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So many people are saying it's the worst pain of their lives. I really hope I never get one in my life. Are these things more common as you get older? I'm in my late 30s now. I'm uncomfortable just having my blood drawn. I don't even want to think about kidney stones, especially when I think about where they have to come out of. I'd probably be freaking out next time I get a pain in my kidney area now that I've read this thread.
I've had them. Much of what has been mentioned above I've experienced except I didn't read where anyone had mentioned blood in the urine. The first time I had one it was just about a month or so after going on blood thinner due to a blood clot. Of course they tell you to report any unusual bleeding when on blood thinner. I didn't know yet that I had a kidney stone since I hadn't experienced any pain, but when I used the bathroom it looked like I was releasing pure blood. Scared the bejeezus out of me.
The day before I passed my last one I urinated blood four times in a row with each time there being more blood. It went from light to what looked like straight blood ... By the end of the night, though, it was back to pretty much normal.
To those who pass blood:
In the absence of a kidney stone, I'd get it checked right away. Kidney cancer has announced it presence in two friends in precisely that manner.
On the other hand, it can be literally nothing. I passed blood (I thought) when I was in the service, but the doctor said it was just protein. Muscle strain. Sure looked like blood, though. Scared my little 21 year-old self.
To those who pass blood:
In the absence of a kidney stone, I'd get it checked right away. Kidney cancer has announced it presence in two friends in precisely that manner.
On the other hand, it can be literally nothing. I passed blood (I thought) when I was in the service, but the doctor said it was just protein. Muscle strain. Sure looked like blood, though. Scared my little 21 year-old self.
Definitely. In my case it was around this time in 2013, so I was 41. They had just put me on blood thinner in early January due to a blood clot I had developed from a car ride to the in-laws' house. (At its worst the clot, when I tried to stand, was about equally as painful as the stones would later be. I missed about 2 weeks of work.) With the blood in the urine I went to urgent care. The doctor told me I had probably passed a stone and with sharp edges the blood thinner of course was making the bleeding worse than it would normally be. I remember thinking, "Huh. If I passed a stone I didn't even notice. Lucky me." That night I was hit with the awful pain that lasted about 6 hours. By the time I got back to urgent care that day it had subsided. They then did a CT scan that showed the stones, sent me home with a strainer, and set up an urologist appt. because the urgent care doctor was concerned about two masses that filled up almost two halves of my kidney. The urologist couldn't decipher if they were cysts or not from the scan so he sent me for an MRI because he didn't "want to miss a tumor or anything". He also did a scope during which he checked out the bladder (oh, so fun, but he did say I had a beautiful one). After the MRI he was pretty sure they were just cysts, but had me make an appointment for another CT scan late summer. If he still wasn't sure at that point he said he might consider a biopsy. When I went for the last scan it showed that the masses/cysts were no longer there.
I'm still not convinced that much of it wasn't stress related, although I was told no. My father had been diagnosed with stage 1 pancreatic cancer in July and passed in October. My FIL was diagnosed with cancer in late October and passed in November. I developed the clot in late December/early January. The stones started hitting me in February. For months I dealt with recurring pain and bleeding from the stones, which I never do recall actually passing. I was told they were probably starting to exit the kidney and due to size were getting pushed back and that's when I was getting the pain.
A scan I had fairly recently showed one tiny, little stone in a kidney.
I hope they've given you info on how changes in your diet may help you avoid them in the future...depending on the cause there may be things you can do.
Have had one, and thankfully only one over 10 years ago. My pain was sudden and violent. Was in the ER within a half hour of the onset of pain. Was vomiting like crazy, completely delirious. Passed a grain of rice sized stone within 12 hours. Terrible.
So many people are saying it's the worst pain of their lives.
Had a 9mm stone requiring lithotripsy twice to break it up. Always said it was the worst pain I ever experienced. Then I had a bilateral nephrectomy. Now that's some pain. Won't be dealin' with no stinkin' kidney stones nomore.
I've had two in 30 years. First one was the biggest, it was a clump in my kidney blocking flow out of it. I had to wait in the hospital for a couple of days to see if it would pass. I was drugged up and slept a lot. It didn't pass and they had to operate and go into my kidney and cut up the rock. Probably a month or so after this they came out with the lithroscopy machine in our area
My last one was a couple of years ago, it hurt as much as labor without meds. Only with the stone, it's constant pain until it passes, labor gives you a breather between contractions and the continuous phase is typically over quicker than passing a stone. With a stone, the level of pain also relates to how large the stone is - how much tissue it tears out as it scrapes its way down the ureter and urethra.
An interesting medical fact is that folks deficient in Vitamin D tend to be stone formers And, magnesium stops calcium from combining with oxalate to form stones. So it's important to keep D and magnesium levels balanced.
Had a 9mm stone requiring lithotripsy twice to break it up. Always said it was the worst pain I ever experienced. Then I had a bilateral nephrectomy. Now that's some pain. Won't be dealin' with no stinkin' kidney stones nomore.
When I had stones, there were a few female coworkers of mine who became offended and actually a bit angry when I mentioned that I had heard the pain was similar or worse and than labor pain.
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