Kidney Stones

[jackie]

My boyfriend has kidney stones and we are due to fly long haul in 8 days.

Do you think he will be fit to fly before then? Have anyone had kidney stones and roughly how long did it take for them to pass.

[Husky_mom]

sorry to heat that...

hopefully they pass soon..... they can be very painful....I haven´t had any but my dad, mom and sis have had them as well as mi inlaws

my dad went to ER to get them out but they passed on their own, mom had huge pains and had to get surgery to get them out, sis passed them same day.... and just about last weekend my dad begun with same pains but passed them ok, again

he might consider drinking cranberry juice in order to help a bit, but he might wanna get checked just in case, I don´t wanna think what pain he might be in and having no way to get out of a plane to get attention....

[Grace]

Some stones pass on their own; some need lithotripsy; some need surgical removal. I hear the pain can be as bad as labor pains.

[Taz_Zoee]

Wasn't it Michelle (kittycats_delight) that had them for a few weeks? Sorry, don't mean to be the bearer of bad news.
I have never had them, but my SIL did and said it WAS worse than labor. And I don't know if it's worse for a man.

[Grace]

And I don't know if it's worse for a man.

Since men don't experience labor, they are unable to compare. The women I have known who had stones said the pains were similar.

I do remember one man coming into the ER, and, no lie, his color was grayish-green. He really thought he was dying.

[carole]

Both my husband and my mother have had kidney stones, my mother's were picked up in routine examinations and she had the lithotripsy, it was successful, but my husband was totally unexpected, we were away for a short break, and previous to that he had been hydrosliding, apparently they cause no pain until they move and hey presto that is what the hydrosliding did, made them move, he became instantly ill, and was in terrible pain, believe me i would not want to be on a long haul flight if that happened,he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and they believed he had passed them naturally, i am told if they don't move he will be fine, good luck.,but i guess there is a slight element of risk involved.

[gini]

I have a family member who has had them - and as I stood by the bed in the hospital I wanted to just cry watching the intense pain he was going through.

I would opt for having a Dr. check him out - a long flight is no place to be in extreme pain.

[sparks19]

I had them once.... and so did my mom... but we both passed ours on our own and it was within a week.

[kittycats_delight]

Cindy's right....I just got over them not too long ago. It took me almost a month to pass mine and believe me while I had them I would not have been able to fly long haul. Actually even travelling to the doctor or hospital which was 15 - 20 minutes away was extremely uncomfortable. Unless they are small and he can pass them on his own then he won't be fit to do much. I'm sorry. They say it usually takes about week to 10 to pass a stone best case scenario. I hope your boyfriend falls into the best case scenario group. Tell him not to drink while in pain as it will increase the level of pain. Also stay away from coffee or anything with caffine as it constricts the kidneys and causes pain. Water with lemon or 100% natural citrus juices are best as the citrus can help dissolve the stone faster. I hope this helps a little.


ETA: the doctors say the actually passing of the stone is much more painful for a man as the 'channel' from the bladder is much longer and more narrow. With a woman it is the passing from the kidney to the bladder that is more painful. Overall they say it is more painful for a man...they also say stones are more painful than labor and right up there with being shot.

[jackie]

He passed one this morning, thank god. I have never seen him cry or be sick until last night, poor guy.

He has a doctors apointment on friday, so please keep your fingers crossed for us.

[carole]

well that is good news, he sure has our sympathy, i hope he gets rid of them, they are not very nice indeed, good luck at the Dr's ,keep us updated please.