# Kidney Stones **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676 "2002-04-15T03:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/1 "2002-04-15T03:12:21Z")
I’m a 17 year old male and somehow I manage to get a kidney stone. No one else in my family has had one so i have no one to ask what it was like. So…If theres anyone out there thats had one and would like to share please let me know what it was like. According to my CT scan mines about 8mm. It passed through my kidney but its still in me somewhere, probably my bladder. Let me know what it was like, how long it took to pass and what size it was if you know. Hopefully Ill get some responses before anything happens! Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/2 "2002-04-15T03:28:38Z")
Passing a kidney stone through your bladder is reliably reported to be the worst pain in the world, worse even than having a baby, or a heart attack. [http://members.aol.com/rogerbaxtr/pages/Kidney\_Stone\_Page\_1b.html](http://members.aol.com/rogerbaxtr/pages/Kidney_Stone_Page_1b.html) > [@](#): > > A few people have and pass small kidney stones without experiencing pain, but that is not the usual case. More often the kidney stone makes itself dramatically known when it begins to move through the urinary tract. > > A kidney stone attack has classic symptoms: the most agonizing pain in the lower back just below the ribs spreading around to the front of the abdomen and often extending into the groin area. The pain may come in waves as the stone tries to move through the tube between the kidney and the bladder (the ureter). Sometimes there will be blood in the urine. Often there is nausea, fever and chills, and vomiting. The abdomen or lower back may be painful to touch. > > The severity of the pain is no indicator of the size of the passing kidney stone. This pain is often described as the worst pain a person has ever suffered even by women who have given birth. It is reported to be more painful than gun shots, surgery, broken bones, or even burns. The pain is not a result of the stone moving or tearing the ureter as a sufferer might suspect. Rather, the pain is caused by the dilating or stretching of the urinary tract being blocked by the stone when it gets stuck in the ureter. > > More than one million people in the United States are hospitalized each year because of kidney stone attacks. A suffer should call their doctor or go to the hospital emergency room if they experience severe or persistent bleeding, if the pain continues to be severe, unrelenting and persistent, or if fever and chills or nausea and vomiting develop. > > During a kidney stone attack the sufferer should drink large amounts of water (two to three quarts per day). Stay active. Do not go to bed (except for normal sleep periods). Physical activity may actually assist passage of the kidney stones. now aren’t you glad you asked? heh ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/3 "2002-04-15T03:32:27Z")
One of my groomsmen passed a kidney stone _the day of my wedding!_ He was OK by that evening. Maybe more than OK; he was on drugs the whole night. 😃 He had quite an excruciating experience, which makes me wonder about yours. His pain was mostly when it was going from kidney to bladder. You state “\*t passed through my kidney”, but they don’t go through the kidney. They’re formed _in_ the kidney and pass through tubing to the bladder. 8 mm seems big for a stone; I think my friend’s was 2-3 mm. Maybe yours is still in your kidney, being too massive to go elsewhere. My friend said that passing it must be aking to the labor pains of expectant mothers. And the worst part is that you can’t cuddle and snuggle with the kidney stone once it’s out. :D:D ---
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/4 "2002-04-15T03:39:42Z")
AWB - I meant to say it was passing out of my kidney on its way to my bladder. As far as I can tell after recieving some nice drugs through my IV it passed through my ureter into my bladder with only about and hour of pain before getting into the ER and getting the drugs. So, if it is in my bladder as I expect is the worst part of the pain over or is it gonna be even worse exiting my body?? ---
**Author:** ![ejrn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@ejrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ejrn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/5 "2002-04-15T03:41:41Z")
The worst is probably over once the stone has reached the bladder. That said, 8mm is kind of large to pass thru the urethra. Hope you misunderstood about the size. Do save the stone for testing once you pass it (I assume they told you to strain your urine). Different types of stones require different dietary modifications to prevent or reduce future stone formation. However, it is recommended you increase your fluid intake no matter what kind of stones you make. Best of luck - hope you don’t have to go thru this again. ---
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/6 "2002-04-15T04:00:23Z")
Thanks ejrn! No, i didnt misunderstand the size the doctor said 8mm which is pretty damn big! Yeah…increase in fluids and i have a nice strainer and i container to put it in once it passes. I’ll keep you posted while i wait for some more reactions and experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/7 "2002-04-15T05:05:18Z")
