Lithotripsy

[JEBar]

after starting out with over a dozen, I've been down to 2 kidney stones for over a year ..... I attribute taking vinegar pills to the reduction .... according to medical testing, both are just large enough to make them difficult to pass .... I've had a kidney stone attack and have no interest every having another one ..... accordingly, I'm scheduled for a Lithotripsy next week .... that is a procedure that uses shock waves to break up stones in the kidney and parts of the ureter (tube that carries urine from your kidneys to your bladder). After the procedure, the tiny pieces of stones pass out of your body in your urine ..... not looking forward to it in one way but very much so in another ..... I'd appreciated comments from anyone who has undergone Lithotripsy .

[Mr. Neutron]

Jim,

I have not had a procedure like you described, but I think I might welcome it if I have another stone......

Does drinking lemonade, or putting lemon juice in your water & tea help any? That's what I was told to do for the only one stone I've ever had. Ditto for my 80 yr. old Uncle who has had several stone episodes. It's *supposed* to help break them down, I'm told by my Urologist, Dr. Evil.

I hope your procedure goes well, and much better than mine did. They went up my big Jimmie Johnson with a camera that felt like it was the size of a can of Spam covered with cockle burrs. Then they pinched out the offending stone (mine was lodged in the exit of the bladder) with a tool similar to an alligator clip. All while I enjoyed watching it on a little TV in the room. "Relax!", he kept telling me. "Think of something funny!" All I could do was blurt out "THEN TELL ME SOMETHING F*#ING FUNNY!"

I've never been in so much pain during a procedure, and for months afterwards. It caused/triggered an infection that took 2 rounds of antibiotics and a coupla months to get past. This was called a Cystoscopy. I'll have my wife pound on my back with a sledge hammer to bust up a stone before I have that done again, I think......

Again, I truly, TRULY hope your procedure goes much better for you.

[FormerParatrooper]

I didn't get the lithotripsy option when I had my stone. They went old school complete with a 36 inches of string and catheter. Having had both a serious case of stones and a major heart attack, I can definitively say the stones were the most painful experience of my life. I would rather swim bloody and naked with piranhas than have another stone.

[dave77]

I never had it done but can't they sedate you seeing that it's that painful. I've always been completely knocked out for my colonoscopies, I once had a flex-sigmoidoscopy done without sedation and can't imagine having a colonoscopy without being knocked out.

[JEBar]

this morning started early .... drove to and checked into REX Hospital in Raleigh for an "Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)" to break up 2 kidney stones .... ​this is said to be the most common treatment in the U.S .... it is supposed to be the best for small or medium stones ....the doctor aims high-energy sound waves to break up the kidney stone into little pieces .... the larger of my 2 stones proved to be so hard that it took the maximum of sound waves allowed to be given during a single session to pulverize it .... guess at some point we'll have to go back for him to work on the smaller one .... I can't see the area but I sure can feel it and I'm told to anticipate a pretty big bruise ..... will call tomorrow to setup a followup appoint, guess that's when we will know where we go from here ​

[RetiredSeabee]

Ouch! I had a stone many years ago. I think child birth would be a piece of cake by comparison.

[FormerParatrooper]

this morning started early .... drove to and checked into REX Hospital in Raleigh for an "Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)" to break up 2 kidney stones .... ​this is said to be the most common treatment in the U.S .... it is supposed to be the best for small or medium stones ....the doctor aims high-energy sound waves to break up the kidney stone into little pieces .... the larger of my 2 stones proved to be so hard that it took the maximum of sound waves allowed to be given during a single session to pulverize it .... guess at some point we'll have to go back for him to work on the smaller one .... I can't see the area but I sure can feel it and I'm told to anticipate a pretty big bruise ..... will call tomorrow to setup a followup appoint, guess that's when we will know where we go from here ​

Hope the best for you.

[Travlin]

I had the stones and could be just sitting or walking and out of the blue sharp pain like a hot knife that almost doubled me over. Went to the urologist but got no help. Finally my wife got me on D-Mannose 500 mg twice a day and what do you know after a week or so no more pain at all and that was six years ago. So take it for what it is worth to you but it fixed me up as in fantastic.

[GeoBoy]

I had stones and 1 lodged between the kidney and the bladder, I blacked out momentarily as I was driving slowly in an industrial park. Called my gastroenterologist nurse and thought my colon ruptured, she assured me nooo that didn’t happen but to go to the hospital. The hospital was a 2 hour painful drive away and when I finally got checked over they determined it was a kidney stone. Luckily for me that hospital had a good urologist and kidney stone program. They sedated me and went up to get the stone and it disintegrated when they attempted to remove it. I passed a few stones after that but staying hydrated and staying away from Tums for reflux all but eliminated kidney stones for me.

[JEBar]

recovering from the Lithotripsy hasn't been bad at all .... some bruising and soreness passed within a few days .... I have to filter all urine to collect parts of the stone .... to my relief, so far all have been specs, literally the size of a grain of sand .... I have a followup appointment Friday morning