Scared of my kidney stone....

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 17, 2005

Yes, I am an ER nurse, and my only experience with kidney stones is dealing with people hunched over in pain in the ED....
So now, I somehow have got one 11mm stone in the lower part of my left kidney. It was seen on ultrasound, which I had because I had 3 bouts of pyelonephritis, in 2 months.
Now, I suppose I need to have it removed as it can't pass on its own. It has not caused me any pain, and in fact, I would not have known it was there, except that I kept getting sick.
Reading everyone's descriptions of stents and such has made me a bit, well, terrified!!!!
I have to call the Urologist on Monday, but can anyone tell me what I can expect- and how long it will take to feel fully normal???
Pplease someone tell me this won't have to hurt as much as the descriptions seem to indicate!!

Well, I'm not going to tell you it won't hurt, but the pain CAN be managed, and you'll feel better once the stents are out (they stay in about a week or so). In fact, that first time you pee after you've had the laser surgery and the stents are out, it will feel SO good that it will be worth all the discomfort.

The stents are necessary to keep the ureters open after the trauma of ureteroscopy and laser extraction.......otherwise, they might close up, and then you'd be in REAL trouble. They also serve to protect the ureters from further damage from the stone fragments passing out of the urinary system.

It's a little uncomfortable when they are removed, as the urologist goes in with the cystoscope at your follow-up visit to retrieve them, but it's no worse than being catheterized, and you get to watch the whole procedure on the TV screen while he's doing it (which actually is kind of cool).

Now, I'm only going by my own experience, and yours may be very different......I was 42 when I went through this the first time, and if you're younger and in better condition, you'll probably sail through it. It took me a couple of days to feel awake and alert after the anesthesia (it requires a general); it took me a week and a half to feel like myself again. That included the week I spent with the stents in place, and yes, I will say it was miserable........I bled like a stuck pig, and everytime I went to the bathroom my back felt like it was on fire. But that may not be YOUR experience---I've known people who went back to work a day or two after the procedure and did just fine, and I've known a couple who absolutely couldn't stand the discomfort from the stents and yanked 'em out!! :eek:

Good luck, and please keep me posted........you have my sympathies. But you'll be OK in the long run, trust me. :) What you DON'T want to do is ignore the problem.......stones that grow too big can damage the kidney itself, you can develop hydronephrosis or even renal failure over time. So don't wait---you have nothing to lose but your kidney stone and a little time from work.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2005

It's a little uncomfortable when they are removed, as the urologist goes in with the cystoscope at your follow-up visit to retrieve them, but it's no worse than being catheterized, and you get to watch the whole procedure on the TV screen while he's doing it (which actually is kind of cool).

I had to remove my OWN stents. I think we chatted about this on another thread. My urologist had me pull them myself, just told me to gently pull on the strings, like removing a tampon. I had stones in the ureters, not the kidneys, but after the cystoscopy he put stents in both sides that went from my bladder all the way into my kidney. They were about a foot long from end to end, when I removed them. It wasn't painful, just a very weird feeling. I now know EXACTLY where my ureters are, LOL.

I didn't have to have lithotripsy or anything like that, just a simple scope to remove the stones. I was under conscious sedation for the cystoscopy (they wanted to do full-on general, or general with an airway, but I got them to agree to TRY conscious sedation) so that was a breeze. The only thing I will tell you in detail is that you pee bright red blood for like two days after that. It was like Kool-Aid, terrifying!!!

And when they tell you to drink lots of fluids post-op...don't drink orange juice like I did. :crying2:

It's not so bad, and usually after 2-4 weeks it's just a memory.

KatieBell · Apr 18, 2005

Thanks guys,

I guess there is no way to avoid having the Stents, which seems to be the big pain causer. I have one month leave frommy job and then I leave the country again, soooo, I am on the phone today! Oh, I really hate pain, I should have really drank more water, really :smackingf

And yes, I am still scared. Funny, I stepped through a tent stake last month, and that was not so bad, but of course there was no anticipation that that would happen, now, I am just filled with dread, but I think Concious Sedation is the way to go.... I'll see what they have to say when I call, though probably all they will say today is "come in next week at 9:30..."

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2005

I guess there is no way to avoid having the Stents, which seems to be the big pain causer. I have one month leave frommy job and then I leave the country again, soooo, I am on the phone today! Oh, I really hate pain, I should have really drank more water, really :smackingf
And yes, I am still scared. Funny, I stepped through a tent stake last month, and that was not so bad, but of course there was no anticipation that that would happen, now, I am just filled with dread, but I think Concious Sedation is the way to go.... I'll see what they have to say when I call, though probably all they will say today is "come in next week at 9:30..."

