Kidney stones from opiate use???

[corey411]

OK what's up with all of the kidney stones?? I have seen at least a dozen posts with kidney stones. There has to be some correlation between opiate use and kidney stones. My surgeon showed me mine on the CT scan and it's a white circle as big as a golfball. He feels it might be from chemicals but said that it's probably from my chemo. I keep thinking that he is gonna pull out a big white opiate that either says Endo or Watson on it lol. Just wondering if anyone else was told theirs was from chemicals?

[DrJ9]

Curious how you know they ar not related to opiate abuse?
Dr J

[me171]

I have had kidney stones 2 or 3 times in the last few years, the last one was very mild so I wasn't sure if it was stones, that's why I said 2 or 3. I have trigeminal neuralgia from a Dr angrily slamming a drill down my jaw shredding my facial nerves and glands, I have read that when I have a bad attack and my damaged gland overflows and the backup glands get full that it leaks toxins into my bloodstream and slowly damages my organs over time but I have gotten different answers from different drs about that, I think its true cause I do get flu symptoms when they are swollen very large. Does anyone know if gland leaking can cause stones? My Dr told me something about I'm probably needing vitamin d and if I don't get enough then I will make calcium stones and that I should drink whole milk and or tan, but he didn't do a blood test so who knows. Can someone plz let me know If these glands are causing stones or any other type of organ damage over time? Also does anyone know for sure if opiates cause stones yet? Plz let me know, I haven't had time to read this whole thread yet. I don't take tylenol or anything mixed with my opiates, it is either straight oxy or straight morphine, nothing else. Thx.

[me171]

I have had kidney stones 2 or 3 times in the last few years, the last one was very mild so I wasn't sure if it was stones, that's why I said 2 or 3. I have trigeminal neuralgia from a Dr angrily slamming a drill down my jaw shredding my facial nerves and glands, I have read that when I have a bad attack and my damaged gland overflows and the backup glands get full that it leaks toxins into my bloodstream and slowly damages my organs over time but I have gotten different answers from different drs about that, I think its true cause I do get flu symptoms when they are swollen very large. Does anyone know if gland leaking can cause stones? My Dr told me something about I'm probably needing vitamin d and if I don't get enough then I will make calcium stones and that I should drink whole milk and or tan, but he didn't do a blood test so who knows. Can someone plz let me know If these glands are causing stones or any other type of organ damage over time? Also does anyone know for sure if opiates cause stones yet? Plz let me know, I haven't had time to read this whole thread yet. I don't take tylenol or anything mixed with my opiates, it is either straight oxy or straight morphine, nothing else. Thx.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

It takes a long time for them to appear......very slow gradual build up develops the kidney stones.....They dont disappear immediately either.....

Kim - - - I actually have some medical knowledge and sorta knew that something could develop.......Just dont operate efficiently when you are narcotizized I guess - - - and I dont recognize pain with enough narc's in me .... Superman?

[JENZ_N_RECOVERY]

