Traveling with Stones

[Kuk56]

i am scheduled to visit France in 2 weeks with friends, but currently have a 6 mm stone in my left kidney. Should I cancel? Or what precautions should I take?

[Bassetmommer]

Kuk,This is something you should really discuss with your doctor. Stones are tricky in the sense that they may be fine for a while and then move. If you are somewhere and the stone moves, will your insurance cover you going to the hospital? There are medicines like allopurinol that you can take to help dissolve the stone. I had several and they are all gone. But the damage they did was not good, so even without the trip as a factor, talk to the doctor about medicine.

[Kuk56 in reply to Bassetmommer]

I did reach out to both my primary and my urologist to ask this question. That’s exactly what I am worried about. I have had recurring issues during the pandemic with stones. Some have been blasted so they can pass more easily.

[purple-1974]

A few years ago I had a 5mm stone, I did pass it naturally, but my consultant said any bigger and I would have had to of had it blasted, as bastmommer said it really depends, where it is in transition. Once it moves it can cause more issues, longer term, because of damage to the urethra or kidney. I’ve had much smaller stones since and it still causes me to have hydronephrosis.

[RickHow]

You say you did ask your doctor and urologist, but you didn't type what their advice was. You ask what precautions to take? Well, the most obvious is, unfortunately, stay home. It is kind of a no-win situation. If you stay home, and the stone does not move, you will look back that you made an error. But if you go and stone decides to move while in France, you will have that bad situation and you will also say you made a mistake in going.6mm is right on the borderline size. Most stones are 4 to 6 mm. From the time they are "found" they usually take 45 days to move on their own (always exceptions). 60% of stones at 6mm usually require medical intervention and will not move on their own (but that means 40% will pass painfully on their own. The other problem is you don't know when during the 2 weeks in france, if ever, it will pass. It is not a third world country so you can quickly find a hospital. BUT what if it happens on the last day and you are forced to stay another day or two. All the hassle with travel, reservations etc.

Only YOU and your Doctor can decide if it is advisable to go or not. It doesn't seem to be the smartest thing to do so.

[Kuk56 in reply to RickHow]

I did talk with both primary and specialist. Both said to go. But they have given me Flomax to relax the ureters in case the stone does move. It's in the lower quadrant and has likely been there a while. They both said to drink plenty of fluids daily with fresh lemon. Possibly try a product called Kidney Cop??? I have a high tolerance for pain and have passed 4 mm stones in the past; technically a 6mm can pass on its own. Others have said to look at taking magnesium and vit K daily since I take 10,000 units of Vit D and Calcium daily.

[RickHow in reply to Kuk56]

Good advice. I take flomax daily at bedtime. I think I would not experiment right now if I were you with more magnisium, etc., until I return. Good luck.

[Willowdene]

I would not risk it admission to hospital a possibility if it causes severe pain which it can think your insurance company may not except as well as problem cancelling flights etc. wait for it to pass first,