I had some blood in my urine after a run.I went to a urologist and he did a C.A.T. scan and said I have kidney stones. I’m doing Gulf Coast 1/2 ironman on May 10th . He said I should wait until after the race to have them removed. He said that when he breaks them apart there would be a better chance of some trouble for a few weeks than if I waited until after. He said there would be a small chance of problems for the next 3 weeks.
Does anyone know if this is good advice? I have worried every min. since finding out that I would miss the race becouse of a stone starting to pass. The Dr. estimated only about a 10% chance of this happening.
Rule of thumb… if you are worried about a diagnosis get a second opinion.
It is impossible to give any advice without really seeing the CAT scan or doing a throguh examination… either way the reason that a second opinion would be a good idea is becuase endurance events like a half are going to put a lot of stress on your kidneys. and if you are prone to renal calculi depending on how your hydration plan goes it is possible to do additional damage.
The best thing would definately get a second opinion… if they clear you I would actually suggest that you peruse the web for some dietary recommendations for decreasign renal stones… the time frame is short enough that you can stick to changes in your diet and you want to decrease the likelihood of your stones increasing in size.
good luck
Howzit bro? I am an RN in a Kidney Stone Center so I can probably give you some scoops. Whacking kidney stones can be done several ways. They can be an open procedure for big ones, probably not your case. You can use a lithotripsy machine which uses a mechanical shock wave. This is similar to the impact the boom boom cars have, only a very focused beam. The problem with this procedure is that there is some mild bruising of the kidney, and often requires a general or at least concious sedation. It is a surgery and needs some recovery, like a couple weeks
If the stone leaves the kidney you can watchful wait and hope you" birth" it on its own, or if it gets stuck they can whack it with a laser. Again this is a surgical procedure and requires some recovery time.
If it were me I would train like hell, drink lots of water and hope it stays put until post race. Then go see the MD and get that sucker treated. Plan for a couple ez weeks post procedure, but I would bet you could still swim and ride some. Hope that helps. Oh, and from now until you die drink lots of water, because some people make stones faster than others. If you see you urine is adark yellow you are dehydrated and asking for more trouble. Aloha G
The advice given here sounds great and in line with my medical training… and I suspect that the people who posted are skilled, knowledgeable care-givers. Nevertheless, please keep in mind that all advice in this type of setting should be taken with a (large) grain of salt. There is no substitute for a proper physical exam, medical history, personally reviewing labs and radiology results, etc. So, I think the person who suggested a second opinion gave the best advice! Please be cautious with getting information from the internet and applying it to your personal medical situation.
All right, I’ll give you a second opinion. Not only that, as a practicing urologist my opinion might even be worthwhile. I concur with your first urologist’s advice. If it is a relatively large stone, its more likely to stay in the kidney and is less likely to cause immediate problems, as opposed to entering the ureter where the “fun” (read:pain) begins. Smashing it into many fragments with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and then having all the fragments start to pass when you least want them to is just begging for trouble. Just stay very well hydrated and deal with the stone after your race.