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***ICNDonna*** · 01-03-2011, 08:40 AM

Toradol is an anti-inflammatory. I can get away with in for a few days. I have a problem with nausea with most pain meds, but do okay if I take a 25 mg tablet of phenergan with the pain med.

I hope you feel better soon.

Donna

**KatieB** · 01-03-2011, 08:52 AM

Toradol

I haven't ever taken it for IC pain but last spring I broke a rib and they gave it to me in the hospital (broken rib from coughing from pneumonia, yeah, really). Then they did kidney function tests and since I know I have LOTS of kidney stones, they told me not to take it because it's apparently not good if you have lowered kidney function. BUT, I asked them please to give it to me because it was the only thing that helped with the rib pain. Of course, the answer was no. But I do know that it works. Plus, be sure you have the kidney stone checked out carefully. The last thing you want to do with IC is pass a kidney stone. (Passing a kidney stone is about the last thing you want to do anyway!) Good luck!!!
And, yes, when this flare I'm in now started in October, I thought it was a kidney stone trying to pass.

**cosake** · 01-11-2011, 05:29 AM

So, turns out I have not one, not two, but three kidney stones !

I have a small one in the left kidney, and a large one in the left ureter and a large one in the right ureter, which were both blocking things. I had surgery on Fri. Jan. 7th to put stents in on both sides as a temporary measure.

Then, the only lithotripsy machine in the entire state will be in my area on Mon. Jan. 17th and they will blast up the stones for me to pass.

In the meantime, I am mostly miserable. I have hardly any pain-free time right now. The urgency to have to go all of the time is draining me. Sometimes I can find a good position. I am taking the toradol as infrequently as I can tolerate it so that I don't do any damage, and taking pyridium when I really need to. And I've increased my alprazolam to 1 full tab that I take every night so I can get a few hours of sleep in.

And, I feel like the eyesight in my right eye is going again. This is exactly what happened 1 year ago that got me my MS diagnosis (optic neuritis). So, now I'm afraid I'm in an MS flare too and might need steroids on top of everything going on.

Sorry, but I just needed to whine and I know that you all understand my frustration. My friends and family are supportive and sympathetic, but none of them have experienced anything like this.

I just feel like my life is on hold because it hurts to move and walk and drive and get around. I was in the ER on hubby's 40th birthday -- he sat with me while they did tests and until they gave me non-narcotic pain meds and sent me home. Then I was in the hospital having the stent surgery on my son's 12th birthday and he never got a party, either. I feel just awful about it. It makes me cry to think about it. Of course they say they are both OK with it, and we will do a celebration when I'm feeling better.

Thank you for letting me vent !

**Mothergoose** · 01-11-2011, 06:03 AM

I have been hospitalized 3x or kidney stones, I wonder now if they were really bad flares, they would say they could see the blockage but would do surgery to remove the stones and not find them, and then say they must have passed and you didn't catch them.

With a diagnoses of IC and treatment I have not had this problem in a long time, but they do figure now I have IC in my right kidney too.

With IC it always seems to be something.

Good luck MG

**cosake** · 01-11-2011, 06:11 AM

It is hard, because I am new to the IC diagnosis, and wasn't really able to differentiate between the different type of pains. I thought it was all IC. And the ER assumed the same thing when I went in there and never did a CAT scan. I didn't force the issue either. But after not getting better I saw my urogyno and she had me do the CAT scan.

Regular urologist cancelled his afternoon of appts. to do the stent surgery on me. The stones looked very visible on the scan he showed me so I hope that they find them. Xray tomorrow also so should know more then.

I hadn't heard of IC in the kidney - only in the bladder. That must be pretty awful.

**bladderpain451** · 01-11-2011, 06:26 AM

If you have small stones, you can get laser surgery without a stent, they will pass after being broke up, I had a stent put in me and then told later on I didn't need it. What it did was cause even more pain than the kidney stones did, and my blood was too much to count, and my protein went up to 3+, I ended up in the ER and getting it removed the next day. It hurt so bad. If you walk on a treadmill or outside and drink plenty of water, you might be able to pass them easier. I have too wondered if I had kidney IC, one hurts so often. But I'd believe that a scan or blood work would show it if you did. It would probably show some degree of renal failure. So there is such a thing though as kidney IC? I think kidney inflammation is actually called nephritis. They have never mentioned kidney IC to me but I always wondered if it was possible. Toradol is the most amazing anti-inflammatory pain medication I have ever used. I got it in the hospital after surgery. My doctor would not give me a prescription for it because it can only be used a few days as it causes kidney failure with long term use. So be careful taking that.

