How To Sleep With Kidney Stones

Also Ask About Anticholinergic Medications

Anticholinergic medications are another alternative to alpha-blockers. These medications help reduce some post-stent placement symptoms, such as urinary frequency or urgency.

If these symptoms are keeping you up at night, talk with your doctor about these medication options. An example is solifenacin.

Anticholinergics are commonly used for other conditions like overactive bladder. Side effects may include dry mouth and constipation.

raises concerns about anticholinergics and dementia risk, especially in people over 65. Talk with your doctor with the pros and cons for your specific case.

Treating Small Kidney Stones

Small kidney stones may cause pain until you pass them, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

A GP may recommend a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to help with pain.

To ease your symptoms, a GP might also recommend:

• drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day
• anti-sickness medicine
• alpha-blockers

You might be advised to drink up to 3 litres of fluid throughout the day, every day, until the stones have cleared.

To help your stones pass:

• drink water, but drinks like tea and coffee also count
• add fresh lemon juice to your water
• avoid fizzy drinks
• do not eat too much salt

Make sure you’re drinking enough fluid. If your pee is dark, it means you’re not drinking enough. Your pee should be pale in colour.

You may be advised to continue drinking this much fluid to prevent new stones forming.

If your kidney stones are causing severe pain, your GP may send you to hospital for tests and treatment.

When To Seek Medical Advice

• Pain that is not controlled by the medicine given

• Repeated vomiting or unable to keep down fluids

• Fever of 100.4ºF or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider

• Passage of solid red or brown urine or urine with lots of blood clots

• Foul-smelling or cloudy urine

• Unable to pass urine for 8 hours and increasing bladder pressure

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What Can The Patient Expect After Treatment

After treatment is complete, the patient can move about almost at once. Many people can fully resume daily activities within one to two days. Special diets are not required, but drinking plenty of water helps the stone fragments pass. Some pain may occur when the fragments pass, which begins soon after treatment and may last for up to four to eight weeks. Oral pain medication and drinking lots of water will help relieve symptoms.

What Are The 4 Types Of Kidney Stones

There are four main types of kidney stones.

• Calcium stones. Most kidney stones are made of calcium compounds, especially calcium oxalate.
• Uric acid stones. Some kidney stones are made of uric acid, a waste product normally passed out of the body in the urine.
• Struvite stones. Some kidney stones are struvite stones.

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Secondary Nocturnal Enuresis And The Sleep Apnea Connection

More casually known as bedwetting, SNE occurs in adults who usually control bladder function at night, yet experience problems with bladder dysfunction as they sleep.

SNE can be caused by a number of underlying problems. High on the list are snoring and obstructive sleep apnea . The connection between SNE and untreated OSA was established over 20 years ago.

A Taiwanese study published in 2016 showed substantial evidence for a connection between hypoxemia and injury to the kidneys.

Snoring is also well known as a risk factor for underlying OSA. If a person who snores experiences SNE, its likely they will be tested for sleep apnea. Fortunately, treating sleep apnea can resolve the problem of SNE for most people.

What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of This Treatment

The main advantage of this treatment is that many patients may be treated for kidney stones without surgery. As a result, complications, hospital stays, costs and recovery time are reduced. Unfortunately, not all types of kidney stones can be treated this way. In addition, stone fragments are occasionally left in the body and additional treatments are needed.

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Can Kidney Stones Be Prevented

Yes. Kidney stones affect more than one million Americans each year. People who have had more than one kidney stone are likely to form another. To determine the possible cause of stones, the patient may be asked to collect a 24-hour urine sample. Once the cause is found, the doctor may recommend drinking more liquids, dietary changes and medication.

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Sleeping On Your Stomach

If you sleep on your stomach, you may find your sleep particularly painful. This sleeping position is not recommended for those with back pain because it places significant strain on the back. If you find this position most comfortable, take extra care to support yourself. Place a pillow:

• Below the abdomen and lower pelvis
• Below the neck

If you find the pillow below the neck places a strain on your back, try sleeping with your head directly on your bed.

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Complications Of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones can range in size from a grain of sand to that of a pearl or even larger. They can be smooth or jagged, and are usually yellow or brown. A large stone may get stuck in the urinary system. This can block the flow of urine and may cause strong pain.

Kidney stones can cause permanent kidney damage. Stones also increase the risk of urinary and kidney infection, which can result in germs spreading into the bloodstream.

My Experience Recovering From Kidney Stones

Often compared to labor contractions, the pain associated with kidney stones can be excruciating. However, when you are someone who suffers from recurring stones, the most important goal is to learn to recover quickly and move on. In hopes of inspiring others to find healthy ways to cope with either a temporary or long-term battle with kidney stones, the following is the story of my personal experience.

