Well, I have had 2 of my 3 surgeries to try to break up and remove my kidney stones. The hydrangea didn't work so I now have a stent in my kidney and on the second surgery the doctor broke up the big stone. I have been in pain pretty much since the first surgery when the stent was put in. Some days are better than others. The biggest pain was a few days ago when some stones started passing but I dealt with it.

The doctor showed me the picture from the last surgery and it looks like there are hundreds of stones in my kidney. That's a little exaggeration but not much of one. I go back on the 27th to have more stones broken up and then the week after I get the stent removed. The worst part is I haven't been to Mass in about 3 weeks and I feel like a heathen. I was able to go to confession while I was at the hospital so that made me feel a little better.

The only good part of this is I have lost about 15 pounds total so that's one good thing. I hope to be able to make it to Mass next Sunday since I will be at the end of my 2 weeks between surgeries as long as I don't have problems with more stones passing. Hopefully the stones will be broken up enough where I won't have too much pain while they pass.

...so I now have a stent in my kidney and on the second surgery the doctor broke up the big stone.

A retrograde pyelogram?  Ouch.  I do fluoroscopy for those cases over in surgery.  Fortunately, I only get to see the insides of your ureter on the viewer.  

Once, I saw a doctor break up a stone so massive, it actually looked like a planetoid.  We were all shocked in the surgery suite.  

Good luck to you out there.  

Well, you've certainly earned your forum name.

They should invent little wireless nanobots with lasers and hire teenaged kids to shoot them like that old Atari arcade game, Asteroids.