I just discovered that taking Pyridium (Phenazopyridine)three times a day significantly reduces, if not completely eliminates severe pain caused by a [reasonably-sized] kidney stone scraping its way down a ureter. This is one of those lessons you have to learn on your own, especially since narcotics are the first line of defense for severe kidney stone pain.
Anyone who has presented to a doctor's office or ER with kidney stone pain before knows they are loaded with narcotics in the hospital, and sent home with buckets of percocet, dilaudid, or something similar, only to experience the common side effects of these medications, without experiencing much if any relief.
For those who aren't familiar with this drug, Pyridium is not a narcotic or traditional pain reliever. It is a dye that happens to be a natural numbing agent. When ingested, it travels to the kidneys where it is processed with urine. As the Pyridium-filled urine moves from the kidneys to the bladder, it numbs the ureter along the way.
Pyridium is commonly used to relieve bladder infection pain, but for kidney stone patients, it's used to relieve pain associated with post-op ureteral stents. While most kidney stone patients are familiar with Pyridium, how many of us have stopped to wonder what else it can tackle?
A couple nights ago, I was lying in bed with bi-lateral stone pain, with occasional 8/10 pain in my left flank. It hurt to breathe in or yawn. Normally, this level of pain has me reaching for Percocet, but not wanting to become nauseous, my thoughts turned to Pyridium. If it could take away much of the pain I've experienced from ureteral stents, why couldn't it do the same for kidney stone pain?
I took my first dose late that evening. By the next morning, my kidney stone pain was completely gone. I was prescribed one pill three times a day, so I took that amount and by the next morning I felt the need to feel where I was at, so I stopped the medicine. By 1:00pm, the telltale dark orange Pyridium urine had changed back to normal, and I was starting to feel the stone in my right ureter. Now, nine hours later, it's obvious that the stone on the left must have moved, because I only feel the stone on the right.
While the stone on the left shifted to a position or point in my ureter that's less sensitive, I wouldn't have been able to tolerate the pain without the Pyridium. It spared me hours of agony. Pyridium doesn't "kick in" as quick as a traditional pain killer, but it does work, and it works better than a narcotic. Other than the color and staining ability of my urine, I experienced no side effects.
Everyone's bodies are different, but I believe Pyridium could benefit most stone sufferers out there. Ask your doctor for a prescription in advance, and keep it on hand until your next stone appears. Try Pyridium instead of whatever pain killer you would normally use, wait until the dye starts showing up in your urine, and let me (please!) and your doctor know what your experience was like.
15 comments:
This was a very informative post, Thanks for sharing ;c)
i have had 3 stones in the past 4 weeks...1 failed surgery, 3 CT's and about 120 pain pills...i am told that i most likely passed all of the stones(only 1 confirmed passing). im just reading this and wondering...how the HELL do you do this? honest to god i hate my life right now. everything is weighted on these stupid stones and they keep washing back to my kidneys. ive used up my 3 C.T. lives and my wallet...god i dont know i think youre not human because if i came down with another stone id probably lose it.
hi---my name is Samantha and I was searching for kidney stone accounts and found your blog. I am grateful for all the info you have on here as I was just diagnosed with kidney stones in both kidneys, after numerous doctors brushed me off when I told them of my flank pain in my 2 subsequent pregnancies. I had my 2nd baby thisjanuary, and had that flank pain again, forced my dr to refer me to a urologist, who told me I had a "muscle strain", but i convinced them to do a CT scan and they found a couple 3-4 mm stones in both kidneys.
well i had to go back in yesterday because I started peeing blood. i had to convince them to do another ct scan and apparently i have 7mm stone already halfway through my ureter! i am so fed up with being treated like a hypochondriac!
I am not in much pain right now, but scared as hell--my mom passed one years ago thats smaller than mine, and said its worse than childbirth! having had my first baby naturally (unintended--i got there at 7 cm dilated) I CANNOT imagine anything more painful!
Like you said, maybe i am 'lucky' and have loose ureters!
well, thanks for the info. feel free to check out my blog---i am almost done being a navy wife so I have tricare insurance too---but i am choosing to pay to go to civilian drs...(although from the looks of it, they aren't much better!)
nice to meet you,
Samantha*
Nice to meet you too, Samantha! Sorry you're having to deal with this too! 7mm stones cannot pass, so your urologist will definitely have to do a ureteroscopy on you. Luckily, that hurts less than passing a 4mm- one unless you get a stent after, which sucks in a whole 'nother way. :)
Which state are you in? I've had awesome luck with Tricare and civilian urologists, but my very first urologist was a Navy doc, and he was awesome! He's in Bethesda now, head of urology. :)I'm sure not all Navy urologists are created equal.
