[lisburn17055]

I was told I had a 9 x 5 mm kidney stone in my kidney. The doctor recommended Lithotripsy. I had that done on a thursday ended up in incredible pain friday and it would not pass. After three trips to the hospital they determined the small 2.2 mm stone was stuck in ureteral. They put a stint in on Monday. The first CT scan(after lithro.) showed a 2.2 stuck in my ureteral and a 7 x 4 still in my kidney. They did a second CT scan and in still showed the 2.2 mm stone in the ureteral but in said multiple small stones now in Kidney. I'm think the big stone is broke up and told doctor but he is ignoring this for some reason. It's like a production line in there. The doctor wanted to do a scope job with Holman laser to blast the stone, went in thursday and machine was broke. So, instead he took the 2.2 mm stone out and put in another stint. He wants to go back and do laser later. Then today I had a KUB xray, the results say "No renal or urinary calcifications identified ". This is consistent with the second CT scan I think. I think stones have past and thought he should just take the stint out. What do you think?

[Sarafina]

hi, sorry that your in pain. believe me I know what you're going threw. um... you mentioned that on two of the test you had, it didn't show any stones. Just wanted to inform you that not all stone will show up in certain test Hun. The standard KUB will only show certain kinds of stones and not others. it;s important to have a CT scan with and without contrast and also as in my case a MRI will find ones that the others have missed.
Also it would be very wise for you to make an appointment with a Kidney specialist, and ask them to do a 24 to 48 hour urine study- or what is known as a stone study. the study will tell the Doc what kind or kinds of stones your a producing,and the cause, which may be either related to food, drink, metabolic or hereditary. Then you can sit down and make a plan on what course you'll need to take to stop your body from forming these horrible things.
hope this helps!

[Sarafina]

oh p.s......as for the stints....Ive had so many and hate , hate ,hate them! have one in right now from my surgery this past Monday.. needless to say that if I start talking about my experiences with those things, I'll become very nasty towards how I feel about them and the stupid Docs who tell us that the pain is all in our heads... ohh OK, enough of that,lol

[lisburn17055]

thanks for the insight. The doctor took my stent out and is taking a wait and see approach. I still have back pain but not as severe. Again thanks for the information.

[cathrine001]

If the doctor is ignoring you, make sure you are eye-to-eye with him/her. Write your issues down and read them to the doctor. Be very frank and tell the doctor your concerns; if he/she ignores you, or gives you vague answers, request your medical records before you leave the doctor's office and get a second opinion -- immediately. Follow up with a complaint to the medical board of your state to report poor care, and document, document, document.

I fired 8 urologists - some were arrogant, some were just jerks, some of them didn't listen, and all of them were insufferable bastards. I now have a great doctor at Johns Hopkins who apologized for all the lousy care I received elsewhere.

I am still having kidney stone issues, but hell will freeze over before another doctor treats me like anything less than a wonderful patient -- we deserve nothing less.

[cathrine001]

If the stent has been in a week, and no other stones are evident in a potentially dangerous place like the ureter, then the stent can probably come out. I ran fever with mine for days, with two trips to the ER after surgery. Within 36 hours of removal, all pain and symptoms were gone. Hell will freeze over before I agree to another stent. The doctor said it wouldn't hurt when it was removed, but I cried in the office and all the way home, followed by 24 hours of cramping. Doctors have not learned enough about the procedure to determine that it does not hurt all patients. Some people have a low pain threshold.

[Jor-el]

My opinion is that you are in charge of your health care and the doctor works for you as an advisor and technition. If you do not act decisevely you are going to be left to their opinions which in some cases, are tainted by motives of revenue more than compassion. Certainly not always, but sometimes. Tell him or her what you want. You are paying their salary and its your body. Take into consideration their professional opinion but the decsion is up to you and anyone who tells you differently does not get medice in this era.

[sessy1979]

My husband has been to several urologist over his stones and I'm starting to relieze that they don't know anymore than anyone else! You hear the same things from all of them. I think it's a money trap honestly. Last year my husband didn't have any insurance and our office visits were $56...this year he's got insurance and our office visits are $80?? Basically it's a 15-20 min visit for him to come in, look at CT scans, say "oh you have a stone...here's some pain meds, drink plenty of water and we'll see back in a few weeks"!! It's ridiculious!! My husband came home from his appointment Tuesday and about 4 hrs later was doubled over in severe pain...I called the urologist and was told there was nothing they could do for him in the office that he should go to the ER. So my question is why even have a urologist if their going to tell you to go to the ER anyway???

[cathrine001]

Keep in mind that the urologist is the consulting physician; if the patient is in pain, you go to ER for evaluation to determine if things are worse; if it is after hours, or any other reason the doctor's office does not cover.

The ER is a stop-gap measure. If you aren't getting anywhere with the urologist, go the to ER for re-evaluation, tests, and referral elsewhere.

Find out what kind of stones you are having; 80% of them are calcium stones, and do not respond to diet, but there are meds that help the stones from becoming larger. See Web MD for more information --> www.webmd.com

Stones are dangerous. I just have one removed from the Left ureter measuring 7mm, and the blockage caused enlargement of the kidney and subsequent infection after the surgery -- I was dethly ill afterwards.

I urge everyone who is unhappy with their urologist to fire them and find one who works well with your needs. You don't have to accept inferior medical care.

Find a teaching hospital and get an appointment with one of the directors of the urology clinic. I fired 9 urologists and got the runaround speech from all of them. Two of them performed three surgeries (Lithotripsy) on a very large stone (pecan-sized) that never got rid of the stone, but made it smaller -- it is still in my Rt kidney at the bottom, far away from the Rt ureter. The Lithotripsies have left me with pancreatic damage that has given me diabetes, and enough shock to the Central Nervous System to cause high blood pressure.

I have seen Dr. Brian Matlaga, Head of Stone Diseases in the Urology Clinic at Johns Hopkins University; Baltimore, Maryland. He is worth the wait (and the trip), and truly the finest urologist that has received nothing by praise by the urology community at large. He is my hero, and I would trust him with my life. You can find him at Johns Hopkins and make an appointment for a consultation.

You are in my prayers.

[gott1936]

To all:
What do they call a medical student who graduates with a " D " average?
A " DOCTOR "!
That scares the hell out me, especially when the drug companies keep telling us check with our doctor to see if we should take a particular drug.

gott