Amazing what they can do today, that couldn't be done years ago...!!

Soldato
Joined
12 May 2005
Posts
8,384
Hmm…. This isn’t a medical thread..!! Went for a CT Scan a few weeks back, as I’m still suffering numbing pain in my left side. I’ve been know to get kidney stones and the last one passed through naturally – and it nearly killed me. Well not really but the pain was a tad uncomfortable, hospital nursed it through with pain killers….

That was nearly four years ago now. Anyhow, ever since never really been right and what they have found in the CT scan kind of explains the pain…. Found a further three stones. One of them is 9mm, one is 5mm and another one of 4mm. now considering that the unary tract is only 5 – 6mm in dia I’m pretty much buggered.

So, off for Lithotrpsy shockwave disintegration treatment I go. Still, gotta be a whole lot better then my options if it was the early 80’s. they would have had to open up and remove them by hand but now they can turn them to almost dust inside the kidney within an hour…

Wow… Thank you advancements in modern treatments.. They’ll sedate to reduce the pain, shock them, and then hopefully I’ll have no more pain afterwards……. Fingers crossed.

Then they’ll discuss afterwards possible further treatment for my left kidney as I did have a biopsy on my kidney about a year ago and it was infected…… Hopefully with the removal of the stones anti-biotics will reduce this….

Just not keen on reading about the treatment where it says – “slight discomfort might be felt” yikes.!! lol
 
Associate
Joined
16 Mar 2009
Posts
357
Location
..i cant remember....
WOW you have definitely been through it with them!! I have never had them but i have seen my a relative who had them and described it as the worst pain in the, even pips tooth Ache to the post!
I agree, how great is advancement in medicine these days !! The same relative had a heart operation at the famous PAPWORTH Hospital now that is impressive what happens there.

They do heart ops like its no bother at all!!

I hope all goes well for you in the future :D
 

RDM

RDM

Soldato
Joined
1 Feb 2007
Posts
20,612
I feel your pain, literally. Thankfully not had any more stones for a few years but I did have to have a stent in for a month or so. That was unpleasent but nowhere near as unpleasent as when they removed it...
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
12 May 2005
Posts
8,384
Oooh yes kidney stone stents.. They are meant to be ever so painful. Thankfully with Lithotripsy I’ll be a little bruised and pee some blood for a few days, but fingers crossed that should see the last of these little buggers in my kidney…

I’ve got co-codamol 30/500. I’ve had them since I was 20 when I got my first stone, problem is last time I got a kidney stone, I’d forgotten about them (think they were out of date anyhow) and suffered until I got to hospital and they injected me with morphine. Trust me, that was sooooo relieving.

Doctor decided to allow it to pass through as it was moving and they recommend if the stone is small enough to pass through the urinary tract you allow this – but man…. Does it hurt on the way out. I was drinking water like it was going out of fashion and eating co-codamol like sweets….. lol

That was only a 3mm stone back then, so when I was told today I have one three times the size + two more, I was like…. Yikes.. And agreed to the treatment.. lol
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
12 May 2005
Posts
8,384
I hear that passing kidney stones is like a high powered pea-shooter.. is this true? :D

Dunno about a high powered pea shooter…. It’s the worse pain I’ve ever felt. Its meant to hurt more then child birth and like being shot in the side…. All I know is that you can literally jump off the bed in pain, and I have done that…
 

ntg

ntg

Associate
Joined
24 Nov 2008
Posts
2,499
Iv-tecman,

Sorry to hear you've been having kidney stone troubles. I know it can be one of the worst pains possible depending on the size of the stone and whether it manages to go down the tubes or not.

Lithotrpsy (funny how english call it, in greek where its name comes from is pronounced 'lithotripsia') has been around for years. I've had a friend who had it done about 8 years ago in Greece for a fact, and it wasn't "new tech" even back then. It surely must have existed here in UK way before then.

The procedure itself is done by blasting a certain sound frequency waves onto your kidneys. That shakes the stones inside until they disintegrate into much smaller pieces. It works and it works great. In rare cases of really big stones you might have to go for a second visit to crack them once more (as they can't tell whether they have completely been destroyed until they scan you after the treatment).

From what I know it lasts about an hour for the whole preparation-treatment-on your feet, and you can pretty much leave as soon as you're done.

The only slight issue I would mention is that it hurts. Not 'slightly hurts', but more like 'hurts-hurts'. Don't worry too much about it though, just think that in 30 mins you'll be done and dusted (excuse the pun) and never have to worry about that again.
 
Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
33,188
ULtrasound, which is a variation of what you're having, tbh, is no where near new technology and has been around for a heck of a long time.

Thread should more read, amazing what the NHS would do to avoid costs of new equipment rather than do safer procedures in the past :p

we also have the situation where cutting someone open to do pull them out is simply a procedure known by more doctors, who learned it 30 years ago in med school, but haven't been trained on newer equipment so aren't qualified to do it legally, even though lets be honest, a trained monkey can hold and point the thing as well as anyone.

Its shocking how many people don't get the easier quicker, safer, shorter recovery less invasive procedures purely down to which doctor is available that day.

ANyway, good luck with them, as a fellow man with a urethra, I'm all for less situations I have to pass something big through it ;)
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
12 May 2005
Posts
8,384
Information sheet I got said "ESWL - developed in the early 80's where previously a major 'open' operation would have been necessary"

I'm only going on the information sheets the NHS gave me today.. :confused:

Anyhow. As its the NHS I'll be pleased if I walk out and not have caught something else...:eek: Cynical side to me.
 
Back
Top Bottom