[YEA]  01/13/2010: Michael from Davie, Florida writes: "Yea
1/21/02 Kidney Stone Attack #2

My first kidney stone was in 5/97. I went to the ER, received medication for pain and after the pain subsided went home. About 3 days later the stone passed with no further problems.

My second Kidney stone was in 1/02 and about 18 hours after the pain began passed a dark brown irregular calculus measuring about 3x2mm.

My third kidney stone incident began on 1/4/10 with the familiar discomfort in my groin and lower back. I was driven home and took some leftover pain med.

Three days later, I finally got to the doctors. I didn't take any pain med and the pain began while in the waiting room and intensified while I waited in the exam room for the PA, ceasing a few minutes before she entered. She sent me to nearby hospital for a CT scan. Their report confirmed a 5mm stone at the opening where the urethra empties into the bladder, a common bottleneck for stones. The Urologist, who was able to see me right away, explained that 5mm is about the limit for stones to pass without assistance and there were two procedures available, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and ureteroscopy, where they insert a fiber optic probe through the urethra and break up and grab the stone in a basket. He said that the stone's position made the blasting not a good percentage option. I decided to give it about a week and set a followup for the next Wednesday. He gave me some Flomax and a strainer and told me to drink a lot of water.

The next few days the pain came and went. Monday, I called the Urologist to set up the operation as soon as possible. It turned out that I needed clearance and some additional tests. The earliest the procedure could be scheduled was Thursday, Jan 14. When I got home, I jogged & walked 2 miles in the park and jumped off of a picnic table several times, trying to dislodge the stone from where it was stuck and move it into my bladder. It might have worked because after that there was no more pain - even the back soreness disappeared.

Tuesday, back to the doctor for an EKG, more blood work, and a chest X-ray. I passed the time in the waiting room looking up kidney stones on the internet on my smart phone. I found an interesting site that promised an effective home remedy of a common drink plus a vegetable, for $40. Researching it at home later, I found it was reported as a scam and that the "secret" was 6 cans of Coke and pureed asparagus. Thankfully, I kept researching alternatives and found this web site that listed hundreds of testimonials for a simple mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.

I went to the store and bought some lemon juice - not from concentrate - in a yellow squeeze bottle. At 3:30 pm I mixed 2 oz of each in a salad cruet (how appropriate) and shook it up really well, then downed it, followed by 12 oz water. The taste wasn't as bad as some reported and other than some oily belches, there were no side effects. It might even have had a beneficial effect of loosening my bowels that were tight from the pain meds. But still no stone.

Later, I rode my horse with my wife and did a lot of sitting trot to keep working on jarring down the stone. We watched a movie until 10:30pm, at which time I made a second cocktail, about 2.5 oz each of oil and juice this time and downed it. I got up to urinate around midnight and heard a distinct clink as the stone passed and hit the bottom of the jar. I collected it with the strainer and it looked different from my previous stones, which were light brown and very jagged. This one measures about 3 x 4mm and is darker, sort of rounded. It's possible the potion partially dissolved it making it rounder and smoother - if so, that's a good thing because there was no pain or any sensation at all when it passed - nine days from the initial attack and about 9 hours after my first drink, 1 1/2 hours after the second.

I'm very grateful to the people who put up this web site. It is truly a godsend. I brought the stone to the Urologist today, to have analyzed, and, obviously, called off the procedure - saving thousands of dollars and unknown discomfort!

I'm convinced that the olive oil and lemon juice helped the stone pass, thus averting unwanted and unnecessary surgery. The urologist thought the jumping did more than the mixture, but admitted that lemon juice is helpful in preventing stones. I plan on taking the mixture periodically to help inhibit kidney stones, cause there's no way I'm going to refrain from all the foods in the big list my urologist gave me. In the future, if I experience kidney stone pain I will take the potion from the outset, combined with some serious jumping. Pain medication and flomax are also helpful."