Had an episode with them about 5yrs ago. I was hospitalized and heavily medicated, but it never passed - I had to pee through a screened funnel everytime I went so Dr could see what was passing. Trouble was nothing was. It was weird, I would be fine one min and then it seemed like something would shift and the pain was back.

I underwent something called shock wave lithotripsy. I woke up several hours later in a recovery room with a nurse telling me to not be afraid of seeing blood in my urine. I felt like i had been badly beaten on my back around the kidney area with a baseball bat, I hurt for days. I peed blood and gravel for over a week. It was better than surgery, but not something I'd want to do again.

My stones were ordinary calcium based stones and other than being told to drink a lot more water, I've made no changes and fortunately have had no further episodes.

Glad you're better. Stones are dangerous and can lead to permanent kidney damage quickly if a kidney swells due to blockage of urine. Def not a laughing matter or something to be taken lightly!