Kidney Stones are the WORST!

Has anyone else experienced the joy that is a kidney stone? Tips/tricks for dealing with the pain? I've been drinking massive amounts of water and the occasional pain reliever, but wow. If you haven't had one, I'd say it's the equivalent of someone stabbing you in the side over and over.

Currently going through my second one in the last 8 months or so. I wouldn't wish the pain on anyone.

I imagine surgery is out of the question?

Kidney stones are just about my biggest fear.

@Video_Game_King: It's dependent upon how big they are. Last time I had a few catscans to determine this and thankfully just had to have them pass. I'll spare you the details of how they get them out if they're too big. Let's just say if you're a guy, it does not sound pleasant.

If you have catch them early enough they also have this machine that blasts them using sonic waves. I'd opt for that, but for whatever reason the doctor was against it last time.

@Inkerman: Was about to post that. Because holy fuck kidney stones.

Although if I remember correctly, according to the Kite Runner if you get kicked really hard, you'll be fine!

One of my greatest fears in life, among actual dick-stabbing and having a tube stuck up the urethra.

@Inkerman: JESUS! I always wanted to watch that show, but this is awful!

Edit: Thank you for the miracles of modern medicine.

I had my first and only (crosses fingers) kidney stone the night of my 21st birthday. I thought I was dying or something. It took about 20 minutes of me writhing around on the floor in pure pain for my friends to go "alright, let's go to the hospital". When the clock struck midnight, I spent my 21st birthday drugged out on Vicodin watching Steven Seagal: Lawman with my closest friends. Wasn't a bad birthday night after all.

@GrantHeaslip said:

You've just caused every male who reads this topic title to inhale quickly and desperately try to think about something else.

Best of luck, and this will pass (figuratively and literally). I'm so sorry for making that joke.

Porn, drugs, hell, I'd even have a Justin Bieber song on repeat in my head right now!

Never, and I hope it stays that way. Does anybody know how to avoid it? If it's to drink crap loads of water, then I think I'm a-okay.

I drink a LOT of milk, and apparently that is the complete opposite of how to lessen them. Fuck

I drink a LOT of milk, and apparently that is the complete opposite of how to lessen them. Fuck

I drink about 6 to 8 big glasses of water a day. So hopefully that'll prevent me from getting them. But I used to drink a lot of pop. So I'm still worried about them.

@legendlexicon said:

I drink about 6 to 8 big glasses of water a day. So hopefully that'll prevent me from getting them. But I used to drink a lot of pop. So I'm still worried about them.

The water should make them smaller then. I mean. I used to drink pop a bunch as a kid. But then went to only water later on. I think I should still be fine.

However. Even though I have never felt the pain. I think it may be double that of a massive ulcer attack... a ulcer attack WILL floor you. I am not joking. You just curl up in a ball and cry until it passes. which can be hours of intense unholy pain.

With kidney stones. I imagine that there is some pretty bad stinging afterward. However you should be fine... if you want to prove you manliness to anyone. just keep the rock on a rope around your neck and tell them you passed that shit without a single cry of pain. Whoever steps up to you will automatically back off.

@Icemael said:

@SomeDeliCook said:

I drink a LOT of milk, and apparently that is the complete opposite of how to lessen them. Fuck

Shit, really? I drink at least two liters a day! And my dad, who doesn't drink milk at all, has had several stones... I guess I'm in for a world of pain in the future.

After a really quick google search, apparently its all BS. If anything, milk apparently lowers the chances.

Thank god, I drink roughly 2 gallons a day

@SomeDeliCook said:

@Icemael said:

@SomeDeliCook said:

I drink a LOT of milk, and apparently that is the complete opposite of how to lessen them. Fuck

Shit, really? I drink at least two liters a day! And my dad, who doesn't drink milk at all, has had several stones... I guess I'm in for a world of pain in the future.

After a really quick google search, apparently its all BS. If anything, milk apparently lowers the chances.

Thank god, I drink roughly 2 gallons a day

I think the milk thing is mainly with astronauts in outer space. I guess a huge amount of them get kidney stones due to drinking milk in space... thanks to space bullshit they had to suffer kidney stones... poor guys/girls.

My friend had a kidney stone about a year ago. I called him one day, he could barely talk.

