jake8888

I've had kidney stones for over ten years now. When I first had them, there was a lot of pain and eventually I had lithotrypsy, twice. Then they went in and removed them with a scope.

I still had stones after those procedures. But I decided that was enough. I continued to pass stones, sometimes with pain. But the pain gradually stopped. And now I seem to pass stones every so often but with minimal pain if any.

I try to avoid foods that will produce them (like soy), but even if I'm very careful my body will still produce stones. But I gather now they are so small, and if I drink plenty of water, they pass without causing any serious problem.

But I do still get fevers on occasion.

Some years back I passed a difficult stone that pushed my belly button right out. My belly button never completey went back in.

A few weeks ago, I had a stone attack. More painful than usual (but not as bad as the old days) and my belly button pushed out and became sensitive.

Then the other day the same thing happened. The passing of the stone wasn't painful, but my belly button was pushed out so much that the strain around it was painful.

After that, although I think the stone passed or simply moved into a comfortable position, I had a large hard area beneath my skin right next to my belly button. This mass has decreased gradually, but I can still feel a swollen hard area next to my belly button.

I most probably will go to the doctor to have this looked at, although I hesitate because the previous procedures seemed to do me more harm than good.

I wonder how alarmed I should be. Very alarmed (life threatening), cautiously alarmed (might be an obstruction), or not seriously alarmed (it should go away in time).