#Kidney stones

[facts-i-just-made-up]

[asteroidtroglodyte]

Me: hey babe wanna see something cool?

My Wife: sure!

Me: [holds out hand excitedly]

My Wife: …what am I looking at?

Me: a rock!

My Wife: When did you go outside?

Me: I didn’t! My body made this!

My Wife: what

Me: I passed a stone!

My Wife: [horrified silence]

Me: yea check it out there’s little crystals!

My Wife, horrified: um

Me: yea if you look here you can see the oxalic crystals and-

My Wife: babe!

Me: huh?

My Wife, freaking out: babe. are you ok. are you in pain? do you need to go to the hospital what-

Me: oh. OH. I’m fine! Really! Feeling much better actually!

My Wife: well. Good.

Me: sorry, got all caught up in how cool it was that I was holding a biogenic crystal that my body made that I forgot that this is kinda horrifying, huh?

My Wife: babe, I love your autistic ass but please drink more water. And maybe warn me next time.

[hayleylovesjessica]

My poor partner! She's a high school English teacher, and due to the winter storm that's coming in this afternoon, school was cancelled today. However, instead of enjoying her day off, we spent the better part of the morning at her primary care place and then her pharmacy. She's had bouts of extreme abdominal pain, followed by vomiting, all week. She even called in sick on Tuesday, which is something that she NEVER does. I tried getting her to make an appointment yesterday afternoon, but she refused. It was only when she had yet another bout of pain and vomiting overnight that she finally broke down and called her doctor. Anyway, her doctor is fairly certain that she's passing a kidney stone and said that my partner has all the classic symptoms, including localization of pain to just one side and traces of blood in her urine. I hope that she passes the stone soon. I myself had a kidney stone back in college. It was the most intense pain I've ever had in my life and was the one and only time that I ever dragged myself to the infirmary. So, I know from experience just how bad it can feel.

[alexx-is-tired]

I slipped up and had a few days where I didn't hydrate enough and now I'm getting intense kidney pain

Please don't let me have kidney stones again I'm begging you!!

[cafecdramin]

It's so fucking frustrating to research what foods i should avoid for kidney stones. Technically i can't consume foods that are high in oxates, but every source provides completely different measurements?? Like yes i do exaggerate on some things i shouldn't sometimes but how can i know for sure im not eating something i read is safe but it actually isn't like???

[disordereddisasterboy]

*calls doctor* hey I'm pretty sure I have a kidney stone.

Receptionist: you're so young! It must be a UTI or something else but I'll still schedule it.

... Yeah I know the difference because I've had them before but okay.

*gets to the doctor*

Receptionist: so you're here for cold and flu symptoms?

.... I think I have a kidney stone. I scheduled it for that.

Receptionist: ohh... It says UTI and cold symptoms....

No pretty sure I have a kidney stone again.

Receptionist: at 29? Okay sure.... We'll call you...

Nurse: come on back, pee in a cup. We'll see how bad your UTI is...

Okay... *Pees into cup*

Nurse: so what are your symptoms?

My left kidney hurts, I have had a migraine for days, I'm having trouble urinating, I keep throwing up and this feels like my last kidney stone.

Nurse: ... You've had previous kidney stones?

Yeah I've had 4 since I was 14. The last was like 6 months ago. They've all been small and passed without surgery but they suck.

Nurse: oh... We thought you were overreacting....

Nope I just have bad kidneys from being on lithium since middle school.

Nurse: OH you're on lithium? I'll get the doctor.

Doctor: *looks at my medical history* *does a physical exam* huh it looks like you have a kidney stone. No infection but there's blood and calcium deposits in your urine. Stop at checkout for the information to schedule an ultrasound for tomorrow, please go to the ER if you have trouble passing it before then. You're at least going to need two prescriptions, and if the stone is big, I'm gonna recommend surgery.

... Kay. *Goes to check out* hey receptionist, I need the info for my ultrasound for my kidney stone.

Receptionist: ultrasound??? For a UTI?

I. Have. A. Kidney. Stone. Again.

Receptionist: I need to call back to the doctor.... *Gets on the phone and starts asking why I need an ultrasound, only to look suspicious at me and then rolling her eyes as she wrote the information on a sticky note* here, but you're too young to have a kidney stone.

....Yeah that's what they told me when I passed my first one in my highschool bathroom during 9th grade social studies.

Receptionist: *gives me dirty looks until I leave*

Like why is it so hard to believe that a 29 year old can have chronic kidney stones? Why treat me weird for it???

[robot-hive-mind]

Why the fuck can some of your organs just make rocks??? Who said that was OK?

[broadwaybaggins]

As part of a scheduled follow up from my kidney stone procedure in November, on Thursday I went in for a renal ultrasound. It took a couple days for the results to get read and they just uploaded them to my patient portal today.

I have another kidney stone.

in the same kidney.

It’s 8.5 millimeters this time.

Fuck.

[lisaplant4]

And so it begins... just waiting for the taxi...

[beawritingbooks]

Sometimes...life is bullshit!

I went to Urgent Care today, and it turns out that I am passing two more kidney stones. One from the left kidney and one from the right kidney.

I fucking HATE this!!!!

[facts-i-just-made-up]

Time for the rematch. Surgeon vs. Kidney Stone. Please wish me (and the doctor) luck.

[brawley1492]

Thought for the moment by ... Dr. Wonder

[whatshouldwecallchronicillness]

When I’m supposed to drink an insane amount of water everyday...