Took about 2 weeks or so, and he recovered.

@MightyDuck said:

Currently going through my second one in the last 8 months or so. I wouldn't wish the pain on anyone.

What caused them? :(

Mother had them some years back. Now I've experienced my fair share of pain but kidney stones are said to be agony if untreated, she eventually had surgery to have them out. The fact that there so bloody small but cause such pain is a joke.

Hope you feel better soon mate.

@Inkerman: God dam it I was going to post that!

Passing a stone through the penis isn't the painful or hard part (it's very stretchy and kidney stones are usually quite small). The pain comes from it passing through the ureter (tube going from kidney to bladder), which is much smaller and not stretchy. It's just as bad for girls as it is for boys.

My condolences and best wishes, sir.

Drink water y'all.

A lot of people think pissing the stone out is the worst part but imagine having a ball of razors the size of a BB move from your kidney all the way through your inner workings for what seems like forever that can normally only accommodate a small amount of water. The pain you imagine is nowhere near the pain people experience when they have kidney stones, but it's probably the best description you'll get from people who have had them.

While I've never had them, I was so terrified by the person who did that I almost always have water at hand nowadays.

@MightyDuck: If you go to the hospital they give you morphine for that. That alone should tell you the amount of pain that you're tolerating. Go to the hospital. They now have a device they use that blasts the stones apart with sound so you "piss sand" for a little while.

Just hope you don't end up like this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_de_Doot

Go to the ER. They will give you amazing medicine. :)

Good luck if anyone is unfortunate to get them. My mom and my sister have had them several times, I have been lucky enough to avoid them. Its mostly due to the fact that I mostly drink water (and the ocassional coke). I see 2 posters on here say they drink milk regularly, this can be a problem if its out of whack with how much water you intake on a daily basis. Remember Kidney stones in its most basic form is calcium deposits, which milk contains a high amount of. Drinking beer is also be beneficial in preventing AND helping when you have kidney stones because it is a diuretic. The idea is to drink a glass of water at least every 2 hours to keep things flowing, the benefit of water is diminished if you drink a crazy amount in one sitting as you will most likely just piss it out immediately. Cranberry juice helps too, but that tastes like ass.

No, hopefully never.

I had one last year, woke up in the middle of the night and felt like I was dying. Luckily mine only lasted for about a day and a half though.

If your doctor has been able to successfully diagnose you as the happy owner of a kidney stone, he could at least prescribe you some hardcore analgesic.

That's what they did for me, at least. That was, after I had spent the better half of a day shivering on the floor, absolutely convinced I was about to die. When I arrived at the doctors office, I had almost given up living, as I explained what it felt like. His response was pretty much "Oh, it's a kidney stone. It's more painful than childbirth! Isn't that fun?"

I did not share his excitement, but I was glad to know my organs weren't in the process of rupturing - it still hurt like hell, though. He prescribed me some fast acting painkillers of the kind where you just lie down in bed and space out for eight hours. That is my recommendation to you, get some of that.

I had one five or six years ago, and it was by far the most pain I've ever experienced. The actual passing of the stone, while it feels a bit awkward, isn't really painful. It's when that stone moves out of your kidney and starts going through your inner workings that it's horrendously painful. Barely managed to get myself to the ER where they gave me an injection of some pain killer into my hip. I'm pretty sure if I'd had to go for much longer, I would have passed out.

I know they are horrific but thanks to Karl I can't help but laugh whenever someone mentions them.

Been there and yes it is by far the most painful thing a man can go through. I seriously thought I was dying and took my best friend almost a half hour just to come and get me to the ER. They asked me if I wanted a shot in the ass to ease the pain and it was the only time EVER I was filled with joy to get a needle shot in my ass cheek. My brother-n-law just had surgery for a large kidney stone and that was brutal watching him have to go through that for 2 weeks. So, (knock on wood) I pray I NEVER have to experience that again.

I had a kidney stone my final semester of college. It was, indeed, one of the worst pains I had ever experienced (and I have a bad medical history). Horrible. And the doctors couldn't tell it was a kidney stone for a long time (they considered a UTI, even though I'm a guy and guys don't get them very often), in part because I have so many other medical issues that it could have been some really bizarre thing. Didn't actually know it was a kidney stone for sure until I finally passed it. The relief was unbelievable.