Def. ask for pyridium and Detrol. Use them now and once you get your stent. Works great, and can be used in conjunction with real pain meds if need be.
Keep me updated!
Tammy
Tammy,
thanks for the info! I am currently in williamsburg, va, but we are originally from southern california, and lived in upstate NY for 3 years.
I am kind of overwhelmed right now because I keep being told and reading that stones >5mm don't pass naturally, and yet my urologist casually read the CT scan and said I have a 7mm ALREADY HALWAY through my ureter, and that it will pass fine. I still haven't passed it and the pain is minimal; just cramping and my urine is dark still.
He has me on flowmax to help pee it out, and gave me percocet for pain (which i havent had to take yet) but I fear I am still in for the worst. I am totally ignorant to the whole stent thing, and it wasn't even raised as a possibility by my urologist so I am contemplating going to a new dr...i have an appt on tuesday with an xray, so if it hasn't passed by then, i am going to push for some kind of intervention.
can i ask you what kind of diet you were told to be on to prevent forming stones? and what state are you in?
I'm in Northern California now, and I go to Stanford for everything.
Considering that your stone got half-way down your ureter, there is a chance it can pass without lithotripsy, but with a stone that big, you have a big risk for a blockage. This means your kidneys could stop peeing and ultimately wind up with acute kidney failure (which is totally treatable in like no time). So just be aware of your body. If you start getting a fever or if you start peeing less than 30 or 50ml an hour, go to the ER. In fact, if you go to the ER, they will hook you up with surgery at the naval hospital with practically no wait.
I have cystinuria, so my diet was low animal protein, with the drug Thiola three times a day. If you have a calcium stone, you will have to lower your calcium intake, but they won't know what kind of stone you have until the lab analyzes it; If you do pass it, keep it in a baggie and give it to your doc to be examined.
Flomax works well, but for me it only helps pass smaller stones. I would probably see a new doc. I've seen several over the course of almost 10 years, and none of them even thought about letting a 7mm stone rot...that's crazy because of the potential for trouble.
Sorry I'm skipping around. :)
Drink lots of water, and if you don't like plain water, drink tons of Crystal Light. My 1st urologist said it was as good for the body as water. Highly acidic water, like lemon water, might help break up the stone.
Stents are like a straw that goes from your kidney down to your bladder. It dilates the ureter to help stones or stone fragments pass. It also helps blood clots pass after a trip to the OR, and just helps fight off infection. For me they are a necessity after lithotripsy, but some people don't need them. It's all at the discretion of the urologist. They hurt like hell when you pee, because they kind of coil up, and that's where the pyridium and detrol LA helps. They suck, but like the one time I didn't get one, I had a clot, a high fever, and no urine output, so I had to be admitted to the hospital for a couple days.
Updated comments come straight to my E-mail, so don't hesitate if you have any questions or want to vent. :)
Tammy
well, you're a pro at this stuff lol. I do like regular water, and I don't tolerate any artificial sugars too well, so I can stick with just water. I am worried about the blockage causing kidney failure so I will do as you say and keep an eye on my output and fever etc.
I have a strainer to use so I can bring the stone(s) in, but they also did a 24 hour urine collection, and the results should be in this week so they may be able to ascertain what the stones are made of by checking what is regularly in my urine.
So, with your low animal protein diet and meds, have you noticed less stones or pains etc? The stent sounds ideal for passing stones, but that sucks they cause pain during urination..
do you have anything bad to say about the shockwave treatment used to break up stones?
well, these comments are getting so long! but i am comforted to be able to ask someone so experienced (unfortunate for you, but good for me, which is obviously more important right? jk :) especially since I am already questioning my dr.
i have been posting on my family blog about my stones, so check it out sometime. I only have a lame xray shot in which the stone is barely visible, but i think i will soon have a picture of the stone on a tape measure like you lol.
thanks!
have a good night!
