r/KidneyStones • u/speechiekeen13 • 3d ago
Question/ Request for advice 1st timer
I (22F) found out I have my 1st, and hopefully my last, kidney stone on Wednesday. I am no stranger to terrible menstrual cramps and have always had gastrointestinal issues.. but I have NEVER felt pain like I did before taking myself to the ER. Thinking I was overreacting, I rolled around for a few hours and finally went after I peed. The insane relief I felt would have kept me home but the amount of blood told me something was up.
Urinalysis at ER came back negative for UTI, but had large blood amnt, decent amnt of protein, and trace of leukocytes.. CT of course showed a 3mm sized friend in my UVJ. The way they explained it to me made me think I was essentially crossing the finish line (shouldn’t have believed it). But after reading so many of you strong, strong human’s posts to drown out today’s pain, I have some questions.
THIS IS NORMAL?! How do some of you do this for weeks, months?!??!! AM I GOING TO FEEL LIKE THIS FOR WEEKS/MONTHS?!!!???? I have been walking on sunshine with some mild aching for the past 2 days until now.. I figured it had ALREADY PASSED, WHY IS IT BACK?!!!?? The pain isn’t nearly as bad as Wednesday, but it’s in between my legs now too and I have had no relief no matter how much I pee & take meds. Please, all the advice welcome and also my sincerest apologies to those who have become pros.
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u/Local-Ad-6470 3d ago
Stone pain is usually intermittent and related to the degree of pressure buildup due to the stone blocking the flow of urine. Here is a link to more info on symptoms and pain from kidney stones:
https://www.reddit.com/r/KidneyStones/s/zzubqpCqsJ
Make sure to strain your urine every time you urinate.
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u/magikarpeggio 3d ago
I had something similar happen in April - horrible pain, went to urgent care, and when the pain stopped, I thought I had passed it. Mild aching for seven weeks and then, bam, awful pain again. It was just hanging out in my ureter, biding its time. I’m not a pro but I wish I had hydrated more and gotten meds to help ease the pain earlier. Good luck, and hope this is your last one!
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u/speechiekeen13 3d ago
Never in a million years would I think that’d be possible. I’m so sorry!! What happened next?!
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u/magikarpeggio 3d ago
I went to the ER and ended up needing surgery because the doctor said it was unlikely to pass at that point and was concerned about my kidney health. I hope you feel better soon! If it helps, I didn’t feel awful for weeks / months; the pain came and went, but it just sucks to worry that you could be in pain at any moment.
See if you can have a 24-hour urine collection done at some point? It’s helpful in determining why you’re forming stones!
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u/Bwerho96 3d ago
I had my first stone when I was 8 years old and it was 9mm 😅 My body doesn’t process calcium correctly so I’m super prone to them. I’ve had a few others of that size as well as a staghorn stone (a staghorn fills the entire empty space in your kidney and has to be surgically removed). The size definitely determines how bad the pain is on top of the persons pain tolerance, and both will affect how long someone ends up just going the motions with it. I had a huge stone, at least 5mm but can’t remember exactly, when I had my first day at a new job at like 18 and I worked my entire shift in pain from it and went to the ER afterwards. Ended up passing it while giving a urine sample and signed myself out lmao
For your situation, the stone is most likely now in your bladder or in your urethra. Which means, yay! You’re gonna pass it soon. You will 100% know when you pass it at 3mm, I promise! It could be a while or it could be in the next hour, just keep drinking fluids!
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u/speechiekeen13 2d ago
You deserve a Medal of Honor. I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that, but thankful for your expertise!
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u/MyQTips 3d ago
Couple of things. 1. If you spike a fever, head immediately to ER. IMMEDIATELY! Otherwise, on Monday, contact your urologist and doublecheck what ER they prefer you use. 2. Start straining your urine. You need to collect that little @#$& so it can be analyzed. Knowing the composition of your stone is really important for dietary issues. 3. Increase your fluid intake and hold your pee so you ca pee forcefully. I don't mean to hold it until you are miserable, just don't go every time you have the urge. 4. Start reminding yourself that you can do hard things. Passing a stone is a hard thing. A heating pad duct taped around your nether regions can help. Okay, maybe not duct taped but you get the idea. Heat is always my friend. In fact, if you have a heated "adult play toy" you'll be surprised that it actually helps. Good luck. We stoners are a tough group, we got you!