**cosake** · 01-11-2011, 06:42 AM

Unfortunately mine are too large to pass and the litho machine won't be around until Monday. They had to do the stent to prevent the blockage on both the left and right. It is pretty miserable. But, I do have alot less blood in my urine than before I got the stents.

I have been taking the toradol off and on for just about a week, but I've never taken the full day's doses - only 1 or 2x instead of 4x, so both doctors told me it was OK to keep taking for now. But, I'm being very careful and following their directions. Pretty much only trying to take it at night so I can get a little sleep. Narcotic pain killers make me so sick to my stomach, but they did give me demerol and vicodin and compazine to counteract the upset tummy, but I'm still afraid to try any.

**KatieB** · 01-11-2011, 07:16 AM

Colleen

I'm SO sorry about the kidney stones!! I know that pain and it really blows. I don't know if you have ever had litho or not, so let me just put your mind at ease. I've had it with stents and without. The stents are miserable BUT when they break up the stones and they start to pass, it's kind of like very fine sand. The stents will keep that from clogging up the pipes. Ive had that happen too, and you don't want that!! The pain after the litho is really low in comparison to what you're going thru now. The last time I had it done I wasn't dx'd w/ IC, but I know I've had it for years. The day of the litho I pretty much sleep due to the anesthesia and there is always blood in my urine. Then over the next day or two I pass the sand. And then its over. I have so many kidney stones that when my uro would draw my kidneys on my chart and "map" the stones it looked like he was drawing the constellations instead of my kidneys. So I know I will have to deal with this again in the future. There is very little evidence that this runs in families, but both my parents and 2 of my sisters have had kidney stones. So, personally, I this it's genetic. But it doesn't really matter how they got there. Just how you take care of them. I wish you the very best of luck and hope everything goes great!!! And again, sorry you're having to deal with this. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!! I've done litho more times than I can count

**cosake** · 01-11-2011, 07:22 AM

Thank you KatieB -- I've heard that the litho isn't so bad, and that it doesn't even require as much anesthesia as putting in the stents.

The stents are driving me absolutely crazy at this point. Is removing the stents another hospital procedure, or is it an in-office one ?

The dr. said he would also give me a prescrip for after the litho that should help the stone pieces pass -- an alpha-blocker maybe ?

**KatieB** · 01-11-2011, 09:04 AM

I had my stents taken out in the office. It hurts for a second but the relief of getting them out was worth it!! I know how nuts they make you!! If I'd known it was that easy to take them out, I probably would've been tempted to do it myself. So, it's just as good I didn't know. Of course, this was before my IC was in full on flare, so i hope you have as easy a time. Yes, the litho is much easy than the stents. The only discomfort I had afterward was while passing the majority of the stony sand the first few days and a couple of times I had a backache, like someone had punched me. Again, it was only discomfort and certainly not as bad as the stents.
I don't know about alpha-blockers. I haven't ever been given anything other than pain meds. So let me know how that goes. I'll be interested to know. The one drug my doc told me I could take to prevent them is potassium citrate. Even before I had IC, that stuff tore up my stomach. Ouch just thinking about it. He also told me that if I couldn't take that then I could get the same effect if I drank 1 c. of lemon juice everyday. OMG!! Again, this was before I knew I had IC, but I knew THAT was a mistake!!!

**Mothergoose** · 01-11-2011, 01:05 PM

bladderpain451

You wrote:
I have too wondered if I had kidney IC, one hurts so often. But I'd believe that a scan or blood work would show it if you did. It would probably show some degree of renal failure. So there is such a thing though as kidney IC? I think kidney inflammation is actually called nephritis.

Just a couple of thoughts on this, firstly I wrote they figure I have IC in my kidney not the I for sure have it.

