# Dopers with kidney stones: has this ever happened to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833 "2004-11-03T20:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/1 "2004-11-03T20:13:48Z")
My right kidney has developed a brand new quirk; I’m pretty sure it’s stone-related, and wondering if any of you have similar experiences. There’s only pain when there’s pressure on the kidney. In the straight-back chairs of my dining room, or even on a firm cushion, if I sit back, I can feel, well, a stone pressing into my kidney. If there’s no pressure on it, there’s no pain at all. It’s not an infection (or at least I don’t think so), because there’s no fever or anything. Also, the pain isn’t _always_ there. It happened last Friday, and is going on again today. I have a doctor’s appt. but not until Monday, because since my car died, Monday mornings are the only week days I have reliable transportation. So, if any of you have similar experiences, tell me about it! ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/2 "2004-11-03T20:31:54Z")
Doesn’t sound like a stone to me. Any stone large enough that you could feel it pressing into when you sat a certain way would be HUGE! Think trying to piss a golfball. Most stones cause no pain until they leave the kidney. Usually, from what I have been told and have experienced, it is the trip down the far too small tube from the kidney to the bladder that gets you, and if that already started, believe me you would know it. I have, unfortunately, had several. For me the near exlcusive reason is that I didn’t use to drink enough water _takes another sip from the jug he keeps at his desk_. For all of them I felt absolutley nothing until over the course of about a minute the pain grew to the “please kill me now” of someone from one of the Alien movies. People are different though, so I can’t say for certain, but this does not sound like it to me. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/3 "2004-11-03T20:40:20Z")
> [@flight](#): > > Doesn’t sound like a stone to me. Any stone large enough that you could feel it pressing into when you sat a certain way would be HUGE! Think trying to piss a golfball. Actually, I know for a fact that there’s a stone in my right kidney right now, and I happen to know that it _is_ huge (think “golfball”). A few months ago, the doctor went in to try to get it, and was unsuccessful. He told me that it’s right on the wall of the kidney, and that it may rupture. One of the symptoms that it would be about to rupture would be a fever; the other prominent symptom would be nausea. I don’t have either of those symptoms. But I do have this pain. . . ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/4 "2004-11-03T20:46:53Z")
Yeah I’d have to agree with flight. I’ve had too many kidney stones over the last 2 decades and I’ve had 2 hospitalizations to get them removed. (First was actual surgery and the second was done by lithotrypsy - much nicer). But be that as it may, as flight said, a kidney stone attack is never that subtle. It’s been an “all or nothing at all” situation for me too. Basically, I’ve never wondered “gee is this a kidney stone attack I’m having?” **norinew** , as you probably know, a kidney stone attack is unmistakable. Still, it might be worth your while to ask your doctor about this. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/5 "2004-11-03T21:03:37Z")
IANAD, but that sounds a whole lot like surgery to me. It is way to bigh for ultrasonics as far as I know about them, and it is only going to gat bigger. I guess it is possible that is has grown so huge that you can actually feel it. In fact, I doubt it is even possible to have a normal attack now. How is it even going to begin to leave the kidney. The only way that thing is getting out is with surgery or rupturing. You say you already knew about it, were you planning on doing anything about it near term? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/6 "2004-11-03T21:04:12Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > norinew, as you probably know, a kidney stone attack is unmistakable. Still, it might be worth your while to ask your doctor about this. Oh, I absolutely know that (I’ve had about two dozen stones). That’s what has me puzzled: this is unlike anything in my experience. I do have a doctor’s appt. Monday morning, though, to discuss it with him, because I _do_ have this huge ol’ stone sitting on my kidney. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/7 "2004-11-03T21:07:56Z")
> [@flight](#): > > IANAD, but that sounds a whole lot like surgery to me. It is way to bigh for ultrasonics as far as I know about them, and it is only going to gat bigger. I guess it is possible that is has grown so huge that you can actually feel it. In fact, I doubt it is even possible to have a normal attack now. How is it even going to begin to leave the kidney. The only way that thing is getting out is with surgery or rupturing. You say you already knew about it, were you planning on doing anything about it near term? Yes, this is definitely a surgery-type situation. As I said, he did a procedure a few months ago to try to remove it; that procedure consisted of him making a very small hole in my kidney, enlarging the hole, and then trying to fish out the stone with a wire. He couldn’t find the stone he was looking for (he did manage to get out three other ones while he was there, though). He said that the only option now is a surgery that would cut me wide open, and he doesn’t really want to do that unless it’s absolutely necessary. He gave my the symptoms of rupture to watch for, and told me if nausea and fever happen simultaneously, go straight to the ER. He didn’t say anything about _this_, though. Yeah, it may be more surgery. I’m so damned sick of surgery (I’ve had five in the past four years) I could scream! ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/8 "2004-11-03T21:26:21Z")
**norinew** You posted #3 while I was posting my response (#4). Had I known about your golf-ball sized kidney stone, I don’t think I even would have responded. The ones I’ve had were just in the 5 millimeter range - but as you know - those hurt like HELL !!! I wish you good luck if you have to undergo surgery for that renal “boulder”. Damn that’s big. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/9 "2004-11-03T22:15:19Z")
**wolf\_meister** , “renal boulder”; heh. I like that. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/10 "2004-11-03T22:35:08Z")
Gee Thanks norinew 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/11 "2004-11-03T23:07:32Z")
Man, passing that would be a real bitch. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/12 "2004-11-03T23:14:33Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Man, passing that would be a real bitch. Indeed. And I have a feeling that from what the doc has said of the surgery, recovery will be equally fun (of course, at least with recovery from surgery you usually get good drugs). ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/13 "2004-11-05T15:08:45Z")
Well, not only do I have a doctor’s appt. on Monday, but my doc was kind enough to phone in a scrip for 40 Hydrocodone, so unless I develop a high fever or nausea, I won’t end up in the ER over the weekend. I _hate, hate, hate_ having to go to the ER with kidney stone pain because they won’t do _anything_ about it until they get an IV started, and with my little baby veins, that can take upwards of an hour! Did I mention that I hate the ER? But it doesn’t look like I’ll end up there. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/14 "2004-11-05T15:29:12Z")
I’ve never seen the appeal of _ER_ myself, either. 27 Emmys? Big deal. On the bright side of your real life, it can only get better now, right? Good luck, get well soon, shields up, etc… ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-with-kidney-stones-has-this-ever-happened-to-you/272833/15 "2004-11-05T15:44:42Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > On the bright side of your real life, it can only get better now, right? Well, I’ve always been an optimist, so, yeah.