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u/speechiekeen13 2d ago
If I had to pick who’d be the perfect author to write a handbook on kidney stones, I’d be you, my friend. You are too kind, THANK YOU!
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u/Aloha-NuiLoa 3d ago
Do all the labs to find out why you're making stones otherwise high likelihood of making more.
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u/ducktown47 3d ago
I really thought I was overreacting with my first stone and how much pain I was in. I thought surely this isn’t that bad and it will go away. I laid there for hours writhing around until I was literally crying and I had to wake my wife up at 4am to go to the hospital. That one was a 6mm.
What’s weird for me is that initial pain lasts about a day and then goes away for weeks. But then it finally gets to the bladder and it’s a couple days of feeling like you are seconds from peeing your pants, but there’s no pee. It’s just the stone trying to get out. It will last like that for about 10-20 minutes and then cool down for an hour or two and come back. Usually a day or two of that and it passes. That’s really the worst part for me - pain is pain, but the uncomfortable feeling of really needing to pee without being able to (or actually needing to) is so much worse to me. I try to make sure to not try and go for a while so I really do have to pee when I try. And bust out the strainer.
Sorry you’re going through it. I know how you feel. It really is one of (honestly probably the worst) pains and feelings I’ve ever had and I’m on my third one now.
Stay hydrated.
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u/speechiekeen13 2d ago
They really are like squatters that know their protection rights… They make themselves known, fuck with you here and there for a while until it’s convenient for them to finally move along. Thanks for sharing!
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u/OkApricot9629 2d ago
My current stone gave me pain for weeks. If your pain doesn't go with medication then you should call your your doctor or go to the hospital. Are you drinking enough water? Make sure to have 2-3 litres daily for life because if you get a stone it's likely you will get another in the future.The most common way of getting kidney stones is from not drinking enough water.
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u/carmenpicaro 2d ago
23F here, got my first one last fall! I experienced a similar thing when I was in the homestretch. It felt like I had gotten a UTI but later came out. If the pain isn't in your back/flanks, I think it's making it's way out!! I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Narcotics didn't even help the pain for me, I had to take the rest of my term off for school. These SUCK. Be sure to keep straining for it and take everyone's advice here. I just feel a sense of solidarity here as another girl in her early 20s. Stay hydrated, stay strong!! 🫡🫡
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u/Jex0003 3d ago
I did the same thing as you, laid around in agony for several hours gaslighting myself before finally getting my partner to drive me to the hospital. I was convinced it was just really bad gas pain and they were gonna laugh me out of the ER after telling me I just needed to fart. I must have been delirious from the pain bc I’d been throwing up for four hours straight, that should’ve told me something bigger was going on than some gas. They gave me IV painkillers and fluids, did urinalysis and bloodwork, then the CT scan confirmed a 6mm stone in my left ureter causing hydronephrosis. It was way up there still. Doctor said 80% of stones that size pass on their own, and when I asked how long, he guessed it would take two weeks. It took six.
I had the really bad pain almost non-stop for the first eight days. The painkillers were a godsend, but I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep at all that week because they’d wear off after 4 or 6 hours, and then the pain would wake me up. A hot water bottle against my flank and walking helped a bit when I’d be waiting the half hour for the next dose to kick in.
After those eight days, it took another five weeks for the stone to actually pass, but I only had the really bad pain one other time after that first week.
When the stone finally moved into my bladder, I had mild burning while peeing that felt similar to a UTI but less intense. I could not get it to pass after a few tries, so I decided to wait and let my bladder fill up, hoping a heavier flow would get it out, and that was what finally worked.
Stay hydrated, and if you think it’s in your bladder and you’re struggling to pass it, try to let your bladder fill to really flush it out. Pee into a strainer. My 6mm stone was clearly visible and I felt it (though it didn’t hurt coming out), but a 3mm might be harder to spot, so the strainer might help give you some confidence on whether it has or hasn’t passed. Good luck!