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Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Or Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy

If your stone is large or lithotripsy doesn’t break it up enough, this surgery is an option. PCNL uses a small tube to reach the stone and break it up with high-frequency sound waves.

You will be given something so that you wonât be awake during this surgery. Your surgeon will make a small cut in your back or side and place a thin scope into the hole.

The surgery can be done in one of two ways:

Nephrolithotomy: Your surgeon removes the stone through a tube

Nephrolithotripsy: Your surgeon uses sound waves or a laser to break up the stone and then vacuums up the pieces with a suction machine.

The surgery takes 20 to 45 minutes. You’ll typically have to stay in the hospital for a day or two afterward. Usually, a stent will have to stay in your kidney for a few days to help urine drain.

Your doctor might do an X-ray or ultrasound a few weeks later to see whether any parts of the stone are left. They might also send the stone fragments to a lab to find out what they’re made of.

Risks from this surgery include:

• Infection
• Damage to the bladder, bowel, ureter, kidney, or liver

What Are Kidney Stones

Also known as renal stones or nephrolithiasis, kidney stones are composed of hard, solid waste materials that build up in the kidneys and form crystals.

Four main types exist, but about 80% of all stones are calcium oxalate stones. Less common forms include struvite, uric acid, and cysteine .

While smaller stones are usually not a problem, larger stones may cause a blockage in part of your urinary system as they leave your body.

This can lead to severe pain, vomiting, and bleeding.

Kidney stones are a common health problem. In fact, about 12% of men and 5% of women in the United States will develop a kidney stone during their lifetime .

Whats more, if you get a kidney stone once, studies suggest you are up to 50% more likely to form another stone within 5 to 10 years .

Below are 8 natural ways you can reduce the risk of forming another kidney stone.

Summary Kidney stones are firm lumps formed from crystallized waste products in the kidneys. They are a common health problem and passing large stones can be very painful.

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Where Do Kidney Stones Come From

Kidney stones form develop when certain substances, such as calcium, oxalate, and uric acid, become concentrated enough to form crystals in your kidneys. The crystals grow larger into “stones.” About 80% to 85% of kidney stones are made of calcium. The rest are uric acid stones, which form in people with low urine pH levels.

After stones form in the kidneys, they can dislodge and pass down the ureter, blocking the flow of urine. The result is periods of severe pain, including flank pain , sometimes with blood in the urine, nausea, and vomiting. As the stones pass down the ureter toward the bladder, they may cause frequent urination, bladder pressure, or pain in the groin.

“If you experience any of these symptoms, see your primary care physician,” says Dr. Eisner. “He or she will likely perform a urinalysis and a renal ultrasound, abdominal x-ray, or CT scan to confirm kidney stones are the source of your pain and determine their size and number.”

How Kidney Stones Are Diagnosed And Treated

Kidney stones can be diagnosed through X-ray, ultrasound, or CAT scan and are typically found after a person visits the emergency room or makes an appointment with their primary care physician because of the pain theyve been experiencing.

Dr. Propp says most patients pass their kidney stones, leading to significant relief of their symptoms. But some kidney stones require surgery to remove them. Doctors sometimes prescribe medication to either manage the pain associated with kidney stones or to help the stone pass. The smaller the stone is the more likely it is to pass on its own, not requiring surgery, says Dr. Coogan.

Decode the outrageous hospital lingo that doctors and nurses use behind your back.

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Avoiding Recurrence Of Kidney Stones

If you have had one kidney stone, some tips that may help to prevent a second stone forming include:

• Talk to your doctor about the cause of the previous stone.
• Ask your doctor to check whether the medications you are on could be causing your stones. Do not stop your medications without talking to your doctor.
• Get quick and proper treatment of urinary infections.
• Avoid dehydration. Drink enough fluids to keep your urine volume at or above two litres a day. This can halve your risk of getting a second stone by lowering the concentration of stone-forming chemicals in your urine.
• Avoid drinking too much tea or coffee. Juices may reduce the risk of some stones, particularly orange, grapefruit and cranberry. Ask your doctor for advice.
• Reduce your salt intake to lower the risk of calcium-containing stones. Dont add salt while cooking and leave the saltshaker off the table. Choose low- or no-salt processed foods.
• Avoid drinking more than one litre per week of drinks that contain phosphoric acid, which is used to flavour carbonated drinks such as cola and beer.
• Always talk to your doctor before making changes to your diet.

Drinking mineral water is fine it cannot cause kidney stones because it contains only trace elements of minerals.

Treating And Preventing Kidney Stones

Most kidney stones are small enough to be passed in your urine, and it may be possible to treat the symptoms at home with medication.

Larger stones may need to be broken up using ultrasound or laser energy. Occasionally, keyhole surgery may be needed to remove very large kidney stones directly.

Read more about treating kidney stones.

It’s estimated that up to half of all people who have had kidney stones will experience them again within the following five years.

