Question:
A warning - Kidney Stones
On Wednesday I will be exactly 3 months post-op. During the past week I have been to the emergency room twice for severe abdominal pain. The only comparison I can make to the pain I was having would be the pain of contractions from childbirth, except that it was constant, I felt like my insides were being ripped out. I thought I had a bowel obstruction or some other complication from surgery. The first visit was a complete waste of my time. The doctor said my symptoms seemed like I had a kidney stone, but all the tests they did didn't show one. I had blood work, urinalysis, CT scan and regular x-rays and they showed nothing. So they sent me home with no medicine, no follow-up orders, nothing. Well, pain came back saturday night and after 4 hours of writhing in pain my husband took me to another emergency room where they did x-rays of my kidneys called an IVP. These showed that I do infact have a kidney stone and so the doctor gave me pain killers and I will be following up with a urologist on Wednesday. The kidney stone was apparently caused by dehydration after surgery. It can be very difficult to get in all your water after surgery, but it is so important that you do. The pain from the kidney stone hurt worse than anything I went through with the surgery. So drink, drink, drink and if you do begin to experience severe abdominal pain, make sure to ask specifically for IVP x-rays so you do not have to suffer needlessly. — Dawn P. (posted on August 4, 2003)
August 4, 2003
Same thing happened to me, except that I didn't have to go to the hop--my
family practitioner caught it. After a few days of MAJOR hydration and
painkillers, it went away but I'll tell you...that pain is enough to
motivate me to drink all my H20 EVERY day. By the way, aparently the weight
loss and increased protein increase the chances of kidney stones, so drink,
drink,drink. The good news is that most kidney stones attacks pass/subside
on thier own without requiring surgery. Cheers-
— gamboge
August 4, 2003
You dont have to be a post op to get kidney stones. A good friend of mine
is MO and in the last 3 years must of had 5 or 6 bouts of stones:( I have
known her over 2o years and she never drank water saying it was not thirst
quenching. Theres something in pop that causes stones, according to her
doc. She never had WLS but her doc said being MO increases the risk of
stones. Very painful between that and her bad knees and feet she says dshe
is falling apart at age 35. I wish she would consider WLS.
— bob-haller
August 4, 2003
I have a history of kidney stones so before I could have my surgery I had
to promise my doc that I would DRINK, DRINK, DRINK. I've had 6 in my
lifetime and they are the nastiest things I have ever experienced (labor
was a piece of cake in comparison). Thank you so much for addressing this
~ believe me, this is something nobody wants to go through! Be very aware
of your body and what it tells you - watch for the warning signs! My
kidney stones always started with some discomfort on one side of my lower
back (around the kidney). It could go on for days or weeks. Once the
stone left the kidney, the pain would start to radiate around my side and
then into my abdomen. As it moved down, the spasms were excruciating. If
this happens to you, increase your fluid intake from the first sign of
trouble! The only thing you can do is drink and drink and drink some more
to flush it out. I drink more water now than I did pre-surgery so I'm
praying that I've seen my last kidney stone. And one more thing - high
protein diets and diets high in calcium can be a contributing cause of
kidney stones, according to my urologist. And since we WLS patients eat
more protein than anything else, all the more reason we need to make sure
we're getting enough fluids!
— MomBear2Cubs
August 4, 2003
I think it is interesting that these bouts with kidney stones dissappeared
on their own. I had them several years ago and I had to go to the
lithotriper to get rid of mine. While I had them I had MAJOR bouts of
kidney colic (vomiting and pain) that left me in the hospital for a few
days. The kidney colic would not leave permanently until I finally got the
stones dissolved and flushed out... BE CAREFUL with those stones.
— Eleanore Davis
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