[jenroses]

More applied Fork Theory:

Problem: POTS means I need increased hydration and electrolytes. A history of kidney stones means that standard electrolyte mixes don't do it for me. Also, they're often stupidly expensive. The kidney stone thing means that drinking lemon juice is advisable. Preserving my teeth means that I need it substantially diluted. Allergies/mast cell issues mean that ReaLemon and most commercially available standard lemon juice concentrates are out due to sulfites. And steroid-induced-but-now-type-2 diabetes means sugar is out, but most sweeteners cause problems for me. I do not have the energy to squeeze lemons.

Solution: Homemade lemonade thusly:

Ingredients:

Pure lemon juice. I don't have the stamina for squeezing but in my area I can buy Lakewood Organics or Santa Cruz pure lemon juice, no additives, not concentrated, in quart bottles.

Potassium Chloride: I get NOW brand potassium chloride but really any food grade potassium chloride in bulk will do. One small jar lasts me a while, at least 6 months to a year? Maybe longer? I haven't mathed it.

Sodium Chloride: i.e. salt. While I am on a lower sodium diet than I used to be due to kidney stones (high sodium pulls calcium into the urine, where it can combine with oxalates. The combination of an almond-forward keto diet for diabetes plus high sodium for POTS is a recipe for kidney stones. Nevertheless, I feel Bad if I don't get at least some salt with my liquids.)

Sweetener: By far the easiest for me is pure stevia extract powder. Either the Better Stevia brand or the tiny canister from Trader Joes which is probably the same thing. They function identically. This is ideal because it does not add significant bulk to the liquid. Pure monk fruit or alluose are the only other sweeteners I'd personally use. But if you make this, choose a sweetener that works for you, even sugar if you tolerate it well.

If NOT otherwise supplementing vitamin C and avoiding oranges, Magnesium Ascorbate

Tools: Measuring spoons and a cheap milk frother. (Idk if the one I have is that one, but that's the general concept). Mason jars or other quart containers for mixing individual drinks.

Now when I started out, I was making one lemonade at a time.

In a quart jar: 1 oz lemon or lime juice (I keep a 1 oz shotglass just for this) 1/4 teaspoon of stevia extract powder 1/8 teaspoon of potassium chloride and/or other electrolytes as appropriate to your medical situation. 1/8 tsp potassium chloride is about 360 mg of potassium.

Fill the jar with filtered water. Stir. Drink.

It dawned on me after a while that I could make up a bunch of concentrate and then pour a 1 oz shot glass into the jar and add water and it would be much easier. So:

In the quart jar of pure juice, add the following, shaking* between every tablespoon addition.

3 tablespoons of stevia concentrate powder (this rounds the sweetener up slightly) 1 tablespoon potassium chloride powder will add about 270 mg of potassium per serving. (This rounds the potassium down slightly from the single serve recipe.) If desired, 1 tablespoon of magnesium oxide will add approximately 250 mg of magnesium per serving. I take my magnesium in a different way. If you need additional vitamin C to get to your baseline of 60 mg per day of vitamin c, adding 1/4 teaspoon of magnesium ascorbate will add about 25 mg of vitamin C per serving and a trivial amount of magnesium.

I use about 2 1/2 teaspoons of Potassium and 1/2 teaspoon of sodium for my mix. Adjust to your medical situation. Just remember that you are using 32 servings, some math will be required.

You MUST shake after each tablespoon or it won’t mix well*. Recap the jar very tightly. 

Once this is mixed, it is best to let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to hydrate any remaining chunks and then shake well before using.

Add 1 shot (1 oz) of mixed concentrate to a quart jar and fill the jar with filtered water to make one serving of lemonade.

Then my niece gave me the milk frother for Christmas. And so instead of stirring after each addition, I put the powders in a small jelly jar, added a small amount of lemon juice to it, used the drink twizzler to whip the powders into the lemon juice into a paste, added a little more lemon juice and did it again, and then carefully poured the result back into the lemon juice jar, going back and forth until I got it all. It was kind of frothy at first, but sitting in the fridge for an hour let the foam all settle out and the mix was perfect.

Or just go here:

[alexx-is-tired]

I don't know how/why but long covid has given me reccuring kidney stones and I have no idea what to do about it. (It might be caused by one of my other illnesses but I'm not entirely sure)

I drink at least 1.5L of water a day and only one small coffee.

I haven't heard anyone else talk about this but if anyone also experiences this and has advice I'd really appreciate it!

[spoonful116]

TW: Ableism, gaslighting by healthcare providers

A doctor noted in my chart that I was non-compliant, manipulative, and trying to direct my care. Some of his reasoning:

Refused to take the extended release capsules of the medication prescribed. Also noted that I have dysphagia and a PEG tube

Told him that I needed to address the chronic UTIs before I considered overactive bladder treatments

Became concerned that I had an underlying genetic condition that was causing my issues. A lot of tests were coming back normal, but everything was very abnormal. I do have a genetic condition.

Stopped seeing my first urologist and suggested that I change doctors when they don't do what I want. My first urologist let me have 1-2 UTIs a month and wasn't trying to find a cause

"Refused to give a urine sample at any appointment" when I had been fainting a lot during transfers and they didn't have any exam tables that were wheelchair user friendly.

Communicated with them often about questions or concerns

Didn't do my 24 hour urine collection with an indwelling catheter and thus accused me of not doing it correctly and not collecting all of it in order for my results to be worse

Lying about my water intake and how much I eat

I am truly amazed by this man and the level of fragility, ego, and privilege you must have in order to see those actions as negatives with ulterior motives.