Passing Kidney Stones With Ease - My Experience

Bit of background; I'm 26 years old, male, live a relatively healthy, active lifestyle apart from not drinking enough water (paying for that now).

About 5 months ago I kept experiencing a dull ache in my groin area, it usually subsided within about 30 minutes so I thought nothing of it. Anyway, one night I got up to go to the toilet and the pain in my groin suddenly hit me like a brick to the face. I was doubled over and can honestly say I have never ever experienced such severe pain in my life. First thought was that my appendix had burst. My girlfriend called an ambulance and I ended up in A&E. The doctor came in and immediately said 'kidney stones', I shuddered. They gave me some pain killers (suppositories unfortunately as the pain was making me vomit). They took my blood and sent the results up to the lab. About 45 minutes later a nurse came in and asked me to do a urine sample. I was still in quite a bit of pain and hadn't drunk anything since the previous night but I complied. Well, all that came out was essentially pure blood, it looked very 'bitty' and I thought something was seriously wrong (apologies for delving into detail so much, I just think it helps to know everything). The nurse came in and said that didn't look too good so she sent it off for testing. They hooked me up ready to take an IV drip just in case I had to stay in. 



When the doctor returned he told me that I didn't have kidney stones but had a mild kidney infection. They sent me on my way with a pack of codeine and some antibiotics. I took a week off work and just rested. By the end of the week I was back to normal. 

Two weeks ago I was on holiday in Florida doing the usual touristy thing, Disney, Universal etc. Due to my hatred of bland water I hadn't been drinking that much and given the 40+ degree heat we were experiencing, that probably wasn't the best idea. At the end of week one I was lounging in the jacuzzi at the hotel, when the ache in my groin reappeared, it took me by surprise as I hadn't had any pain since being in hospital. I took some painkillers and thought nothing of it. Later on while out to dinner I went to the toilet and noticed some blood in my urine (I'm a bit of a worrier so immediately I was on red alert). I got my girlfriend and told her we needed to go to see a Doc the next day. After seeing the Doctor and paying $140 for the privilege (no NHS out there and they don't accept health insurance so you have to foot the bill initially), the doctor gave me some antibiotics and told me that my urine sample showed no signs of bacteria which would indicate and infection - she believed it to be kidney stones but a CT scan would cost me £400 so I declined. 

I didn't believe her, I had faith in the NHS and thought she was just trying to get more money out of me. I took the tablets and kept up with some pain killers and started to drink a lot of water. Things seemed to go fine. 

Two days after arriving back in the UK the blood in my urine came back and I felt aching in my groin and my abdomen and had lower back pain. I went to see my Doctor and he again said kidney stones. I explained about having a kidney infection and going to A&E and the pain etc and he said that it sounded to him like I actually passed a stone while I was in A&E. He said it's no excuse but it's not uncommon to be misdiagnosed. He booked me in for an ultra sound with the hospital but said it could be a few weeks. GREAT!!

I went home and started drinking water like a madman. I'd previously gone from drinking roughly 1 litre of liquid a day to suddenly drinking 2.5/3 litres of water. I was determined to flush these stones out (if indeed that was what I had). I reduced my sodium intake, I reduced my dairy intake and started eating a bit better and just drinking as much as I could. I began researching all about kidney stones and what fellow sufferers have gone through and found out that you should produce 2/3 litres of urine a day to prevent stones - before the last three weeks I'd have never produced anywhere near that. I was drinking so much water that I started getting heartburn. I'd occasionally see a tinge of blood in my urine but it was becoming less and less. On Monday morning I was reading something on a thread about a herbel remedy for kidney stones. Normally I've never given much credence to herbal homeopathic remedies but since there is very little you can do with kidney stones but flush them out, I figured it'd be worth a go. It's called Berberis Vulgaris and you take it three times a day, you let the little pill rest under your tongue until it dissolves. It's made from plant extract and helps to break down kidney stones. The lady I spoke to on the phone from the homeopathic website said that it's good for you kidneys anyway and that it works with some people and not with others. There are zero side effects and I thought, why not?! I ordered some and began taking them the next day when they arrived. 

Now this seems like one hell of a coincidence but on Wednesday afternoon at work I went toilet. Immediately afterwards I felt a sharp shooting/burning sensation in my penis and an urge to urinate again. I quickly remembered reading that this pain usually means you're about to pass a stone. I grabbed a bottle of water and sunk it and waited for my bladder to fill. About 15 minutes later I went to the toilet and out popped a 3mm stone. I was elated. Later that same day another stone popped out, about 2mm. Just now, another one popped out, about 1mm. 

My personal belief is that these herbal tablets helped break down this stone into little passable grains instead of one big stone. I felt zero pain at all and all my previous symptoms seem to have vanished. 

I would strongly recommend these to anybody - worst case scenario, it doesn't work. You don't lose anything if that happens. I honestly believe that taking these little pills coupled with increasing my water intake helped break the stones down so I could pass them. 

I'm now on a mission to never have stones again. Fingers crossed.