Kidney Stone 5 weeks before Trip!

[liveforthemagic]

I'm not really sure where to post this....but my friends on the Budget Board always come through for me.

So DS13 spent 4 hours in the ER last night after having blood in his urine. He has a 3 mm kidney stone in his right kidney. It hasn't started moving yet.

Does anyone have any experience with how long it might take after the first episode of bloody urine til the stone starts to move and pass? The ER Dr said she just can't tell us when it will start to move. Any suggestions other than drinking gallons of water to get it to start to move out of the kidney?

I'd hate to have it start to move while we are on vacation. DS is so freaked out about when its going to start to move he's afraid to even have a friend sleep over, let alone go on vacation for a week.

HELP!

 

[dismom24]

I'm so sorry your DS is going through this. They are so painful. There really is no way to tell when they will move. I have had them gone in a week and others took months and some never moved and I and to have lipotripsy. I hope his moves quick and he feels better soon.

 

[jenlynn0808]

Just wanted to say I'm sorry for your son and hopefully the stone will pass quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Don't know if you are planning to fly or not, but you may want to check with the Dr. if you are plannig to fly. DH had a 5mm stone last fall and the Dr. wouldn't clear him to fly for a month after it passed. Maybe it was due to the stones size, his age (36 at the time), or that he had never had one before, but I know he wasn't allowed to fly (he had a job interview we had to postpone for a month) until the Dr. gave him the all clear.

 

[cndij]

My brother in law had a kidney stone attack AT WDW one time. Went to a first aid station where they tranported him to the little "hospital" at Lake Buena Vista (this was 20 years ago) he passed it that afternoon, rested that evening and was back at Disney with us the next day.

 

[spatenfloot]

I will probably pass quickly if he drinks plenty of water. Lemonade is good too.

 

[Diana Lyn]

I've had several kidney stones and how long they take from the first pain to pass varies. The last one I had I'd go a few days with pain then a few weeks without pain. This went for several months and I finally had to have lithotripsy.

I'm so sorry your DS has this problem. I hope his passes quickly.

 

[momxx5]

Bless his heart.

What did the Dr. say as far as travelling? Or was she pretty impartial.

Have you considered taking him to an Urologist? I have 7+ kidney stones that came on during a pregnancy. That was fun.

There are certain procedure.....lipotripsy (sp?) that may be able to help. Basically its breaking up the stone with sonic waves and thus the smaller pieces can pass with out pain.

I think if an Urologist followed up with your DS weekly, then you would have a better idea if movement will occur during vacation.

If you go before anything happens, please ask the dr. for painkillers and antibiotics for the trip. Your son will be in lots of pain and be extremely tired. A day in bed may be neccessary and it would be easier if you have the right stuff with you rather than try to find a dr. there. Unless the stone gets stuck and he develops kidney blockage....whitch you would be able to tell....vomiting, total loss of appetite, high fever, etc. Without those symtoms a ER visit really would not be needed. Just "ride" it out.
Good luck.


PS I would be worried that some of the thrill rides would move the stone along.

 

[mtblujeans]

DH passed a kidney stone about 15 years ago. He was in ALOT of pain while it was working its way out. Have DS drink more water than he thinks he can handle to get it to pass quickly. As I recall, DH's stone passed on the third day after his initial diagnosis but it had already left the kidney. Be prepared for a very painful experience for your DS, I am afraid. If it is not that bad for him, then all the better. But, be prepared for it anyway. The doctor made DH pee into a small screen to catch the stone. Then, he had to take it back to the doctor once it passed. I don't remember why the doctor wanted the stone, though. I would expect that the process would be over before you go on your trip....it all depends upon when the stone leaves the kidney. I hope it is a very quick process for him, for your sake as well as his.

 

[kilee]

First my thoughts are w/ your son. I hope for a quick passing for him.

My husband has had them twice. The first time. The symptoms came on pretty quickly and it passed later the same night. He seemed run down for the next day or so, but then he was fine.

The second time, well that was another story and I'm sure a 1 in a million situation. Ironically it has a WDW connection.

We were driving home to NY after our 10 day WDW trip. The morning we're set to leave he said he didn't feel very good. Thought he had a stomach bug. We stopped multiple times, but he just kept getting worse. Right around the GA/SC border he told me to find him an ER- he was in a lot of pain. I got off the interstate and went to a gas station. They told pretty much I had to go about an hr in either direction to get to an ER. So, rather than backtrack, we kept moving forward.

