It SUCKS, doesn't it?! I had one about a year ago. Have you passed it already? If so, were you able to collect it and have it analysed? If it's a calcium oxalate stone (the most common type) then yes, dehydration is one of the leading causes. I was told to drink at least 100 oz. of fluids a day. Other things to do are to avoid foods rich in oxalates, reduce salt intake, and stuff we already do as triathletes (exercise, control weight, etc.)

I honestly don't know if it has passed yet. I was in quite a bit of pain when I went into the clinic but according to the CAT scan the stone had already passed into my bladder. I did not urinate for about 8 hours and then that evening the pain subsided and I started urinating again and slept just fine overnight. The stone was 3 mm so I'm not sure if it just passed without my noticing it or if it's still lurking around in my bladder and has just changed position

Mine was about that same size (3.7mm) but it got stuck at the junction where the ureter enters the bladder and hung out there for 5 days before finally moving into the bladder. From there it came out without feeling a thing. From what I understand, the pain isn't so much from the stone rubbing on soft tissue as it is from the stone blocking urine flow, which correlates to what you experienced. If you're urinating normally and not in any pain you may have already passed it.

How in the world is this related to triathlon???? How about moving this to the Lavender Room?

That's a very good question. it seems like there's a lot of smart people that do this sport who come from the medical world so I always get good answers to my medical questions and I guess I should have added that I was curious when I should get back out on the bike.

But I already did so I guess that question didn't need to be asked.

Its related to being potentially caused by sweating lots. And triathletes sweat a lot - buy doing and training for...yep you guessed it... triathlon. Totally relevant.

I have had a few and tended to be due to dehydration from a ride within the past week. Still have a few in each kidney, but just hanging out, no pain or concern I am told. FYI- Beet root juice after a couple of doses makes my kidneys hurt.

A friend of mine has you beat by just a bit. 52mm, one in each kidney. She never felt them until she was up at Lake Tahoe about to swim the width - 12 miles. She doubled over in pain the night before and went to Emergency. Pretty close to a Guinness record, she says. Was transported down to UCLA Medical for surgery and to have stents put in - ducts abnormally small.
About all I could say to cheer her up is she should be faster swimming now because her hips will ride higher in the water.
Best of luck with yours. Hope I never get them.

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

A 3 mm stone that is in the bladder can easily pass without noticing. I have passed a few that are 6-7 mm. They caused a LOT of pain getting to the bladder, but no pain exiting. More like a water faucet that burps out an air bubble mid stream. The more concentrated the urine, the more easily stones can form. Obviously, endurance training and hydration habits affect this. Do you have a follow-up with your family practitioner or renal doc? They may ask you to take a 24 hour urine collection for metabolite analysis. Of course this is tricky with triathlon too, because 1) the practical nature of doing a collection and working out that day 2) it may not be fully representative of what your day would be versus a day that you do a long ride or run. Good luck! I feel for anyone who has gone through these. While I have had several, my brother has only had one, and that was more than 20 years ago. Hopefully you will be in that category.

I was going to blow off going to the doctor for a follow-up. Did you find it was worth doing the follow up?

If you have insurance, I'd do it.

I’ve had one kidney stone and hope to never go through that experience again. I woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating back pain, with no idea what the problem was. My wife drove me to the ER and sure enough, it was a kidney stone. I was in crazy pain until the stone passed, and then it was like a light switch - the pain disappeared completely.

Talking to a doctor friend afterwards, whose speciality includes kidney stones. He said he’s asked many women what was more painful, passing a kidney stone or natural child birth. He said every single one of them said the kidney stone was worse, in part because the pain is continuous.

Welcome to the club.

Similar experience about 15-years ago -- definitely more painful than a broken bone. Dr. told me to drink lots more water which I've done and (thank goodness) no recurrence.

Beet juice makes kidneys hurt? What's the science behind that? I've been trying beet juice off and on this summer and have had some lower back pain that I couldn't identify what I did to cause it and after reading your response now seems to correlate with the beet juice intake. I have had one kidney stone episode in my life about 30 years ago and it hurt like a MOFO.

Oh man! I’ve had two. First one had me in so much pain I was vomiting. If not for some muscle relaxers I had from a previous issue, I’d of ended up in the ER for sure.

I cut out soft drinks for the most part and upped my water intake. I also drink a bit more alcohol than I used to. Urologist recommended that I drink a few glasses of alcohol a week to help keep my kidneys flushed.

