Kidney stones -Lithotripsy

**tigro** · 18th July 2013

Hi Geko

I have another CT scan booked next Thursday to see if they have cleared. They offer you paracetamol, diclofenac and morphine. I fully recommend having the pain killers as it can still be very painful with them, depending where the kidney stones are located.

If you have the morphine you will need someone to drive you home.

The pain is like someone twanging an elastic band on you for 45 minutes. Doesnt sound too bad, but the pain does get worse when they turn up the power. You will be fine, it really isnt anything to worry about.

**Geko** · 30th August 2013

So....

Had the lithotripsy on Tuesday. The actual procedure was very easy. 200 shots in my kidney stone, which is now 17mm, split in two. Which is very rare. All looking good. The radiologist worked on smashing half of it down to dust. Told me that it went well, I should have minimal pain and that I wouldn't be prescribed any extra painkillers. Besides the diclofenac suppository and the pethidine injection I received on the day.

Come Tuesday evening and I really felt the full force of Renal Colic. And fuck was it something new. It was exactly like Rikman said. I couldn't stand up, couldn't sit down. Couldn't move, couldn't keep still. Throwing up everywhere. It was no joke. I needed some pain killers but no way was I able to get in the car. In the end and ambulance was called. The first responder turned up after an hour and gave me gas and air, but that didn't take the edge off. I was also completely naked as I'd got in a boiling bath to try and ease the pain, which actually helped. After 2.5 hours the ambulance turned up. By then the pain had shifted to my bladder and I had managed to put some tracksuit bottoms on. Which was good, because the ambulance operatives were 2 attractive 20 something ladies. One was also a part-time air stewardess. (Unless I was so delirious, I imagined it.) After that the pain eased and I was checked over for an hour and managed to avoid hospital.

2 days later. (This morning). I wake up in pain. Not like before, but enough to have me struggling for breath and feeling sick. I drink 3 litres of water. Can't piss. It is stuck. When I do piss, it's a tiny bit and pissing blood clots with white "flesh" attached. Look like the Japanese fighting fish. Pressure is building up, supposed to be going to a wedding at midday. I ring 111, they tell me I need to see the GP. Get to the GP. In real pain now. Feeling pretty depressed too. Almost crying to the GP. Told I need to go to A&E and have a scan as I seem to be blocked.

Get to A&E. Wait 4 hours to be seen. By that point I have done about 20 tiny wees and the pain has finally shifted. Wee starts coming a little more freely and I see a few small 1mm stone fragments on the bottom of the toilet. Relief at last. See the surgeon who takes blood and does a kidney function test. All good I assume, as I heard nothing. Prescribes me some diclofenac and some tamsulosin. Get home. Feel much better. Pissing freely. But still damn sore. Pass another 5mm-ish fragment. Which I will fish out of the toilet at some point. I want to see my tormentor face to face.

Not the worst week of my life, health and pain wise. But definitely top 5. I will never belittle anybody with kidney stone pain in my life. If you haven't felt it, you won't appreciate the severity. There was a woman in A&E screaming with a broken wrist. I would swap with her all day. I have broken my wrist twice and snapped the end of my elbow. That was nothing compared to this. Even my bowel resection was less painful.

**Zoots** · 30th August 2013

Fucking hell

Fair play Geko mate.
Hope you're on the mend - that sounds fucking awful!

**rIKmAN** · 30th August 2013

Hate to say I told you so, but....

I agree with everything you said mate, it really does feel like you are dying (and not the man-flu variety!) but well done for getting through it.
The blood and flesh was exactly what I had as well, you think it would fly out but it just feels so weird when it comes out.

You reckon you have more to pass?

I've had an update on mine as well, the stone I have left hasn't moved thank fuck, so the Dr gave me a choice - get it blasted now, or as I'm in no pain atm then leave it for 6mths and check again then - I chose to leave it for 6mths and am due back in November for more scans etc.

I know I am delaying the inevitable, but I'm gonna leave it as long as possible, hopefully it will grow big enough that I need another op as I would much prefer that over blasting and pissing out fragments for god knows how long.

Also they wouldn't let me take a photo of the scan this time, got told it was for legal reasons but I think it's more the fact that it was Stafford Hospital and they have all that shite going on about killing patients and giving shit care.

To save you fishing round the toilet bowl mate, get a cullender or sieve and piss through that.

Hope you are past the worst of it now, and I agree - never laugh at a person who has kidney stones, it's some seriously painful shit!

**Geko** · 30th August 2013

Cheers, guys.

I think I have more to piss out. Plenty more, I fear.

I also need to have the other half of the stone smashed up. But.... I will be more prepared and get some pain meds in. I am really squeamish. So still prefer the pain to the kidney drain.

**rIKmAN** · 30th August 2013

ooooh I feel for you, didn;t click it was only half the stone....oucheeee!

I thought long and hard about my op mate, and honestly it was the best decision I could have made, apart from the catheter and me dropping the piss bag trying to shower and nearly pulling my bladder out through my japs it was painless thanks to the clicker for my morphine, and when they took that off me my oramorph on demand lol!

Good luck mate, keep us updated.

**Geko** · 31st August 2013

Looking like another long day. More stone fragments moving.

**Ashley** · 31st August 2013

That's sounds like torture. Hopefully the rest will be less severe.

**Geko** · 27th February 2014

Just a quick update on this....

I passed about 100 stones, probably a bit more than 100. They varied in size. Some were 5mm, which is basically as large as they can get and still pass out of the kidney. But that was only probably about 8. The majority were about a mm, and smaller fragments. As per my post above, it was agony.

In the end though... I managed to pass the stone completely from one session of lithotripsy. Although it was obviously intense passing the 17mm x 12mm stone fragments all in one concentrated go. But the CT scan I had since was clear. Although the one a week after the procedure showed them passing through the tubes and they thought I had a blockage.

I now drink a good amount of water and hope never to get to this stage again.

**WRATH OF BOD** · 21st March 2014

i was rushed into hospital this weekend after collapsing at home in pain, the week following i was laid up with like really bad trapped wind, turns out i have gallstone 9.5mm & kidney stone in right side 7.5mm. after all the tests & shit the doctors
told my i now have to go home, make an appointment with my GP & then get him to refer me to a specialist to have the work done. what sort of lead time are you looking at?
they have been making me ill for a few years now(or at least i think they have)

**Geko** · 21st March 2014

The Gallstone sounds quite large to me. They don't usually treat the stone, they whip out the gallbladder. But it's a day surgery.

My kidney stone was 20mm when I had the lithotripsy. Which is on the tip of the treatable with lithotripsy side. They wanted to cut in and take it out. But I pushed for the ESWL. Like I said, it came out in 1 session, which is mega, mega rare. But on the downside, it was absolute agony passing 100 stones. With a few 5mm in length. I've had major surgery and it was preferable to the pain with the kidney stones. It really is unbearable when they come from the kidney to the bladder. The smaller ones were fine. It was the 3 biguns that killed. Although I think if it was done more slowly, it would have been fine. It wasn't expected to come out after the 1 session.

As for waiting time. I was on the waiting list for several months. It took ages to get pushed up the list. I rang several times and was on the appointment list. I was in agony with it. It was fine sometimes, but would get in a bad position and make it hard to walk. I was also pissing a lot of blood. Toilet looked like a slaughter house. That was in the summer. I was constantly drinking water to help the pain. 5L plus.