Experienced w/ bladder stones and/or fistula ?

Dear Pat,

Thanks, as always, for looking out for me. I am forwarding this article to my doctor. It doesn't look particularly good for me, does it? Sounds like I will need to stay on a low residue diet. You would think that at least I could lose weight but that isn't happening so far.

And what a great time to think about a special diet...just before the holidays. Oh, well, if I go in for the stone removal just prior to Thanksgiving, someone else will have to do the turkey.

Hi, Melodie! I'm afraid I really have no words of wisdom here either but just wanted to wish you a very successful surgery and a speedy recovery! It would be wonderful if they could just take care of what is obviously an ongoing problem.

Take good care!
Sandy

Dear Melodie,

I have no experience with fistula's...but wanted to say that I hope this is quickly resolved for you.

I did have a stone that luckily broke down itself. I remember my Urologist saying that they need to come out asap. As larger stones require more invasive surgery.

I agree with Mike...the fistula may be producing the stones on this rapid scale....Of course I am no doctor.

Good luck is being sent your way...

Leigh

Per chance could the fistula be contributing to the continual stones?

I have no experience with it, but I think I'd certainly get it fixed. Doesnt' seem like a good idea for large intesting and bladder to be cross pollenating like that.

Mike

Melodie...found this paper on enteropouch fistulas....i think the main thing is finding exactly where it is...here they explain a novel approach.....
www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2490/5/16
Not sure a CT will show it?
Most of these show up pretty soon after surgery and the low residue diet does help heal them but yours is a late..i think? complication.
If your doc has never repaired one of these..i would seek out one who did.
Pat

Fellor warriors - Lend me your ear! Maybe someone has experience in either stones or fistula and can help better educate me.

I am scheduled for surgery just prior to Thanksgiving for stone removal...endoscopic. July 08 my doc spent 2.5 hours removing stones via my stoma...Oct. 08, another stone turned up and that one removed; now since last April, the 3 I had have tripled in size, to 1 cm. and a fourth one has joined the party. These guys won't give up.

So, of course I'm not anxious to go back in for surgery; suppose to be 2-3 hrs and an over night stay since they will be creating a new opening into the CUR.

But, what if I didn't have insurance...I would be like many others who probably have them but don't know it or haven't the funds to have them removed. So what happens if I leave them alone? Yes, they might get larger which would mean if they continued to grow, they would have to make a larger hole later on...maybe. But, they aren't bothering me; like I have no symptoms except for some nasty food particles, debris, whatever we want to call it, that comes out the shoot when I empty. I know that no one really has the answers to my personal concerns but perhaps someone has some experience that I can benefit from in some way. ????

Then, I have this fiscula, which complicates things. If I had not been a smarty pants and brought in the seeds to show the good doc, he most likely would not have even known about the posibility of a fiscula. Now that he knows, of course, he feels obligated to do something. So now I have to get another CT scan and wait for his comments.

So, has anyone had a similiar fiscula? I wonder if this is something that can be ignored for awhile? It is not a problem to me except for the fact that it may be the reason I continue to produce stones???? If I ever produced stones when I had my God given bladder, I never was aware of it and I think I would have been.

I guess the idea of going back into surgery again and the not knowing what might happen in regard to thihs fistula has my mind going off in all kinds of directions. I'm not scared but very perplexed and frustrated. My doc told me to try a low residue diet (simply awful) no fruits, veggies, etc....which I love so much and if this keeps up, I won't be having regular bowel activity. Plus, my bladder seems to be off kilter; there is certainly much less debris but my dear Rosebud, my stoma, is bleeding all the time now.

Well, I've been on the new diet only a week; probably lost a few lbs. which is good for me but I'm starving. I'm going to have a salad for lunch today and that's that!
Signed: Frustrated and Hungry in Seattle