If you've had kidney stones, did you have the surgery with the water on your back or did they actually go in and remove it? How was your recovery and were you happy with the results? 

Had and have kidney stones infrequently, over time. Never had surgery. Things usually pass according to plan.

I think there's a minimum size before more aggressive treatment is indicated. You might check out several on line sites. 

It's very large. Chief of Urology at MH said I need surgery based on CT and Xray. 

Is Lithotripsy out of the question? 

That's the water surgery. It's done under general anesthesia. 

Fab, my boss had to have surgery for his monster stones. They must have missed a stone because a day later he was back in the hospital. They told him there was nothing they could do and he had to pass the last stone it on his own.

He was out of the office for a week and said he cannot ever remember being that uncomfortable in his whole life. 

I had lithotripsy 10+ years ago - I don't remember having any problems with recovery.

Fortunately, I have not had any more issues with kidney stones.

I hope you feel better very soon. 

4P do you know which surgery he had?

Ms thank you for your input. I appreciate it. I want this to be over. It's gone on too long. 

I had the lithrotripsy 2 years ago. They told me I would be able to go back to work the next day but I opted to take it off because I don't do well with anesthesia. I went out to dinner the next evening and could have actually gone to work. 

4P do you know which surgery he had?

I am not sure. I can ask him though. He LOVES talking about it and even emailed pictures of the stone laying next to a dime. lulz 

The kidney stone issue might explain away some of your hostility and animosity towards me. I'm sorry... I didnt know you had been ill. 

I am sincere.... There is no other explanation... 

FB you are mentally insane. My kidney stone has no bearing on that. Your insane/ranting/attacking pm's impact the way I speak to you. Nothing more and nothing less. 

4P I bet he had the open surgery not the water kind. The water kind breaks it up so you pee it out. I highly doubt he touched what he peed out. Right? If you don't mind asking him that would be great. No visuals necessary. LOL 

Just shot him an email and will let you know what he says. 

Lithrotipsy sounds much less invasive and like it would have less complications. Which are you having? 

Thanks 4P.

Michelle I am having the Lithrotipsy. 

Okay good that doesn't sound too bad 

FabFive --- 23 min ago - quote - hide comments
FB you are mentally insane. My kidney stone has no bearing on that. Your insane/ranting/attacking pm's impact the way I speak to you. Nothing more and nothing less.


Awwww .... It's OK..... 

Lithotripsy...went home soon afterwards with no complications...most importantly the pain was gone, LOL 

Mooman have you had anything come back? Do they keep checking you? 

I might have had one follow up afterwards...it has been a while and do not remember, but really depends on if the waves broke up stones and if you can pass the stones afterwards. If that is the case, any follow-ups would be minimal. I hope this helps! 

Thanks Mooman. It helps. :) The fact that you don't remember much gives me hope that it wasn't horrible! 

I have had both surgeries and no problems after either one. 

Thanks for the input Smurfalicious. Did you think one surgery was better than the other? Why did you have both? Did the water thing fail then you had the open or were they separate instances? 

I have had kidney stones many times. I had surgery twice the stones were so big the Lithotripsy didn't work. I had no problems and only 1-2 follow up visits. 

Thanks Cha Ching. 

I had surgery for stones too and no problem since.

I've always heard that drinking cranberry juice can help prevent stones and UTIs. 

Waterfall did you do the open kind or the water on the back sonic thing kind? Glad you've had no problems since.

I was trying to find a low(er) sugar cranberry juice but everything I've found tastes like crap. Recommendations? 

I had a cystoscopy.

This was also over ten years ago.

Cranberry juice tastes awful so I don't drink it. :) Some people take a cranberry supplement instead. I haven't since there were only a couple of small stones. I was drinking a lot of iced tea during that time, and my doctor said the amount of caffeine in that probably had a lot to do with it.

Maybe try the supplements instead to avoid drinking it. I can only tolerate cranberry juice when there is vodka in it! 

Mu husband has had 50+ stones. Several of which had to be removed via surgery. They used a laser to break it into smaller pieces and then went in after it. He was sore after & the first time he urinated was a bit painful, but after that he was fine.

His Mom had the lithotripsy alone and passed the pieces with no issue and no discomfort. It all depends on how small they are able to break it up. It's all gotta pass, but hopefully they're miniscule. 

Also watch cranberry juice because it contributes to the calcium & oxylate in your urine, which is what the majority of stones are made from. It's great for UTI's & bladder infections, but not always good for kidney stone sufferers. 

I got this from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/

Kidney stones: Cranberry juice and cranberry extracts contain a large amount of a chemical called oxalate. In fact, there is some evidence that some cranberry extract tablets can boost the level of oxalate in the urine by as much as 43%. Since kidney stones are made primarily from oxalate combined with calcium, healthcare providers worry that cranberry might increase the risk of kidney stones. If you have a history of kidney stones, avoid taking cranberry extract products or drinking a lot of cranberry juice.

I stand corrected. Thanks kpcmom. 

Thanks KPC Mom for the info. We don't know what type of stones these are and won't know until we get them out I assume. Then I guess they test them? My Urologist said sometimes they are mixed types. It's all pretty gross to me.

I will do more reading on the cranberries. I have never had a bladder infection that I know of and I don't drink much in the way of caffeine. Maybe once a week I'll have unsweet tea. 

waterfall, we just found this info out ourselves after the last 5 or 6 stones. That and tea, which my poor husband was drinking like crazy. Now it's water, water & more water!

Yes, FabFive, they should test them after removal. If you have the lithotripsy, they will send you home with a strainer to catch what you can for testing. My husbands are calcium & oxylate, so we've had major dietary changes the last few years. 

Wow that strainer sounds so exciting. Yuck. 

No doubt! Lol. Hope it all goes well! 

Thanks KPC, I hope so too. I vote one procedure and never have this problem again. I wish it had been smaller and I didn't need surgery but it is what it is. 

Smaller still has to pass....

And it can last longer. Hubby has taken up to 3 weeks to pass one. He's rather they go in & get it and call it a day! :o) 

Oh Lord that sounds awful. Three weeks. I'm gonna be hacked off if I do this and it doesn't work and I still have to do something else.