i just went thro horrible kidney problems/stones/all kinda stuff and ive been clean for over 3 months and just got them...but im sure that could have sumthing to do wit it....BUT everyones case is DIFFERENT!!
i wish evryone that had them the best b/c they are absoulty painful....i would rather give birth to twins at the same time than have to go thro that again! :)
~~~~HUGS~~~~ JENZ

[kim715]

I had them the first time when I was 25,but that was a few years before I was abusing anything.I didn't even drink alcohol back then.I had mine broken up by the ultra sound and then had a stent put in for 10 days.I remember they gave me percs for the pain and I hated taking them because they made me sick.The doctor even offered me more when I went in to have the stent removed,but I still had almost the whole bottle left at home.Don't ask me how I got from there to eating 20 vicodin a day!!! Anyway I turned 40 in July and I didn't have any more problems until I was 2 months clean.I've been clean for 8 months now and I've had them twice.I was also diagnosed with diverticulitis in my second month clean,which from what I understand is something that normally doesn't happen to people my age,it usually occurs in people a bit older.Do any of you ever wonder if we were experiencing these medical conditions while we were using,but we had ourselves so numbed up from the pain killers that we didn't detect the pain that alerts us thats somethings going on?I wonder that sometimes.Of course I used to feel it necessary to take 2 vicodin if I got a paper cut,so I lived in a physically pain free world.The mental pain is another story.

[corey411]

Hey Eagle, wish they could crush it. I went to 2 surgeons and googled kidney stone surgery and the consenes was that they can't do that with real big stones. Mine is 3 1/2 cm. They tried to shrink it so I could have it removed with stents and ultra sound but no luck....I think I read that passing them is more painful for men. Longer urethra...if they're lucky. hehe

[drmwvrjean]

oh, it's alright!!  i am used to them by now....i spend about a week in the hospital each month.  it has sucked tyring to pass them with only tylenol or ibuprofen, but i have done it!!  thank you for your sympathies!!  no one knows what a killer they are until they get one!!  lol

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Optimum is to have them squished by ultrasound and dust passed.........passing even pin head size things is like giving birth to bowling ball........

[corey411]

Apparently they can. Did they do a CT scan on yours. I hear it's h@ll to pass them but I am going to have to have mine taken out with invasive surgery so it might be better to pass them or get them out with stents. My surgeon says I will need to be on a morphine drip or will have too much pain. I will only have 6 weeks clean and I'm really scared of the drugs.

[dominosarah]

ya mean they can sit in there and not come out????  Oh please tell me no!!!

[avisg]

ohhh girl I am so sorry .  I have a few in each kidney and I have passed a few but nothing like that

[drmwvrjean]

okay, i am the kidney stone queen!!  lol  i have had over 300 in a 12 yr. period and have had almost 2 dozen surgeries to remove the ones that would not or could not pass.  i have what are called calcium oxalate stones.  they are usually the most common in this area that i live in.  i have never had them due to the opiates i took.  that's just me, though.  mine are due to enviroment and diet and i seem to have a pre-dispostion to them.  they suck!!  lol

[corey411]

I've been clean at least 6 out of the passed 11 months but not collectivly. Mine has apparently been there for awhile. Symptoms started 3 months ago and not getting surgery till next week. The water thing makes sense. It seems like mostly opiate users post about stones and not coke ect. though. My mom's stone was calcium. They do send them out afterwards. Luckily I have no pain from my stone bc it's too big to move and that is what causes the pain. The doc thought it might be uric acid and I took high doses of potassium chloride but it didn't shrink. I think that I drank more water when I used. Better get to drinking more.

[laurel453]

glad to hear about the water, at least i've always drank quite a lot of  water  thinking in my doc and the kidneys ( sounds strange caring for them that way when i neglected so much in the other...)

[cathy5841]

thanks for the info worried and eagle..........i never knew dehayration contributed to the stones.

[dominosarah]

so even tho i have been clean it can still show up now from my past neglect on my body???

[avisg]

S.tones can be made of many things calcium is one of them but my stones are made of uric acid so changing eating habits wouldn't help .It does help to find out what yours are made of because some of them can be prevented more then others.

[laurel453]

ok.. :)

anyway, all the best and luck  to both with those things ( i mean i hope you wont have too much pain at least ,,)

[worried878]

I agree with eagle as the first thing that popped into my head is when people use alot they tend to neglect their nutrition...and water intake which dehydration even in a small degree contributes to stones...i am not sure if tylenol contributes or not but i know decreased water intake does

[dominosarah]

Not a cheese fan here.

[laurel453]

just curious...do you eat a lot of cheese ? cause i've always heard from a friend who usually had k stones she couldn't eat a lot of cheese....and i'm wondering if being clean plus eating a lot of cheese as i do...then kidney stones could be my next fate.  i gonna have to give up cheese too grrrrrr.

[dominosarah]

Well this from the newest kidney stone person!!!!  I have been clean for over 6 months, taking my vitamins, eating right, drinking water and bam.........i get them. When i see the specialist i am going to ask him if there is a correlation.  Im surprised my kidneys didnt get up and leave while i was using.  Now that im not and taking care of my body they dont know how to react i guess.  If this is what i have to deal with not using than so be it..........now i am going to lay down and feel like i am dying!!!   sara

[avisg]

I have heard that they tend to flare up at time certin times of the year odd as that sounds