If you ever had kidney stones,

[RosieRosie]

what were your symptoms?

 

[bigbabyblues]

I've never had them, but my mom currently does. She had severe pain in her lower stomach and low back, and vomiting.

I hope you don't have a stone, but if you think you do, please get it checked out, they can get really nasty.

 

[lucky_bunni]

I had a stone come on during a wedding reception. I definately knew it. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. Severe lower back pain from the kidney area where the stone was at. I went home immediately where I couldn't do anything but curl up in a ball. When I urinated it was ladden with blood, right then I knew it was a stone and it was passing. I went to the hospital where they did an MRI and confirmed the stone. Unfortunately, I never recovered the actual stone and they said it may have just broken up on it's way out.

 

[kilee]

Ugh-- DH has had them twice in the last few years. You'll know it-- because the pain will be like nothing you have ever-ever felt. You most likely will need a trip to the ER for pain support while it's passing.

 

[Goofymum]

When I was in the 2nd grade I was in the hospital for like 2 weeks. (I was young it felt like 2 weeks anyway lol) My parent's said it was because of a kidney stone. I remember all my classmates making me cards and sending it to school..and I remember our pastor coming to see me and my mom crying when they were trying to give me a shot. Sure seems like a lot of drama for a little Kidney stone? lol I remember the pain though and non-stop vomiting. Every once in a while I still get pains in my kidney area that lasts for like 5-10 minutes.

 

[Michelemouse]

I just wanted to add that, depending on your pain threshold, you may not think the pain is all that bad. I didn't.

I had some back pain on and off for a couple of years. Discussed it with my doctor and, based on the timing, decided it was probably something to do with female stuff. She mentioned kidney stones but said the pain would be excruciating and I'd know it was more than monthly cramps. Well, this went on for a while...each time it would happen I would definitely be very uncomfortable but I would go to bed and be fine the next morning. Until last June. This time the pain was so bad that I couldn't function. It got so bad that I ended up at the emergency room where I was diagnosed with a 2cm kidney stone (huge by kidney stone standards I have learned). I ended up having day surgery (non-invasive) to break up the stone and have been fine ever since.

If you even think you might have a kidney stone please get it checked out. I now have some permanent kidney damage on one side (nowhere near life threatening, but permanent damage is never good) and really wish I'd known about the stone earlier.

Good luck.

 

[floridafam]

My sister gets them all the time.

Some pass with a lot of discomfort but a few have required surgery to break up the stone. One got caught somewhere in some tissue and that one was extremely painful.

She had terrible pain in her back and her abdomen.

Good luck.

 

[momm2four]

My experience was horrible pain in my lower back (over to the side, though) I just couldn't be still, b/c it hurt so much. That's how the nurse at my colleg infirmary knew what was wrong with me.

I have had a total of four (or five?), but none big enough for surgery.

Lori P.

 

[Vivianne]

I've had and still have kidney stones.

My first attack occurred when I went to work. The pain would not subside. I drove myself home and almost fainted after I threw up bile on my kitchen floor. I called my sister who took me to the hospital. After a series of x-rays the urologist told me I had stones. The problem was I had a stone stuck in the ureter (pathway from kidney to bladder). If the stone does not pass, the danger is stone could grow more and block flow from kidney causing it to lose function. Strangely, I did not feel pain while the doctor monitored the stone. He eventually called me at work and told me since the stone was not budging he would have it removed by shock wave treatment. The stone was broken up by this treatment, however, I still have some smaller stones and constantly drink water to flush my kidneys.

About two weeks before all of this happened I did notice blood in my urine. I had gone to another doctor and he had prescribed antibiotics. He thought I had a urinary tract infection. I have a high tolerance for pain but the kidney stone pain is not to be ignored. You can lose your kidney if you do.

 

[RosieRosie]

The pain in my lower back was very painful last night - it usually hurts only when I lay down to go to sleep. But yesterday I drank and drank lots of water and today no pain - does this make sense?

 

[KaraKW]

It still may be a stone. You only experience the pain as the stone is moving -- which means that the pain is periodic and unpredictable. I found that my kidney stone pain began as mild discomfort, but as it continued to move through the ureter, the pain grew to an excruciating level.

 

[izzy]

Another kidney stone sufferer here. I have had two, and they were both quite different. The first one I had 10 years ago was on my right side. I had noticed for several days that everytime I went to the bathroom, I immediately felt like I had to go again. I had wondered if I had a bladder or kidney infection, but since I had never had one before, I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. After about 3 days of this, I started having a niggling pain on my lower right side that within a 1/2 hour became excruciating. My secretary had to drive me to the ER where they would not give me pain medication since they didn't know what was wrong. A urine test showed blood in my urine and they also did some sort of dye test that showed the blockage. Thank goodness I passed it in about 1 hour and I bounced right back.

The second one was about 5 years. No warning symptoms at all. I woke up at 2 in the morning in lots of pain on my lower left side, laid there for about 10 minutes with the pain getting worse, and I finally decided to drive myself to the ER. (Dumb, dumb move that I will never do again!) When I got to the ER, I knew it was definitely a kidney stone and I was demanding drugs. Let's put it this way, the lady who checked in next to me was in labor was in lots better shape than I was! They gave me one type of drug and told me that if they gave me something stronger I wouldn't be able to drive myself home. Within a 1/2 hour they were doing the dye test and shooting me up with morphine. Yep, this time a blockage on the left side. After I threw up about 5 times I started feeling better and they sent me home. For the next 10 days, I had attacks on and off. Sometimes in my lower front, sometimes in my back. (The back ones felt like someone was sticking my with a knife.) I finally passed it.

So, I guess the moral of this story is that they can act differently even for the same person. If the pain gets to be too much, please get someone to take you to the ER. I was unable to see the blood in my urine both times, but it did show up in the tests.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I hate dentist and kidney stones

 

[dmadman43]

I've had two and like everyone else has said, the pain is unbearable. The first one I was in college and drug myself over to the campus health center. They debated over me for about 15 minutes trying to diagnose what is was. I finally said "look, I don't care what it is at the moment, just give me something for the pain". They shot me with Demerol. Boy! Was that awsome! Great stuff. I guess I passed that one

The second one I had, I felt lower back pain, but had been helping someone move that day so I attributed it to that. But, it didn't go away and got worse. Took a hot bath at 11:00. Took some Tylenol 3's and went to sleep. Woke up at 4:00 and could barely walk. They saw the stone on an MRI. Told me to try to flush it. So, I drank gallons of water over the next few days to no avail. (the pain had obviously subsided as the stone settled). They said, "well, guess will have to take it out". Only one way to go in and do that... That was no fun, either...