Samantha*
p.s. do you have any children? what does your husband do in the military? do you plan on staying in CA?
tammy i think ineed ur help. i still havent passed the stone and my flank pain in my right back is really bad right now...i want to go int o the er, but i think they will just send home. i am scared it is blocked and causing acute kidney failure..how can i tell? what do you say i do? thanks
sam
Hey Sam,
Sorry I didn't see this sooner. They will know. ERs actually see kidney stone patients all the time, so please go.
Tell them you want to be admitted until a urologist can get it out, or have them transfer you to another hospital with a urologist. Tricare will cover all that.
Hope you feel better!! :_(
Tammy
Oh wonderful blog.
Thank you!
Hi,
I was happy to find your blog through a search. Lots of great information here.
I'm a lifelong kidney stones "warrior." Had my first one at 13. Family doctor sent me to a hospital for X-rays after I complained of constant back pain. They diagnosed it as a pulled muscle. Over the next 9 years and 2 more trips to the hospital ER in excruciating pain, they got the diagnosis right. Thankfully, that was a long time ago (1960s)and I don't think it would happen today.
I'm wondering if anyone else has had the family experience we've had on my mother's side of the family tree. My mom had a kidney removed at age 43 and the other kidney was failing when she passed away from breast cancer at age 59. My brother has had at least two dozen kidney stones. I've been hospitalized twice for stone removal. Kidney problems are rampant among my maternal relatives. I just heard a few months ago that my cousin's 10 year old daughter was hospitalized for kidney troubles. Another cousin had a kidney removed when he was 10 months old.
Has anyone else had this kind of experience?
THanks for the great blog. I've enjoyed surfing the info. Regards...George M, New York
Hello and thanks for this great blog. I have been suffering with kidney stones since I was 20 or 21 or so. I am now about to have a treatment again on the 14th. the third of this year. I do have a stent and had looked around for info on whether it is uncommon for sufferers to deal with pain with stents. I have taken pyridium and was on 2 courses of Micro Daton or the generic equivulent of it. Vicaden is the pain killer I am taking and I only take half of that. I have had several courses of ESWL back in the 90's. Anyway, thanks again for this blog. Portia from Southern California80
I was researching kidney stones due to some pain I am having and after reading about the 7mm kidney stone I just had to comment. Last October (a little over a year ago) I had a 6mm kidney stone. When they found it in my uriter they didn't say it was already half way down my uriter, they said it was lodged in my uriter. I ended up getting ecoli in my blood and my kidney was filled with pus.
As far as the Lithrotripsy goes, It didn't seem too bad. I was in more pain after the stent removal than after the Lithro. I reccomend Dilauded in the hospital for pain. Morphine did nothing for me. Vicoden didn't seem to help much either, percocet was a decent take home medicine and I was on Cipro (antibiotic) for about 2 weeks or so.
I am on here today because I am having back pain. Have been for weeks now. It's a deep pain just above my hips. I can pin point it but it's deep. My stomach hurts deep in the same spot and I have been having "hunger pains". I have no clue what that is. I had gas earlier and it made me nausios to let it out. It actually felt good for my husband to hit me in the back. Although, I love a good massage so I may have trained myself to feel pain as being a good thing at this point. I had him hitting my back last time I got a kidney infection. This time, may or may not be one, it's back pain, side pain and stomach pain. I am very tender and I swear, I can feel it all the way down to the groin area.
I also suffer from Fibromyalgia and a prolapsed bladder, uterus and rectum. And I keep having gas like pains and chest pains. It just feels like there is something in there. In my body. Something that doesn't belong. It almost reminds me of when I was pregnant and the baby got her feet over there where my ribs are. But I am not pregnant.
Anyway, I hope you got that 7mm stone removed because I don't want to see you where I was last year. 3 days after I was admitted to the hospital the Dr. said, and I quote "You know, when you came in here... You were dying"
Hope we feel better soon!
Hi my name is Mary,Kidney stones are not all i am fighting here,8 weeks ago i had a gastric pace maker put in,prior to that i was getting several UTI'S,and kidney troubles,since sugery i have not been able to pee ,i have to self cath ,infections are getting worse not to mention I chipped a tooth from grinding while passing one of many stones now i have kidney and bladder infection,cypro,cypro,cypo,all i get,cant find a kidney doctor in all of ct to take my insurance the only place is UCONN HOSPITAL they said may or june,i spent years fighting gastroperisis could not wait to eat,now i can and dont want to. 2 WEEKS ago they said a cat scan was going to be done still waiting on that call.I would rather give birth to a 20lb baby every day for a week than go through this god bless everyone.
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