Scans and blood tests dont show IC in the bladder so why would they show up in the kidney.

My kidney function is fine except that my blood pressure goes way up when I have kidney pain.

I was not told it was an inflamation either or I would have been told it was nephritis as I think you are quite right about this.

There are a lot of things Dr. dont know about IC yet IC in the kidney could be one of them. My Dr. is pretty progressive in IC matters and I have talked to other people on the boards who have been told the samething.

I was told that I probably have IC in my right kidney due to symtoms being very simular to the bladder and it always coming with flares.

IC in simple terms is an eroding of the protective lininng of the bladder, my Dr. figures the kidney can do the same.

I am sorry you have not heard of this but it dosent make it not true. For a very long time people who had ulcers were thought to be just stressed people now they know they have a bactria in their stomach.

MG

**Mothergoose** · 01-12-2011, 02:01 AM

cosake

Hi a new day and I am rereading my post sorry I hi jacked your post. I did not mean in anyway you don't have kidney stones as I feel you probably do, I was just tell about my expirence. I do think I did have frequent kidney stones but I also feel some of them may have been flares, they didn't always do the tests when they thought I had stones because of my history, but when they did the tests It did show stones, it was just a frustrating process.

The good news is I don't seem to have as much problems with them, now I get a lot of Kidney infections, I used to just get a lot of UTI's effecting the bladder, but now the infection seems to spread to my kidneys too.

I hope you get the stones blasted soon and it helps you and you can have the stints out.

bladderpain451

I am sorry if I came across last night as I was attacking you I did not mean too, I was just feeling a little a defensive.

The hard thing about IC is there is so much unknown about it, and the other problems that go along with it, and where do you draw the line between one and the other.

When my Dr. said he felt it had spread to my R. kidney I did not want any more tests as the treatment would not change, and I had already recently had many, many tests. I do know from testsat ths point my kidney is functioning fine, I just have peroids of intense pain in it, but if I watch my diet closely I can help with this.

So as I said if I came across as if I was attacking you I am sorry. I feel we need to keep our minds open to diagnoses and treatments, trial and error seems to be the only way progress is made with IC treatment and information.

Acroos the board it seems to be a problem with Dr. beening under educated about IC.

Hope no hard feelings MG

**bladderpain451** · 01-12-2011, 05:07 AM

Mothergoose,

No need to appologize but thank you, you did not come off at all like you was attacking me. I am very curious about kidney IC, like I said, I wondered about such a thing myself, but I didn't know it was possible. They could probably do a kidney biopsy to see if any inflammation exists but that would likely be a little dangerous. My problem is with my left kidney. When I had stones, my doctor told me there can't be anything wrong without the blood tests showing anything wrong. I didn't have alot of blood in my urine the start with, only when the stones became blocked or passed, did I see alot of blood. I've also been told that the pressure in my bladder could be so bad that it makes it feel like my kidney is hurting, but it's just due to my bladder problems. That's a good point. I have chronic pain there, sometimes I've felt urine in my kidney burning like in my bladder, sometimes it's felt like I have reflux where the urine washes back up in the kidney, that's when I had hydronephrosis. I also have a stomach ulcer and lung pain, so I just have pain everywhere anyways. My bladder feels better on Elmiron, but the pressure I can't get rid of. I figure that is why I hurt in my left side, it's just my bladder acting insane. If you get alot of kidney infections, that can cause chronic inflammation too. You might want to consider letting them biopsy it. Alot of inflammation doesn't show up unless they scope you and look. I don't know why that is. But I always thought kidney inflammation would show up in a scan, but I could be dead wrong. My doctor more or less informed me however that it would affect my blood work if I had such a problem. I really don't know.

**cosake** · 01-12-2011, 05:12 AM

No problem on hijacking my post - sometimes that's how the flow of posts goes.

Had Xray and preop appt. today and stents and kidneys looking as good as they can. Monday they will litho the larger stone on the left and probably leave the stent in. Then in another week or week and a half, they with litho the stone on the right. I cannot wait to get these stents out -- but I know they are protecting my kidneys from damage.

I agree that there is alot for everyone to learn about IC - patients and doctors included.

I appreciate everyone's input and thoughts. Thank you !

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