Been two or three years since I had one. Miserable feeling for sure.

first one was when we were out of cell reception in a cabin. it hurt so bad i was vomiting (last time before that was 20 years ago and a lot of vodka), after a few hours we decided it was not stomach flu and drove 45 minutes to er.
i got an iv, a ct scan, and they found a 4mm stone - it took a few days to come out. (and we did have to drive 6 hours to get home - that was torture).
fast forward, 2 years later, i have weird back pain and hurry to the er. they did 2 ultrasounds and now the stone was 4.5 mm. i got flomax, which had tons of side effect, but i took it for 2 months, and checked for stones with the strainer that they give you. just tiny crumbs.
after 2 months, i quit the meds, and asked for an x-ray to see if it was gone.

the dr insisted on a ct scan (which cost me 1500 dollars the time before), so i demanded an x-ray first. it took some doing, but i got the x-ray and it was clear.
the stone was a calcium oxalate stone. lots of healthy foods have oxalates. actually, a lot of what i ate had oxalates!
black tea, nuts, beets, many kinds of greens, chocolate, wheat germ, potatoes, sweet potatoes. and i found out that collagen metabolizes into oxalates. so that collagen protein was not such a good idea.
i found a helpful website, with great lists, and a facebook group. i don't really do facebook, but it is handy to search for certain things.
kidneystonediet.com
i am drinking tons of water/electrolytes, and don't even run 3 miles without bringing water. had an x-ray in june, and all is good. fingers crossed.

A urologist and stone evaluation is probably needed-once, to make sure they are calcium oxalate, not another type, as there are very different treatments.

Staying hydrated, especially prior to going to bed, is most important. I've had over a half dozen stones, and had lithotripsy too. Diet changes and nighttime fluids have prevented them for a while now...like years...(*hoping I haven't jinxed myself). Once renal colic starts, you can try to drink fluids like a fiend and flush it down and out, but passing into the bladder is the most painful-especially right at the end into it from the ureter. Then it's not a pleasant passage from bladder to toilet, but at least that one is quick-like peeing out a BB. And if you actually look at it, there are spikes and spicules all over---ouch.


I think I was the only one who went for a run after lithotripsy, according to their records. Not a perfectly good idea, but I was training and my thoughts were distorted at the time.

I've gone for runs with strep throat and right after having a wisdom tooth removed so I understand your approach to training pretty well

I only realized I had kidney stones when I peed bright red blood.

The first time it happened I was not expecting it - who would be - and the bright red against the white porcelain was pretty disturbing. That image still sticks with me.

I'd only pee blood after a run - so the stones must have been stuck in the ureter and running helped to slowly dislodge them -- but it took about a month before they passed -- I remember they rattled around in my bladder for a few days sometimes disturbing urine flow before I peed them out in the shower -- I wouldn't have known if I hadn't been watching -- during all that I had some discomfort, but no actual pain.

Ditto what others have said about staying hydrated.

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Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
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"Suck it up, Buttercup"
(me, to myself, every day)

Wow, a kidney stone with no pain, I had no idea!

Like the others I woke up in the middle of the night in agony - I knew right away what it was even though I hadn't had one before. Went straight to the ER with the wife, it seemed like it took forever to get admitted but as soon as the dilauded IV drip kicked in I felt pretty smooth. The CT scan (huge radiation dose btw) revealed a 2-3 mm stone along with a bulging disc that I didn't know I had. Hung around the ER for a while and it passed to the bladder quickly, thank God. The next day was a total barf fest from the dilauded, I don't tolerate shit like that very well but I did catch the little bugger in my sieve. Victory!

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

They suck - had to have surgery for one - 7-8mm. That sucked too. Have had several.

Drink beer. Pee a lot. Sorry dude/dudette.

Anyone else remember Tim DeBoom passing a kidney stone during the run in Kona in 2003? I can't even get my head around running a marathon while passing a stone. He ended up passing out from the pain.

Getting dehydrated and having low urine output likely increases likelihood of forming stones.

So make sure you hydrate well before during and after. Certain stones types benefit from things like increasing calcium and potassium intake. Other dietary maneouvers can help like reducing animal protein and sources of uric acid for uric acid stones. A 24 hour urine and a stone analysis (save the stone if you pass one straining urine in acute phase can facilitate that) can help identify what type of stone which helps determine what you can do to reduce likelihood of another stone. So I wouldn't blow off followup appt. I am sure you can google about how to reduce likelihood of forming stones and figure this stuff out.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

FWIW, I too had a stone in 2005 and it sucked big time. Went to urologist and did blood panel, and called me screaming that I IMMEDIATELY stop whatever diet i was doing. I said, well i take 3 protein shakes per day with about 120 grams per shake, and oh yeah I sweat a lot when running and riding. So, then saw a nephrologist who said my kidneys couldnt break down all the protein i was taking in, and on top of that the massive sweating and not hydrating was the cause of the stone to form.
Since then have gone down on protein shakes and increased water intake, and thus no more issues.

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Team Zoot-Texas, and Pickle Juice