OT: Vicodin and Kidney Stones

Dave, just checking in on how you are managing. Let us know how the procedure goes to remove you from "stoner" status.

Perrybucsdad wrote:Dave, just checking in on how you are managing. Let us know how the procedure goes to remove you from "stoner" status.

I'm doing okay, in fact, I slept really well last night. My procedure isn't' scheduled until 3:30. This sucks because the instructions they give to anyone having a procedure no matter the time is "no food or drink after midnight". So now I have to last another 6.5 hours without even water.

Hopefully it will go well. The first time I woke up after the procedure, my wife told me I had to it again. The doctor explained that the stone was in a particularly narrow portion of the ureter. They had managed to insert a stent so I didn't have the kidney stone pain any more, but I was disappointed to have to go through the procedure again. Hopefully when I wake up this time, I won't be told I have to go back again.

The procedure went well. I tried posting a larger response, but cpaptalk.com is having issues. Will post a followup when the site is okay.

Happy to hear it went well Dave.
Looking for that longer post.
Susan

The procedure went well. My doctor told me my right kidney was 100%
blocked as could been seen on the CT, and the blood work showed that
more than likely my left kidney was not functioning fully because of
the stone in the left ureter.

He was able to laser the right stone and push the left stone back into
the left kidney where he shocked it with sound waves along with the
three others already hidden there. Now both kidneys should be fully
functioning. SleepyHead shows I got up five times to go to the
bathroom Friday night.

I somehow blocked the post procedure pain, that occurred after my last
procedure, from my memory. Now I understand why my Vicodin
prescription was for forty tablets.

When I talked to the anesthesiologist before the procedure, we talked
about my OSA. He said they don't intubate for this procedure and I
would be breathing on my own. To deal with apnea, they insert a tube
into my throat and inflate it, basically mechanically holding my
airway open so I can breathe on my own.

I can't say that I feel really great right now, but I feel good
knowing the pain I have now is temporary. Not to mention the
discomfort of urination with not one, but two stents. My doctor says I
should keep them in for ten days. Anyone who has gone through this
knows how uncomfortable it can be. I just wish they used general
anesthesia to remove them.

Despite all the medication I was on, my AHI Friday night was 0.09. Also,
I've just reconfirmed that my acid reflux was most likely because of
my OSA. I ate spaghetti for the sole meal of the day Friday and
went to bed shortly afterwards. Normally, I when I do this, I would
wake up during the night from acid reflux. But that was pre-CPAP.
Since starting XPAP I have not had a single occurrence and Friday's
late meal should have triggered it.

Last night I slept really well, only getting up once to urinate. In fact, I think
I slept better than I have been lately. I normally have three to five arousals
during the night, and last night, I only had the one to urinate. It is most
likely the Vicodin having its affect on me. My AHI from last night
was 0.43.

Dave it sounds like you hide your stones well too.
At least some of them.

Happy to hear your coming along.
I've not had any stones removed, as I pass them, except for those they blasted.
I don't think I want to go through that. Passing them is bad enough.

Hope your recovery is swift.
Susan

Hi Dave,
Glad you have that behind you. Hey, I don't know you well and perhaps this is common knowledge, but why do you keep having stones? Is there some metabolic issue related to calcium?

People who have stones and then change their lifestyle...drink lots and lots of water and no coffee or alcohol, often will never have a stone again.

I had one stone...a large calcium oxylate stone around oh it was the mid 80s. It wouldn't move and I was scheduled for surgery when night before...it popped out. I didn't enjoy the experience and made some radical changes in diet and lifestyle. And no stones since. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Hope your recovery goes well,
Jamis

jamiswolf wrote:Hi Dave,
Glad you have that behind you. Hey, I don't know you well and perhaps this is common knowledge, but why do you keep having stones? Is there some metabolic issue related to calcium?

People who have stones and then change their lifestyle...drink lots and lots of water and no coffee or alcohol, often will never have a stone again.

I had one stone...a large calcium oxylate stone around oh it was the mid 80s. It wouldn't move and I was scheduled for surgery when night before...it popped out. I didn't enjoy the experience and made some radical changes in diet and lifestyle. And no stones since. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Hope your recovery goes well,
Jamis

I have no idea what changed in my life to start getting kidney stones. The first stone that I knew about was in May 2009. That one took two procedures to remove. It was a calcium oxalate stone. Unfortunately, there is still a lot to be learned about kidney stones. What used to be common knowledge, is now the wrong thing to do. For example, they used to say you shouldn't take in calcium, but now they say you should. The reason is that the calcium will combine with the oxalate from your food in your gut where they will evacuate with your stool. If you don't consume enough calcium, then the oxalate will get into your blood stream, then taken back out in your kidneys where they combine with calcium and form the stones there.

I spent the weekend researching calcium oxalate stones online over the weekend, and didn't get a good sense that doctors know what is going on. I suspect oxalate is a lot like cholesterol. While doctors and nutritionist focus on dietary intake, I suspect the real problem is what the body produces. The reason I say this is because I haven't really changed my diet in the last ten years, so something in or about my body is what changed. I have gained weight in this time and of course I've grown older.

Looking online I can't even find a definitive source of oxalate content in food. Some sites say cranberry is high, some say low. Who's right? Many agree that things like chocolate, spinach, and rhubarb are bad, but coffee and cola are ambiguous.

The biggest problem with controlling kidney stones by diet is there is no way to test that it is working. It's been over two years since my last painful kidney stone. Imagine "radically" changing my diet and two years later not having a stone. What does that tell me? Does it mean it's working? Who knows, maybe, maybe not. Also, how do you even know if you have a stone? Over the last couple of years, I've gotten X-rays that were mostly clear. Only one showed a small stone in it.

If my stones are being caused by high levels of oxalate in my urine, then I'd like to be able to track that. It would be great if I could record what I eat every day along with my oxalate levels to find a true cause and affect.

Dave,
I can see you've put some thought to it. It is a complicated thing. The biggest single factor in my life has been to increase water intake. And I'm careful about the quality of water too. RO or distilled and not spring or tap water. Just trying to help out...I hate to see someone going through that on a regular basis.
Speedy recovery Dude,
Jamis

Glad you are doing okay Dave. Unfortunately, so people are just stone factories and will produce stones like crazy. I remember one expert saying to drink plenty of cranberry juice, and then I remember another said not to. Lots of contradictory info out there, so good luck to you.

I guess they could always make you into a "lady" and it would have less distance to travel.