Kidney Stones

[jodybell]

Has anyone had the surgery with the tube in the kidney? I had it 2 mos ago. Yes, I had a 6 cm stone blocking all but 19% function of my left kidney. 38 years old and female. Never had any stone problems that I am aware of. Now my kidney just hurts. My dr. says it is because of the "controlled stabbing" they performed on me. How long will I keep hurting? My latest cat-scan shows the kidney is almost back to normal size. There is some permant damage, but everything looks good. The best news I could of hoped for.

[Smiffy51]

That's good news, I hope your pain is subsiding now. I had a 1cm stone removed surgically a few weeks ago - the worst part was having the tube pulled out of my kidney. My back & under my ribs is still sore, but nothing compared to the pain of that stone.

[jodybell]

That tube is not my favorite thing thats for sure. I got the pathology back finally and it was the staghorn kind. Could of been alot worse, if I let it go. I am glad that you are ok too. How long were you in hospital? It sure takes a while to get back to normal.

[Smiffy51]

I was in hospital for 5 nights. How long were you in? What caused your big stone? (mine was caused by hyperparathyroidism)

I hope your kidney is less sore now. My scar is itching like mad at the moment.

[jodybell]

My kidney stone was 100% infection, known as Struvite. The scar is so little, but what they did to you was stabbed your kidney. I was in for one night and two days. I don't really know how to prevent this from happening again, except drink lots of water. Five days is awful long? What is hyperthyroidism?

[tropical]

Hi Jodybell...

I have been diagnosed with a large staghorn kidney stone and was wondering if you had to have a tube in your kidney for drainage of fluid for a month before they performed the surgery? No one has told me the exact size of the stone but I have seen it on the cat scan and it looks huge to me. One doctor's assistant said she thinks it is about 1 cm. I only have 18.4% function in my kidney and stage IV hydronephrosis. How long did you have to stay in the hospital?
I have had 4 different opinions from 4 Urologists as to how to treat this stone. One even said to remove the kidney. I live in Florida and have decided to go to the Mayo Clinic in hopes that they will know what to do with the least amount of invasion.
I hope you are doing fine now.

[jodybell]

Hi Tropical,

They like to remove kidneys at 15% . Sounds like you and I just made it. I only had the tube in for 24 hours. I was in the hospital only over night and got released the following evening. They need to make sure you don't spike a fever. Go to the mayo clinic and get the surgery. Thats what I'd do. What were you diaognosed with stage 4 something? Life is way better after the surgery. I still am forming stones, but they pass on there own. Pain isn't as bad as some.

[tropical]

Hi Jodybell...

Thanks so much for your reply...I have had visions of having to go through this procedure for at least 2 months according to what some of the Urologists have told me. I can only hope it will be as quick as yours. My kidney is full of fluid and the stage IV from what I understand is the swelling of the kidney. It all sounds so awful, but it's hard for me to comprehend because I have no pain. Glad you agree with me about Mayo. I am scheduled for my evaluation at Mayo on April 25th. I will let you know how it turns out.

[jodybell]

It can be pretty scary. I am just guessing , but my kidney was double the size because of the stone was clogging the drain so to speak. If you were to let this go the staghorn stone grows rapidly. Then comes the pain and infection. Sound like you caught it early. It took a stabbing pain in my side to get to the Dr. My reg. Dr. said the human body only needs 50% function of one kidney to be normal. But I want both as a back up. Please keep me posted. You will be fine.

[carlso]

Jody and Tropical -- Did either of you have recurrent UTI's? I thought struvite and staghorn caused little symptoms and were found only when the patient experienced repeated infections. Did the swelling of the kidney not cause pain? Are you on preventive antibiotics so there is no further growth? I hope I'm not being intrusive. Good luck at Mayo.