Kidney Stones And Ferris Wheels

Factual Questions
1

Do you suppose Cecil might be interested in this question?
Hi, all. SageGrouse here. So named because I am old and crotchety.

I am crotchety because I am a “stone former” No, not farmer, former. I form kidney stones. Sadly, for myself only, it’s NOT a paying position.

Every so often I’ll end up in hospital woth a whopper of a rock, generally in my poor beleagured left kidney. I’m trying to shortstop the process this time by drinking lots of fluids. Still, in the mornings, when I have slept on my left side (my vastly preferred sleeping position) I find myself with a tell-tale ache in my left side. Uh-ohhhhh…

Does sleeping position affect the formation of kidney stones? Gravity? You would think that both kidneys, secreting urine, would be equally affected. I’ve never heard of urine going from one kidney to another, or being more concentrated on one side, however… when I shift to sleeping on my back, I find the left-side-pain does NOT happen in the morning.

When I sleep on my back, however, I snore like a stuck hog! This is not conducive to a good night’s rest for myself OR for my spousal unit. That my Dearly Beloved has NOT stuffed a gym sock in my unconscious, gaping maw is a miracle unto itself.

I have envisioned some device such as a small Ferris wheel, or a mattress tied to a rotisserie, enabling me to sleep on my left side, quietly, comfortably, while dreamily rotating, thus preventing lithic accretion in the distaff kidney…but questions remain.

  1. Would it be possible to sleep in such a contraption (I envision some sort of sack or harness to keep me from falling out at the top (or bottom, depending on how the mattress is attached)?
  2. Would it affect stone formation? Might I end up with no stones, or stones in BOTH kidneys or stones in weird places (I’ve never HAD a spleen stone! Might make a nice change)
  3. Would I end up with the worst of all worlds, by forming stones in left AND right kidneys AND snoring (at top or bottom of the cycle) to boot?!
  4. Should I just give up and try to sleep standing, like a horse?

Does sleep position affect stone formation or am I just the victim of a curse on my left kidney, placed by a ticked off witch at my birth?

SageGrouse

2

Suggestion - have sleep tests performed. You sound like you have sleep apnea. If the doc puts you on a CPAP machine, it will make a world of difference, as you will sleep better and you can sleep on your back without snoring. SWMBO says my going on a CPAP machine made a world of difference in her quality of sleep. :smiley:

As far as the kidney stones go, when I had mine, the doc recommended drinking something like cranberry juice before I went to bed. Apparently, that acidifies the urine or something and helps prevent the stones from forming.

I ain’t a doc, and all that. Check with your doc.

3

There’s no good evidence that position plays much of a role in kidney stone formation.

Here’s a previous post by me to help a person figure out how they should deal with their kidney stones: QtM on kidney stones.

4

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter :D.

Gotta concur with having a sleep study done if the snoring is that bad. See lots of threads on same here at the Dope. Beats waking up with a smelly sock in your mouth*.

*Or, er, so I’m told ;)**.

** but not by much, I imagine. I loathe sleep studies.
But here’s your bed, anyway!

This one might be helpful as well but has the disadvantage of not existing ;).

5

Actually I rather LIKE that non-existent one! A Bed of nails, but with the nailheads upward instead of the points!

A bed of that type wouldn’t rotate or anything BUT if each “nail” were spring loaded, it would but absolutely even pressure on the entire body.

And yes, I will go have a study done.

SageGrouse

6

Go see The Wolverine (that’s what the “bed of nails” is from). Looks pretty cool, though not comfy even with the flat part of the “nail” up!

7

Could it be possible that the left kidney is smaller than the right and being smaller, more prone to stone formation?

8

The roto-bed (the one that does exist), is used for critically ill patients, who are usually highly sedated and chemically paralysized, because it turns to 45〫making one feel like you’ll fall out of bed.
They are used to treat ARDS, which is a very serious lung disorder. They are also used with severe burns.
They are also hard to come by. When ordering a rental it often has to be shipped from the other side of the country.

SageGrouse, I have a similar pain as the one you discribe. Mine is likely from scar tissue from past surgury or physical insult.

9

GAAAHHHH! That’s done it!

NOW I’m going to lie awake at night wondering if one kidney is smaller than the other (causing me to walk funny?) or HOW it was injured (without me noticing? What does it DO all night when I’m at home in bed?!!) and while I’ve never insulted it (in terms of perhaps yelling “You stupid KIDNEY! You’ll never be a liver!”) I could have perhaps offended it at times.

Now I worry that I haven’t been a good “parent” to my organs. Wondering which of them are perhaps mulling over “running away from home” and hoping I don’t wake up somewhere in a bathtub full of ice!

At least I now have a new sleep position.

SageGrouse
If anyone wants me… I’ll be under the bed.

10

Don’t worry, kidneys are pretty forgiving. Livers are door mats, they will both repair themselves without a whimper for years.
Many people have different size kidneys. Small ones work just as well as big ones, sometimes, better. As long as you have a BUN (blood urea nitrogen) drawn once a year to make sure your GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is normal or close to normal, you’re good.
The physical insult I mentioned is you kidney stones. They can cause some scar tissue to form. I’m not saying that’s what’s causing your pain, but it could be part of it.

11

Noooooo!!! DANGER DANGER DANGER!!! (warning, youtube video)