They diagnosed him w/ a kidney stone there- watched him for awhile, pushed fluids, gave him a script for pain meds. Then let him go. We got home the next day. Anyhow, over the next few days dh was on pain meds the entire time w/ not much relief. He ended up being admitted so they could put a stent in. The stone was not passing and they could not do the litho for a few more days. About 48 hrs after they put in the stent, he got very ill. The urologist kept telling me he was on Cipro and he'd be fine, he just had to hang in there. I went to work and came home on my morning break to check on him. He was pretty much inconscience and I took his temp. It was 105.1. I started to freak out and had him taken back to the hospital. Turns out he developed a MRSA infection in his urinary track. He was in critical condition for the next week. Spent an additional week in the hospital. Then 6 more weeks on homecare IV treatments w/ antibiotics for the infection. Now 8.5 weeks later they finally did surgery to remove the stone. He was no longer a candidate for litho.

He then goes 5 days later to have the stent removed along w/ the central line in his chest for the antibiotics. 2 days later he developed severe arm pain and swelling. Turns out he had a blood clot in his upper arm, right near his chest from the central line. Back into the hospital he went.

All this stemmed from a kidney stone. It turned into a 3 month health ordeal and crisis. Like I said a 1 in a million shot that it would go so wrong.

 

[liveforthemagic]

Thanks everyone. Keep the experiences coming....they are helping me wrap my mind around the fact that a 13 year old could have a kidney stone. What kills me is we NEVER let him drink soda or even sports drinnks--its only water and juice. (He hates milk.) We're not totally organic, but try very hard. We also watch sodium very closely and fast food is a special treat b/c of the high salt content. This is the kind of kid who prefers a Caesar salad to a burger and fries.

We just talked to him and he says he'd like to try lemonade as someone suggested, so we'll get him some tomorrow. He is alluding to the fact that his back feels "kind of weird" but says it doesn't actually hurt.

I've heard a few people tell me that travelling seems to trigger kidney stone attacks--maybe its more dehydrating than normal to travel, especially with air travel?

We go to his pediatrician tomorrow, so we'll see what she says. The ER doc knew we were flying to Orlando, but didn't make any comments one way or the other. I do like the idea about getting a prescription ahead of time for pain killers or antibiotics in case it moves while we are there. Never thought about the rides jarring the stone either--maybe we should just let him do a marathon on Tower of Terror to get rid of it.

He was cutting the grass yesterday, and came inside and his urine was red. (I am not exaggerating--I was freaked out.) But by the time we got to the er, it appeared clear, although they said there was still blood in it when they tested it.

I shouldn't be complaining. Someone in our parish's 17 year old son recently suffered complete renal failure--so I know we are very blessed. The anal retentive control freak in me just is having a hard time accepting the fact that I can't schedule this.

 

[Traveliz]

Thanks everyone. Keep the experiences coming....they are helping me wrap my mind around the fact that a 13 year old could have a kidney stone. What kills me is we NEVER let him drink soda or even sports drinnks--its only water and juice. (He hates milk.) We're not totally organic, but try very hard. We also watch sodium very closely and fast food is a special treat b/c of the high salt content. This is the kind of kid who prefers a Caesar salad to a burger and fries.

We just talked to him and he says he'd like to try lemonade as someone suggested, so we'll get him some tomorrow. He is alluding to the fact that his back feels "kind of weird" but says it doesn't actually hurt.

I've heard a few people tell me that travelling seems to trigger kidney stone attacks--maybe its more dehydrating than normal to travel, especially with air travel?

We go to his pediatrician tomorrow, so we'll see what she says. The ER doc knew we were flying to Orlando, but didn't make any comments one way or the other. I do like the idea about getting a prescription ahead of time for pain killers or antibiotics in case it moves while we are there. Never thought about the rides jarring the stone either--maybe we should just let him do a marathon on Tower of Terror to get rid of it.

He was cutting the grass yesterday, and came inside and his urine was red. (I am not exaggerating--I was freaked out.) But by the time we got to the er, it appeared clear, although they said there was still blood in it when they tested it.

I shouldn't be complaining. Someone in our parish's 17 year old son recently suffered complete renal failure--so I know we are very blessed. The anal retentive control freak in me just is having a hard time accepting the fact that I can't schedule this.

