[livingwith]

I learned for the first time earlier today I have kidney stones…I’ve had bad allergies recently, so when I woke up at 7 in the morning unable to breath out of my nose I took benadryl and went straight back to bed. I woke up from that at about 2 in the after noon needing to use the restroom more than I ever have before in my life. I went straight back to bed and that’s when it hit me the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life.
It felt like something inside me had exploded an...Read the full article

[racheld]

I don't think that everyone has the same kidney stone story. But I can sure tell you about my own. Two years ago, pain started in my left side. It was just like what I have read on these posts- sharp and came on without warning. I ignored the pain for quite some time..it went away after a while and I forgot about it. Then it would happen again a few weeks later. At one point the pain was so intolerable (and I have a large tolerance for pain) that I decided to actually go to the ER. Fast forward and I have had two sets of lithotripsies. I can't even begin to count how many times I have been told that they have found stones on my CT scans or that I have blood in my urine. Once you have felt the pain of a kidney stone, your next experience will not catch you off guard.

The sad fact about living with kidney stones is that there is a great likelihood (at least if you are like me) to have a recurrence. All the doctors and urologists tell you is to drink water like crazy. If you are unlucky enough, your diet will be utterly restricted to maintain better chances of not creating more- or at least small enough to flush out.

But I can tell you about lithotripsy, for whoever wants to know. It is not as bad as I had come to read or believe. Some posts I have read make it sound intolerable and cruel. I wouldn't say so at all. You are essentially hooked up to a machine while you are dangling in a hole cut into the table. Next to that hole is a bag full of transfer medium. They give you plenty of sedatives for the procedure and you are kept conscious. Every second, the machine shoots a blast of sound waves into your kidney to target the large stone and break it up. The entire process takes about an hour. With the pain killers and sedatives, the shock waves feel like you are being slapped with a rubber band. Not incredible pain, but definitely annoying after an hour. Just try to relax and take a nap if possible, it will help the procedure seem less daunting and scary. After, you can expect to see a large bruise at the site and will urinate blood for a couple of weeks:it doesn't hurt. You will be asked to strain your urine at this time to catch any of the broken up stone(s).

Overall, I would say that kidney stones can and do come back time and again. If anyone has any helpful tips on how to live with kidney stones, I would be all ears.