Well, the thing is with conscious sedation, my stones were stuck in the ureter and it didn't take them very long to get them out. Yours is up in the kidney and large, and sometimes they can't remove them with scope, but have to go into the kidney itself. Not saying this to scare you, but it's what hapened to a good friend of mine. She was in the hospital for a few days, two OR procedures. So really, see what they say first.

The stents weren't painful, just weird, for me. The only painful thing was when I drank all that orange juice and then felt like I was peeing acid for a few hours, to put it bluntly. Even so, I was having severe pain from my stones and the resulting hydronephrosis, so I was relieved post-op and would do it again in a minute.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 19, 2005

Conscious sedation? I didn't even know that was an option......I have to have a general, ET tube, the whole nine yards. Which is OK---I don't WANT to be awake for this particular procedure. :stone

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2005

Conscious sedation? I didn't even know that was an option......I have to have a general, ET tube, the whole nine yards. Which is OK---I don't WANT to be awake for this particular procedure. :stone

It's usually not an option. I had a very mild situation - two rather small stones lodged together inside of one ureter. They didn't have to touch my actual kidneys at all, though he did take a look with the scope. It was a simple prodedure, outpatient, and like I said, they planned on general with airway protection. The day of, I asked the anesthesiologist if she could try conscious sedation, and she was a little surprised. Then she said she'd ask the urologist, who was also a little shocked, but agreed. I was aware that if I moved around too much, they'd progress to general with an airway, which of course comes with the risk of intubation. I ended up being fine, and they seemed very pleased as well. Like it never occurred to them to TRY sedation first?

I have no memory of the procedure, and it wasn't until afterwards that I realized I might have been talking during it. I hope not, because who knows what I'd have said to them while they were down there! :uhoh3:

KatieBell · Apr 19, 2005

OK, silly question, but with super adequate hydration, is there a chance this stone might just "go away"?? Thats my latest bright idea...but I guess it won't happen?

My appointment is on Thursday, so I'll let you guys know how it goes. I am starting to think that one month leave to get this taken care of is not going to be enough (I work overseas, so I have to get there and be ready to work...)

Perhaps they can just do the Lithotripsy?

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2005

OK, silly question, but with super adequate hydration, is there a chance this stone might just "go away"?? Thats my latest bright idea...but I guess it won't happen?
My appointment is on Thursday, so I'll let you guys know how it goes. I am starting to think that one month leave to get this taken care of is not going to be enough (I work overseas, so I have to get there and be ready to work...)
Perhaps they can just do the Lithotripsy?

A stone that size won't go away. And with Lithotripsy, that just breaks it up - you still have to PASS the now broken-up stones. Trust me, you don't want to do that naturally with lots of fluids, you'll want them removed by the doc. Good luck at your appointment.

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Apr 19, 2005

ACK... dd has had hematuria since Jan., and chronic pain. Of course she has laso had lots of uterine/ovary probs all along as well, and recently had ovarian cysts removed.. was started on new BC, the works. But continued to have chronic pain (abdominal, and lateral). So they did a IVP, negative. Did a bladderscope this week, negative. Doc was confounded as to wher the hematuria was coming from, so decided on an abd. CT to rule out renal tumor.

Found a couple stones on the CT, intrarenal. As she just called me with teh info this morning, I have no idea how large or small these are, or any details.

Our nephrologist happened to be in this a.m. at work so i asked him about it, and he says that as long as the stones are in the kidney, she's FINE. It's when they move OUT of the kidney that the pain starts. According to him, it seemed like no big deal to have stones in the kidneys themselves... what do you guys think??? :confused:

He did ask how MUCH hematuria, but of course I have no way of knowing that. DD says her urine is amber, but can't see any visible blood. But it's been this way for months. Along with the pain.. not a ten/ten, but noticable and constant.

So I'm wondering will they want to do a lithotripsy, stents, anything along those lines, or will they just leave well enough alone? Doc said depending on th size of the stones, and as long as they don't get infected... any comments, advice?

KatieBell · Apr 20, 2005

Well, from my limited experience, I have the stone in my kidney and have not really had any bad pain. I had pain when I had Pyelo and sometimes I feel like somethingis pinching me, but that could be any muscle spasm. But today, me and my kidney stone went out and pruned two trees, dug up a hole for a new tree, Did housework etc. So I would suggest that the nephrologist is correct, I am really not having any pain. I'm only scared of getting it out, and that it might try to move before I can get it out....

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 20, 2005

Unfortunately, kidney stones left in only tend to grow, and they can damage the kidney itself if they get too large. You really DON'T want to leave them alone, even though you're not having a lot of pain (I'm not either, just an occasional episode of flank pain which is easily controlled with Tylenol or Advil). Eventually, there WILL be problems, and as you know, renal damage can't be fixed very easily. Get your stones dealt with ASAP.......it won't be fun, but it sure beats feeling like you're sitting on some sort of time bomb! :chuckle