I have never heard that soda or anything of the sort causes stones. My husband has celiac's disease and is lactose intolerant so basically eats nothing fun and he has all kinds of problems with them. I think you are just predisposed.

Liz

 

[michellekl]

oh how i feel for your son! kidney stones are some of the worst pain imaginable. more so than un-medicated labor, for sure, at least for me anyway. & unfortunately i've heard they are much more painful for males.

it took about 3 days for my stone to pass, but the MRI i had showed it as being out of my kidney already. i drank a lot of liquid (what i could keep down, yes the pain was so bad it made me vomit...a lot!), rested, started a cranberry supplement & was very thankful for those tylenol3's.

if your doctor gave your son a strainer, i really suggest he uses it to possibly catch the stone. you can take it to the urologist, and they will analyze the stone's properties. the analysis could quite possibly tell you what the stone is made up of (calcium, etc.). i've read that there are 2 types of stones, ones that are formed because of what we eat/drink & just our natural every day living & the other type is formed because of a urinary tract infection.

i wish him the best of luck, nobody should have to go through pain like that. especially someone so young.

 

[branv]

Wow that is so weird. Just this afternoon I read an article about how kidney stones in kids have gone through the roof. My heart goes out to him, I hope it's over quickly and as easily as possible.

For PP, the article did mention something about the sucrose in soda: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/health/28kidn.html?bl&ex=1225339200&en=5f15e7dc1d0b8032&ei=5087

 

[billdog1977]

Alls I have to say is kidney stones suck. I've had two of them and it isn't any fun. Now i was lucky I passed both of them pretty quickly after feeling the pain. I would say after about 2 or 3 hours after the pain started. The first one I just drank and drank water til the pain was gone and could urinate without any blood. The second I had a IV to flush out my system and given awsome drugs(LOL). Tell your son I feel for him and hope he is better soon.

 

[sherreis]

My DS13 had a kidney stone about the same size in May. Started the same way - with blood in his urine. I've never been so happy as when he told us the first thing. He was so scared because DH had kidney cancer last fall and DS13 just kept saying "I don't want surgery, I don't want surgery."

Anyway, I started pushing water on him. Gave him a sports bottle to fill with water at school and told him he had to fill it 3 times during the day. Wasn't taking any chances. On the first morning, I took him to school so I could talk to the school nurse to give her a heads up and for her to write something to all teachers that DS needed to be given permission to drink the water during class as well as frequent bathroom breaks that would cause. DS had a slight amount of cramping over his kidney area but never had the severe pain that can often come with a kidney stone - I hope that happens with your DS.

I was reminding my DS this morning that he isn't drinking enough water and reminded him what happened last spring and if he didn't want a recurrence he better start drinking water again. Was constantly reminding him when we were at WDW last week and it was hot.

Best of luck to you and DS.

 

[carone0318]

Dh just had a 3mm kidney stone about 3 weeks ago. This was his 2nd one, the first one he was in high school. It was very painful and he ended up being admitted to the hospital for the night.

He didn't want any procedures done (he was told by the Urologist that he could not have the procedure that used the sound waves to break up the stone done because a 3mm stone is too small.) The only thing that they were willing to do was some surgical procedure, which dh said no, he wanted to pass naturally.

They did put him on Flomax because they said it helped open things up and would help him pass the stone. They also gave him a prescription for pain to use if the pain came back. He carried his pain meds with him for a week and had to "strain" his pee to watch for the stone. After about 1 week he had another ultrasound and it was determined that he did indeed pass the stone and he had no idea.

 

[mrsklamc]

DH was put on Flomax as well as a muscle relaxer to help him pass his.

The doctor said they no longer believe they have much to do with diet, just drink lots of water. DH's dad always drank cranberry juice with his as well.

 

[ameraumi]

My DH is still walking around with a Kidney Stone from Feb 07. It is too large to pass, I believe 7-8 mm. He even went in to have the Sonic Wave thing done but the stone was sitting in front of his spine and it was not safe to do. His last CT scan showed it is still in the same spot and at this point they are just watching it.

I have read anything acid-y will help (real lemonade, OJ). There are also Cranberry pills you can buy that may help.

 

[Disneyfan1977]

Good Morning
I am so sorry to hear about your son and his stone. Ouch. I have had stones probably since being a teen too, only mine never caused problems until I was 21 and pregnant with my daughter.

