Kidney Stones

My Kidney Stone Experience:

I was woken up Saturday July 17, 2010 at 7:30 am with a strong pain on my left side that lasted ½ hour. The same thing happened in the evening before going to bed, I just thought it was a stomach ache. Sunday I was pain free but come midday Monday, the pain came on strong. For the following two hours the pain became progressively stronger until I could take it no more and had to be taken to the hospital. This pain is so bad that it makes you beat yourself and anything around you, scream, vomit and cry, of which I did all. At the hospital I was pump intravenously with morphine until it put a smile on my face. The x-rays confirmed that it was a 6 mm. kidney stone ¼ of the way down the ureter and the echoes showed that I had another 3 stones in my right kidney. The doctor prescribed Spasfon (phloroglucinol/trimethylphloroglucinol 80/80mg.) to facilitate stone movement and Toradol (ketorolac tromethamine 10mg.) and Buscopan (butilhioscine/Metamizole sodium 10/250mg.) for pain. These pain killers are more for moral support than anything else since they do little to lessen the pain. Tuesday day 4 started with mild pain, short periods of fever and a constant need to urinate. At noon came the strong 2 hour cycle of pain and again 12 hours later before I was able to go to sleep. Wednesday was a repeat of the day before and so was Thursday.

By the 6th day of torture I was willing to try anything, and to top it off I was facing ureteroscopy surgery which my doctor was more than pleased to perform for the bargain price of $2000 dollars, a small price to pay considering the pain. So, I decided to try a homemade Colombian herbal tea that my cousin had used 15 years earlier. They went out and picked up the herbs and brewed the drink. I had my first cup Thursday evening before going to bed after my final pain attack of the day. The next morning when I went to the bathroom, I notice that the urine was brown with just a couple of specks, thought it must just be the tea changing the color. I continued drinking the tea at a rate on 1½ liters per day.

I had spent days on the internet trying to learn everything I could on the subject and came across a site that mentioned a “jump & bump” approach that would help pass the stone in minutes. To do this, one must wait for the beginning of the pain, so I did. Midday Friday as the pain started I did my jump and the pain instantly went away! What the heck? the pain is the indicator to help me pee the stone out and I can’t do it if I don’t have the pain. A few hours later, same thing… one jump and pain gone! So I stopped taking the pain medication. The pain came back Saturday at 4 am, did the jump and no more pain. That was the last pain I would experience.

I noticed Saturday that the urine was no longer brown, it was pail yellow. I decided to stop taking the remaining medication, since I felt it was doing nothing except for giving me a massive migraine. Now there was no pain, no migraine and no stone to be found. For the following days I felt great, all except for an occasional mild bladder discomfort. Finally by August 5, 2010 the a stone came out, 19½ days after it all began, almost 13 days after the last pain episode.

When the stone finally comes, you don't feel a thing. Maybe a small change in the urine flow, so you must pay close attention every time you go in order not to miss it. I had two stone come out, one was very small and the other was the one that caused all the agony.

I went back for new test and they showed that I was stone free, the masses in the kidneys that showed up on the previous exams where no longer there.
Waiting for more test results...

Now, for the pain you jump, for the stones you drink a tea and in 1½ days you’re done.

Why isn’t this known? Why do we have to suffer if there is a simple cure? Let’s see… Out of pocket expense $5, drug company profit $0, insurance company profit $0 and hospital profit $0. Oh… Now I understand.

Cleansing Tea

For comments and suggestions email me at kidneystones@magutz.com