One thing I think helped me, personally, was I started drinking water with a LOT of lemon juice in it. Doesn't taste fantastic, but the acid might help break the stone down. I had also heard about a combination of lemon juice and I think olive oil (sounds disgusting) that I was getting close to trying, but thankfully it passed before I had to. I'm keeping it in mind in case I ever get another one, though.

I need to stop looking at this thread. I've already stopped I'm not here anymore goodbye.

I had a kidney stone, just thought it was me getting older.

Never had kidney stones but I did have a hernia before. God. Worst pain I've felt in my life. Got it operated on in 2008.

Drink acidic fluids like lemonade regularly. It'll help dissolve the kidney stone somewhat.

@TooWalrus said:

Kidney stones are just about my biggest fear.

Real talk.

Just had my first kidney stone recently. Pain started 2 weeks ago on wednesday and stopped last weekend (I think the stone has passed - I've been too drugged up to notice and haven't been pissing through a sieve). Luckily it was a small one, so I just got some Tamsumin (relaxes the "tubes") and variety of painkillers (3 different kinds) and drank a bunch of water. Still, I have an appointment tomorrow for a blood/urine tests and a new CT scan to make sure it has really passed.

Warm baths seemed to help a ton, while I was waiting for the opiates to kick in. And yeah, drink a shit ton of water to try and expediate the process.

I really hope this was a one-off thing. I've been eating D-vitamin supplements a lot recently, and it seems that might cause kidney stones. If not, then it may mean that I'm just one of those people that are prone to kidney stones and will get them every now and then - that would really suck.

EDIT: Oh, and a funny story (or not really). First time I went to the doctor, they didn't recognize it for what it was. So I just got mild painkillers and went home. Next time I went back, I looked bad enough that they sent me to the ER. While staying there helped (I got strong painkillers through IV while they did their tests) it didn't help with my hypochondria - strong pain with no idea what was the cause was a real mindfuck. And while I was waiting for results, the old guy in the next bed got news that he had cancer and it had spread pretty far and I got to listen his wife try to hold tears back while I lay there wondering what was wrong with me.

So really, I was rather happy when they figured out that I had kidney stone.

@MightyDuck said:

I'd say it's the equivalent of someone stabbing you in the side over and over.

Pretty much how I explain it to people LOL. Only water after that, never gonna have that happen to me ever again!

When I had a kidney stone I went to the ER (had no idea what was going on, thought I was going to die) and they gave me a scrip for Vicodin. I couldn't imagine going through that without heavy pain meds. Thankfully it was small so passing it wasn't a big deal.

@MikkaQ said:

One of my greatest fears in life, among actual dick-stabbing and having a tube stuck up the urethra.

According to Wikipedia:

Dietary factors that increase the risk of stone formation include low fluid intake and high dietary intake of animal protein, sodium, refined sugars, fructose and high fructose corn syrup, oxalate, grapefruit juice, apple juice, and cola drinks.

Stay away from those unhealthy foods, kids!

@Demoskinos: Wait... what IS a hernia... most of what I heard it was from family members is that your guts try force themselves out of your body... please tell me it isn't as horrifying as that...

Fuck that.

Everytime the word is mentioned, I grab my penis and kind of squeeze it. It is just about my biggest nightmare in life. Did they crush it with their equipment so you're just pissing sand, or are you actually passing stones?

@Jay444111 said:

@Demoskinos: Wait... what IS a hernia... most of what I heard it was from family members is that your guts try force themselves out of your body... please tell me it isn't as horrifying as that...

Basically! Its mostly happens on males because of the way our bodies are setup. It CAN happen to females but its much rarer. Basically the quick and short version is in your lower abdominal there is a membrane and a wall of fat that holds your insidey parts up and in place. When you get a hernia the intestines and layer of fat actually fall down into the scrotal area causing the testes to appear much larger than then are. Hernias aren't extremely dangerous but if left unchecked long enough the intestines can eventually be strangled (a.k.a no blood flow) and in some cases can lead to death or other consequences. Oh, and yeah it hurts like a motherfucker because like I said your intestines are basically forcing themselves through that membrane.