I am a 47 woman living in the “stone belt” which is in the Southeaster USA. I have had kidney stones since I was 23 years old. I have passed on my own at least 20 -30 stones of various sizes over the years. I have had numerous (10-15) lithotripsy proceedures and cystoscopies to remove larger stones.

The doctors recently removed a stone the size and shape of a large baked potatoe from my bladder by cutting it open and removing it. Usually my stones range from the size of a grain of rice to a kidney bean. Some have passed in a few hours and cause hideous, intolerable pain. I always require massive doses of opiates to help tolerate the pain and usually end up in the emergency room begging for IV DIlaudid or morphine. Then there are the nightmare urinary tract infections. I have become septic (blood infection) four times from severe kidney infections, once while eight months pregnant.

The worst part of being a stone former is the insidious nature of the disease. I can be at home, having a nice dinner with my family after having a pleasant day at work and suddenly, without warning, I am in excruciating pain and crying my eyes out. Then comes the nausea and vomiting and the sense of impending doom. This can go on for hours or be over in few minutes. I have had “attacks” while driving, at work, during important meetings, etc. Sometimes I can take 800mg of ibuprofen and be fine. Other times, they have to knock me out with strong pain medication in the ER to keep me from going into shock. Sometimes they just send me home with oral pain meds and expensive antibiotics (Levoquin.)

Many times the stone is so large and causes hydronephrosis (blocking the kidney so that it doesn’t drain into the bladder) and they must do a cystoscopy or ureteroscopy to grab the stone. Then comes my favorite part: the steent. A steent is a hard tube that is placed in the ureter to allow urine to flow and keep the kidney draining. Its like having a coat hanger stuck up in you. I can’t begin to describe how uncomfortable they are and sometimes I have had one on both sides. Between the unfathomable pain of the stone(s), the proceedures to treat them, and the steents, I would say that Kidney Stone attacks are the stuff nightmares are made from.

I have given birth to 5 babies, 3 were born without any anesthesia or pain meds and I WOULD RATHER HAVE BABIES ALL DAY LONG than have one tiny kidney stone. At least with childbirth you get something wonderful for your trouble. If kidney stones are a 10 on the pain scale, childbirth is a 7.

In conclusion, I would just like to add that I have heard from doctors that I should not eat calcium rich foods and from other doctors that I should take calcium supplements. Go figure. Surfice it to say that they don’t know what I should eat or not eat. The only thing I know for sure is to drink lots and lots of water and take cranberry pills to keep infection down. I am never too far from pain meds: Advil and whatever else I can find stronger, a heating pad, and a shoulder to cry on. My husband has been through hell with me because of my stones and now he thinks he has a stone too!

That irony is almost harder to bear than a kidney stone! My father, sister, and now my oldest daughter have all had numerous stones. Obviously there is a genetic component and a metabolic disorder is to blame for recurrent stones. To My Fellow Stone Formers: My prayers go out to you! Go have a nice, big bowl of ice cream and a pain pill and hope for the best!