxant.

I carry them most everywhere that I might be out and about.. had 2 bottles in my pack the day we met you...

I keep paint strainers on hand at home and if I can't pass it within a few days I'll finally go in for an IVP to see...

Best of luck, they suck, but I figure that if thats the worst that happens in life I"ll trade em for cardiac, cancer etc.... if lucky.

BTW I've talked to a couple of female RNs that said that natural childbirth ain't squat compared to kidney stones...

I seriously doubt a fall would jar one loose, but who knows. Whatever the reason,..at least you passed it and it isn't still in there getting bigger. The big ones that are physically unable to pass can be big problems requiring major surgery.

Got another question, not sure how to ask this one but here goes. When it came out, was it painful on it's last leg out (if you know what I mean)?

The pain I felt was in my right side and when they did a urinalysis they found blood (microscopic)in it, which confirmed it was a stone. When I urinated shortly before going to the ER I felt nothing unusual, nor did I afterwards either. My side is still a bit tender from the experience too.

Go to the doc and get a prescription for flomax. Along with drinking a ton of water, it will help.

A friend who has recently passed two, one on each side, says the "last leg out" is relatively easy. It's when they move from the kidney to the bladder that's the bad part.

That's what the doc told me also, glad to hear it, I was beginning to think that maybe it hadn't reached it's last leg yet...........lol

Once mine got out of the tract and into the bladder, I was relatively pain free. I was very sore on my right side, but not the pain. I went in twice for the same stone. A demoral IV is your friend. Went home after the first day and it didn't pass. Started hurting even worse the second day. I could hardly stand up and was vomiting because of the pain. The actual passing part didn't hurt at all. I was screening and it just came out. 3mm. was the size.


Clyde

Toradol is THE magic pain med for kidney stones. I had a marble sized stone stuck in my uretor for four days while I waited. They had me on a morphine drip and it didn't do much unless they added toradol IV every six hours. Flowmax helped too.

Yep,..That's the ticket. The journey from the kidney to the bladder is the toughest, IMO. The Ureter joins the 2 and seems to be tapered, bigger at the top, smaller at the bottom (Design Flaw if you ask me..)

Personally I can tell when the stone has made it to the bladder. It's a different sort of pain and in a different area, feels kinda like you got thumped in the huevos/throw up pain instead of the serious side/back kidney pain. Once I know they're in the bladder it's Party time cause the hard part is over with. That's when I really hit the water trying to flush the offender out. Sometimes I don't feel the small ones when they come out,..just hear a "tink" on the bowl. The big ones I can feel, but there's usually not any pain. Kinda reminds me of blowing a big spit-wad thru a straw like when you were a kid.

Dr. told me that once a stone gets in the bladder it's Home Free. That the "tube" out of the bladder is one of the larger tubes in the body other than the big stuff around the heart and the stuff in your throat.

And if you get one stuck in the "tube",..you can always put "it" out on the workbench and whack it a few times with a hammer, that should bust it up and you'll forget all about the stone.....

All the pain comes from the stone moving from the ureter to the bladder. After it reaches the bladder the "last leg" of the journey is a piece of cake.

If you have one you can't pass, one method of treatment is a stent(this is not inserted orally if you get my drift) to hold it up in the kidney and not allow it to block the ureter. Then they send you through lithotrypsy(not a fun ordeal either unless they give you enough drugs). Lithotrypsy busts up the stone so it can pass.

I went through this ordeal several years abgo to the tune of about $23K. My urologist says to stay away from caffiene and drink lots of water.

Good luck.

that's because babies are smooth and slipery....

unlike the calcium cocklebur.