To avoid getting kidney stones, make sure you drink plenty of water every day so you don’t become dehydrated. It’s very important to keep your urine diluted to prevent waste products forming into kidney stones.

Read more about preventing kidney stones.

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Take Steps To Bypass Kidney Stones

Even though kidney stones can be common and recur once youve had them, there are simple ways to help prevent them. Here are some strategies that can help:

1. Drink enough water. A 2015 meta-analysis from the National Kidney Foundation found that people who produced 2 to 2.5 liters of urine daily were 50% less likely to develop kidney stones than those who produced less. It takes about 8 to 10 8-ounce glasses of water daily to produce that amount.

2. Skip high-oxalate foods. Such foods, which include spinach, beets, and almonds, obviously raise oxalate levels in the body. However, moderate amounts of low-oxalate foods, such as chocolate and berries, are okay.

3. Enjoy some lemons. Citrate, a salt in citric acid, binds to calcium and helps block stone formation. “Studies have shown that drinking ½ cup of lemon juice concentrate diluted in water each day, or the juice of two lemons, can increase urine citrate and likely reduce kidney stone risk,” says Dr. Eisner.

4. Watch the sodium. A high-sodium diet can trigger kidney stones because it increases the amount of calcium in your urine. Federal guidelines suggest limiting total daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams . If sodium has contributed to kidney stones in the past, try to reduce your daily sodium to 1,500 mg.

Sleep Problem And Chronic Disease

Its always important to have good sleep, even if youre healthy. Your sleep is particularly more important if you have chronic disease. But unfortunately, its not always easy to do it.

And if you dont get adequate sleep what your body needs, this can make the symptoms of the disease worse. It can affect the quality of your life, too.

Having chronic disease does have a large impact on your daily lives, including sleep. There are numerous different reasons of why sleep problem is common in people with chronic illness.

The discomfort symptoms such as fatigue and pain can lead to trouble sleeping at night, and drowsiness during the day. Some medicines used to treat chronic illness may cause or worsen your sleep problems, too.

Moreover, its quite common to find depression, stress, and anxiety in patients with chronic illness. These psychological problems can also affect you physically that make you difficult to sleep at night.

The treatment is usually dependent on particular symptom that does have an effect on your sleep. Some lifestyle changes are also helpful to improve the quality of your sleep.

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Stomach Aches Are No Fun But When The Pain Becomes Excruciating And You’re Struggling And Unable To Find A Comfortable Position Sitting Or Lying Down You Might Be Dealing With More Than The Occasional Upset Stomach

Christopher Coogan, MD, professor of urology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, says about 10 to 15 percent of the population will develop kidney stones in their lifetimes, small hard mineral deposits formed in the kidney that can be painful to pass, with white men ages 40 to 60 the most likely to have kidney stones. Those who already have had a kidney stone have a 50 percent chance of developing another within 10 years. But how do you know if what you have is a kidney stone opposed to stomach or back pain?

Sleeping Position And Kidney Stones

Food and drink choices, the amount of water intake, activity level and genetics all play a part in the likelihood this will happen to you but are you aware that studies link sleeping position and kidney stones? If you have ever suffered through a kidney stone, youre motivated to takes steps to be sure it never happens again.

Consistently sleeping on the same side of your body every night makes you more prone to develop kidney stones. This was the finding of a a 2-year study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco.

Researchers studied 110 patients who suffered from kidney stones that were confined to one side of their body. Of this group, 93 patients consistently favored sleeping on one side. 75% of these patients had kidney stones on the same side. Dr. Marshall Stoller, a professor of urology at UCSF reported, Sleeping in the same position each night appears to alter blood-flow to that kidney, impairing the organs ability to clear itself of stone-forming crystals and deposits.

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Kidney Stones In Dogs Home Remedy Types Of Symptoms

Kidney stones in dogs can be a painful condition especially if the stone has become so large that it ends up passing through the system and out through the urine.

On this page we have provided a guide for you and your canine so you know the types of symptoms and its cause.

Read on to discover how to prevent kidney stones from forming, their treatment including alterations to the diet, conventional treatments and a home remedy that some dog owners have chosen to use, with the advice of their vet of course.

The Cause of Kidney Stones in Dogs

Kidney stones in dogs occurs when crystals start to form in the urinary tract and kidneys. If you have ever been unlucky enough to have kidney stones yourself you will understand quite how painful they are and it is exactly the same for your dog.

The small crystal like stone will will start to get bigger over time as more and more minerals passing through your dogs body attach themselves to the crystal this will of course make the crystal bigger and bigger.

The kidney stones make their way out of your dogs body via the urinary system. However, if the stones have become so large that they get stuck in the urethra opening causing hydronephrosis this condition causes a back log of urine as the urine is blocked from passing through. This will cause the kidney to swell and can cause severe damage and if not treated fast it can be fatal.