Kidney Stones: Me too
Hesper's post about a kidney stone prompted me to share my experiences over the last 9 months. I have a "I'm a hero, I can handle it myself" program that has kept me from posting about this. Well, even if I could find the solution myself that wouldn't help others that may be having the same problem.
One morning, mid January this year I got up to go to work as usual. I felt a pain in my lower right back, made a mental note to call the chiropractor for an appointment. The pain kept increasing, within an hour I was walking around the house yelling and crying. I was becoming frightened. I decided to go to the ER. The pain was so severe that I didn't think I could drive. My wife took me there.
At first the doctor thought it was a muscle spasm. After about 20 minutes with me continuing to moan they decided that a kidney stone was possible. I hadn't thought of that. They gave me a shot of morphine, which helped then another later. Afterward, I checked the dosage they had given. Even with the two injections it was still a relatively low dose. Still, the pain subsided, though the morphine made me feel very woozy. I laid there not caring about anything.
Then they rolled me off for a CT scan. It showed a stone about 1/8" in diameter, almost into the bladder. What I didn't know was that the charge for that scan was $4500! My ER bill was about $6500. Most of which was the scan. Insurance covered most of it, but it was still a chunk.
They sent me home with a Hydrocodon for pain and Flomax which is supposed to relax the tubes helping the stone to pass. I will never take Flomax again. It gave me the shivers, I couldn't sleep, and made feel nauseous. It also caused retrograde ejaculation. This is when semen discharges into the bladder rather than the intended route. I researched it, it's not considered harmful, but it ain't right either. It took about a month for this to return to normal.
The second time, about a month later, I drove myself to the ER from work. They gave me just one dose of morphine and I think the stone passed while I was there. They wanted to do scan but I declined. Nothing to be learned from it. I knew it was a kidney stone.
The third time, about a month after the second, it started about bed time. I decided not to go the ER, even not take any hydrocordon. The pain grew too intense so I did took the pain medication, then another dose about 30 minutes later. This dulled the pain but not enough to let me sleep. I stayed in bed until about 2:00 AM then got up and did some reading on the forum. About 3:00 AM I thought of a topical creme that had helped me when I had hip pain. Aspercreme, which is just aspirin for topical use. Worth a try. I applied some to the lower back. The pain was gone in about ten minutes. I could feel the stone there the next morning, but there was little pain. It passed later in the day.
Since then the stones have occurred more frequently with two only a week apart. I have continued to use the Aspercreme for pain, it allows me to continue may day and I don't need narcotics. I keep a tube at work, this has gotten me through the day several times.
The most recent time was two days ago. I was just about to get into the FIR sauna with I started to feel a pain in my left lower back. (BTW the first stone was in my right side all the rest have been in my left.) Also a warning that comes first is pain in my penis. I got in the bag anyway. The pain increased until I considered getting out and applying the creme. I stuck it out through the full time in the FIR. I could feel the stone moving downward as I lay there. I applied the creme afterwards. The pain stopped and I'm sure the stone passed. Fastest transit yet. 1 1/2 hrs start to finish. Researching it later, heat eases the pain for some and may help it pass more quickly. If there is a next time I'll try a heating pad.
I've done much research on this. Tried some things, no complete solution yet. I read that green tea with help prevent stones so I started drinking it in January. I like green tea, it makes my stomach feel good and is relaxing. But it did not prevent the stones.
I tried increasing magnesium citrate to bowel tolerance, which seems to be low for me. No luck. I tried an herbal formula from Solaray called Kidney that has most of the herbs that are suggested for kidney stones.
Most recently I have been adding baking soda to my tea and water, as I read that acidity is a cause of kidney stones. This seemed to work for about 3 weeks. It's difficult to get the right dose of baking soda. Too much, I feel flat, not good. I looked into PH test strips. There are none available at pharmacy's here. Looking on the internet I find that there are many poor reviews as to their accuracy.
Since I didn't feel well with 1/8 tsp of baking soda in 8 oz water I slowly tapered off. Then it happened again on Saturday.
Since I started lowering my carbs I have continued to eat some nuts, especially almonds. I just haven't been able to feel full on just meat and fats. Not enough fat it seems. I will increase fat to help satisfy my hunger. For some reason I have mental image of how much I should eat, probably less than I neccessary for me. My research finds that almonds are highly acidic, so I'm putting them off limits.
I am not sure where to go from here. I have increased the baking soda again, stopping the almonds. I keep trying to think what changed in January that started this. I was lowering my carbs then, increasing meats and fats. I know I decreased the magnesium I was taking then but don't remember my thinking at the time. Increasing it since has not helped
This has led to frustration, even a little anger when I feel the symptoms starting. "Damn, not again".
Sorry for the length of this post. I wanted to get in as much information as possible. Suggestions are welcomed of course.
Mac