8 mm is 5/16". I had a stone that was probably no more than 0.8 mm. I find it hard to believe that a stone of 8 mm could get possibly get through the ureter (mine, anyway), given that my stone–about the size of a grain of sand–got hung up going through. Once it was in the bladder, no sweat–didn’t even feel it going through the ureter. I can’t imagine a stone of 8 mm going through anyone’s urethra, either. But assuming your stone can get through, the bladder has muscles to add to the fluid pressure. I assume that would help if it started getting stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/8 "2002-04-15T05:09:33Z")
Whoops!–_didn’t even feel it going through the ureter._–that was supposed to be _urethra_. ---
**Author:** ![ThesaurusRex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThesaurusRex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThesaurusRex)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/9 "2002-04-15T05:29:04Z")
How do kidney stones form? And does anyone know of any preventative measures to take to avoid getting them? TRex ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/10 "2002-04-15T13:01:54Z")
My brother had his first kidney stone when he was 22, and another one the year after that-- both were 2-3 mm. It was the most painful thing he’s ever experienced, and each time he ended up spending about 3 days flat on his back. Except it was too painful to lie on his back. He used to drink litres of milk and coffee or tea daily. He’s now cut back severely on both. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/11 "2002-04-15T15:18:12Z")
My husband also gets kidney stones. His doctor says his are mostly calcium from high dairy intake…he drinks a lot of milk used to take a lot of Tums. He won’t stop drinking milk, but is now taking Nexium (sp?) for acid reflux and heartburn so he isn’t taking Tums anymore. Do you drink a lot of milk or eat a lot of dairy products? Save the stone in that neat little “party hat” they gave you so they can determine what it’s made of. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/12 "2002-04-15T16:54:43Z")
As others have said, preventative diet and lifestyle changes depend on the type of stone you form, so strain the pee and consult the doctor. However, I can tell you to drink lots and lots of water. This will keep you hydrated and hopefully wash out the little stones before they become big ones. I had a stone four years ago and have so far managed to avoid a recurrance by exercise, greatly reducing my caffine intake (that one was a bitch, let me tell you), totally cutting out caffinated and carbonated soft drinks (come to think of it, that was a bitch, too) and reducing the amount of animal protien in my diet by having several vegetarian meals a week (three or four). YMMV, but so far so good on this end. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/13 "2002-04-15T17:00:38Z")
Oh, yeah, my husband also drank a lot of soda. He’s cut way back on that, too. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/14 "2002-04-15T17:10:34Z")
Oh god. Kidney stones. The term sends shivers up my spine. Prior to experiencing them, I had no idea that you could vomit simply from pain. I ended up in the emergency room, screaming for morphine, barfing on nurses who were holding up a chart and asking me to rate my pain on a scale of 1 through 10. I will say, however, that you’re lucky that you KNOW what it is. They wouldn’t give me pain medication until they figured out whas was causing the pain, which meant that I screamed through various and sundry medical tests before getting demerol. I wonder if there’s a way you can have pain meds handy just in case? I know docs don’t like to hand them out unless it’s absolutely necessary, but perhaps in your case they would be understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidney-stones/103676/15 "2002-04-15T20:14:03Z")
My brother began getting kidney stones regularly at the age of 16. Some of them he was able to pass, painfully, but some of them had to be broken up inside his body using some sort of sonic bombardment. After the first half-dozen, the docs figured something weird was up. Turns out he had an extremely rare genetic disorder called, IIRC, primary hyperoxalosis. I don’t recall the exact specifics of the disease, but roughly, there’s something wrong with the liver such that it sends out the wrong chemical signals, which causes the kidneys to be unable to process oxalic acid (or produce extra; I’m hazy on the details). The excess oxalic acid builds up in the body and crystallizes, sort of like the old kids’ science experiment about hanging a string in a jar of sugar water. It’s these crystalline accretions that are passed as kidney stones. Over time, the disease is very fatal. The crystals build up in the kidneys and eventually cause them to fail (my brother is on his second transplanted kidney; his original two are gone, as is the first transplant he received), as well as mucking up the joints, the fluid inside the eyeballs, and so on. There’s no cure (until gene therapy is perfected), so the only treatment is a liver transplant, which he got last September 12 (boy, wasn’t **that** a fun week). So that’s one way kidney stones can form. Note that the disease above is _very_ rare, and usually manifests before the age of ten. However, it didn’t appear in my brother until he’s about the same age you are. Don’t worry about it yet, but if you start getting lots of kidney stones without any other explanation, you might want to look into this possibility. And yeah, he said pissing out the stones was like having broken glass shoved up his wingwang. So good luck…