The Story of the Mysterious Pain in the Night

A couple of weeks ago, my son contacted me from college.  His urine was funny colored—kind of brownish.  He had done his usual search on Google University to see what it could be.  He thought, maybe dehydration.  He drank a bunch of water and an hour later, his urine seemed fine.

Naturally, this occurred at 10 p.m., when the campus clinic was closed. I told him that if he woke up with a fever or pain in his back, he should take himself to urgent care at the hospital.  After all, if there was any sort of Kidney Infection, I wanted to be on top of it ASAP!

At 3 am, he woke up with pain in his back on the right side.  Diagnosis:  Kidney Stone.

Later that morning, I got his symptoms from him.  Really, he hardly had any specific symptoms at all.  So I went with the standard Kidney Stone remedy:  Berberis Vulgaris.  Of course, he has a homeopathic remedy kit with him at college.  Of course, that remedy wasn’t in the kit.  Fortunately, my schedule that day allowed me to drive 90 minutes each way to bring him 30c and 200c vials of Berberis Vulgaris.  (Many thanks to the clients who agreed to push back their appointments ½ hour so I could get there and back in time for their end of the day appointments.) 

The result was that the pain disappeared quite quickly after taking the remedy.  He passed the stone in less than 24 hours.  Painlessly.

The rapid, painless passing of a kidney stone is not an uncommon occurrence when someone uses homeopathy.  Seems impossible, but I have heard it many times–sometimes from clients, sometimes in sharing success stories with colleagues.  My son’s pain actually moved from his back to his abdomen, which probably meant it moved from the kidney to the ureter.  He took another dose, which made the pain go away again and he passed the stone the next morning.

So if you wake up in the middle of the night with Kidney stones, or you get them any time of day, check out these remedies.  By using the correctly chosen remedy, you should pass the stone in 24 hours or less after starting the remedy.  If you haven’t passed the stone in 24 hours, but the pain is significantly reduced, continue another 24 hours before switching the remedy.  Follow this dosing schedule.  If the pain is reduced and returns, repeat the remedy.  Start with 30c.  If you have a really big kidney stone, start with 200c, if you have it.  Dosing should be less frequent with a 200c.

If you have chronic kidney stones, be sure to schedule an appointment for a constitutional consult so your body won’t feel the need to continue making the stones.

Kidney Stone Remedies

Berberis Vulgaris

This is the most commonly used remedy for Kidney Stones.  If you have only general symptoms and few symptoms, try this one first.

• Sharp or shooting pains, often in the left kidney but could be either.  (My son’s was in his right kidney.)
• Radiating pains to any part of the body, but especially thighs, legs, calves, testes, ureters, bladder, urethera.
• Painful urging to urinate.
• Worse:  from motion or being jarred.  Worse at the start of menses. Sitting, bending, walking, misstepping, can also aggravate.
• Better:  From standing or being still.   Better holding the painful part, be it the back or the abdomen.
• Urine is dark and possibly has sediment.  Eventually as my son passed the stone, his urine was bloody as well.

Belladonna

• Sudden, excruciating pain, especially in the right kidney, radiating to the bladder.  Belladonna is a remedy for very intolerable pain, so this is not a surprise that it would be one of the strongest symptoms.
• The pain is unbearable, but better by lying still.
• Worse:  From Coughing, sneezing, jarring or misstepping.
• Urine:  Bloody or clots of blood.
• General symptoms:  The patients face is red, flushed and has cold hands and feet (typical Belladonna symptom).  They really want to squirm but it is too painful.

Lycopodium

• Right sided kidney stones which are accompanied by bloated tummy and aversion to tight clothing.  (The bloated stomach is a typical Lycopodium symptom as well as the right sided symptoms.)
• Worse from 4-8 p.m. and comes on with chills.
• The pain is better from urinating.  It extends to the bladder and testicles.
• Urine has red sediment.

Nux Vomica

• Kidney pain is accompanied for a strong urge to urinate or have a bowel movement.
• Worse:  Right kidney, lying down, walking or other motion, anger, or being overworked.
• Better:  from warm applications or lying on the back.
• Pain extends to the testicle, penis, rectum.
• General symptoms:  Chilly and perhaps even shivering.  Could include nausea and vomiting.
• Mental/Emotional symptoms:  Restless, very irritable, has little patience for the questions you may be asking.  (Typical Nux-v symptoms.)

Kali Carbonicum

• Left sided kidney stones with sharp pain.
• Worse:  Morning or night time.  Being chilly or sitting in a draft.  Exhaling.
• Better:  Rubbing the spot that is painful.
• General:  Patient is serious and suppressing emotions.

Lachesis Muta

• Left sided kidney stones with hemorrhaging.  This means, not merely bloody stool, but bleeding.
• Worse:  at night.  Touch, pressure, tight clothing.  Pain extends to the bladder.
• Urine is dark or black. (Typical Lachesis blood symptom.)

What if none of these remedies match?

Only the most common remedies are included in this list. There are many more kidney stone remedies. If you have very specific symptoms, but they don’t match any of these remedies, be sure to call Lotus Homeopathy at 651-748-1556.