I have passed stones that were teeny tiny and I have passed ones on my own that were a little bigger than a pea. The good news is that there is a good chance that the stone will just sit there. Do you know exactly where it is in the kidney (mid, upper or lower pole of the kidney). If it is already in the ureter than it will probably work it's way down.

I would try to see a pediatric urologist if your insurance allows it. You could ask about a getting a stent put in which would allow the kidney to properly drain but the stents themselves can be very uncomfortable.

Also, I would call down to Orlando ahead of time and find out which centers take your insurance and get directions to where they are. That way if somethings happens while you are there you know where to go.

 

[Newfie2000]

Thanks everyone. Keep the experiences coming....they are helping me wrap my mind around the fact that a 13 year old could have a kidney stone. What kills me is we NEVER let him drink soda or even sports drinnks--its only water and juice. (He hates milk.) We're not totally organic, but try very hard. We also watch sodium very closely and fast food is a special treat b/c of the high salt content. This is the kind of kid who prefers a Caesar salad to a burger and fries.

We just talked to him and he says he'd like to try lemonade as someone suggested, so we'll get him some tomorrow. He is alluding to the fact that his back feels "kind of weird" but says it doesn't actually hurt.

I've heard a few people tell me that travelling seems to trigger kidney stone attacks--maybe its more dehydrating than normal to travel, especially with air travel?

We go to his pediatrician tomorrow, so we'll see what she says. The ER doc knew we were flying to Orlando, but didn't make any comments one way or the other. I do like the idea about getting a prescription ahead of time for pain killers or antibiotics in case it moves while we are there. Never thought about the rides jarring the stone either--maybe we should just let him do a marathon on Tower of Terror to get rid of it.

He was cutting the grass yesterday, and came inside and his urine was red. (I am not exaggerating--I was freaked out.) But by the time we got to the er, it appeared clear, although they said there was still blood in it when they tested it.

I shouldn't be complaining. Someone in our parish's 17 year old son recently suffered complete renal failure--so I know we are very blessed. The anal retentive control freak in me just is having a hard time accepting the fact that I can't schedule this.

DH has had several bouts with kidney stones over the past four years and apparently will continue to have them throughout his life. As I write this he has a minimum of 13 stones that remain in his kidneys after both lithiotripsy and old fashioned open surgery for stones within the past three years.

We went one step past a Urologogist and saw a Nephrologist, who is a kidney specialist. I learned an awful lot about stones in general and would like to share a few things with you.

Each person's stones consist of a different "make-up", I am having problems figuring out the term but they are composed of different materials. So, each person is likely to be different has to what they need to eliminate/restrict/add to their diet based on the make-up of the stone. Most people need to reduce or eliminate salt as that is a frequent offender. But some need to reduce protein, etc. The only way to know what the stone is made of is to get it or a piece of it either by straining or surgery and then they can do a composite on it. But, I caution you on the increasing lemonade for your DS - my DH was told to reduce all citrus and eliminate all extra vitamin C from his diet. I am not to give him a Vit. C tab even for a cold. For him citrus increases risk of stones. Water is always safe though and every specialist that we have been to - will push it... hard. Actually DH has always consumed what I thought was very high amounts of water. Little did I know that a good formula for water intake is take the actual pound weight of the person and divide it by two in ounces. So if a person is 200lbs they should be drinking at least 100 ounces of water daily. That is not including juice, soda, coffee,milk etc. that is just water. Pretty amazing, huh? And yes, as someone already mentioned soda is a huge offender when it comes to stones - but then again each person is different.

I would love to tell you more but I really don't want to steer you wrong because each case of stones is very unique. I suspect that due to your DS age a Urologist will probably recommend a visit to the Nephrologist as it seems once someone has stones they have a tendency to develop more. One of the first things a Nephrologist does is compose a chart of the individuals risk level and probablilities - something to keep in mind is that a Urologist treats stones but a Nephrologist works to prevent them in the future. I say that because I really could not figure out the difference.

DH did have a stent put it at one point and it was an awful experience - in fact he rates that pretty close to number 1 on his "bad" list and he has been through a lot and a lot of surgeries so please avoid a stent if possible. Everybody Iknow has had severe issues with them. Lithiptripsy though was by far the easiest procedure, unfortunately it is not always successful, depending on the type of stones and can be kind if hard to get into last minute because there are limited locations that do it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me!

And best of luck to your DS!