Gee, thanks.

That's rather flattering. Of course, I'm not a doctor, but I have an insatiable curiosity to know how things work, and that includes things that go wrong with me. I've also had quite a bit of experience with kidney stones, and I was paying attention at the time (heh, they sort of grab your attention). Haven't had one bother me for 3 years now, though. I'm not sure that they've stopped forming (can't see why that would be) so I guess that they're passing when still very tiny (I do get a slight twinge now and then). The horrible intense pain seems to be a thing of the past, though, even if the stone is a significant size. I'd guess there's some scar tissue in the ureters that's masking the pain. Heh, the last one I remember passing was the size of a peanut! It was unbelievable that it actually passed by itself. Don't know how it made it through the prostate (heck I AM 60 now) but it did. Still have it in a little film jar somewhere. Somersault P.S. Apparently the reason I have to contend with them is the lack of most of my colon, which was surgically removed for cancer about 17 years ago. Seems that part of the colon's function is to deal with some things that now must be handled in much greater concentration by my kidneys, hence crystallization. Hey, it's better than the alternative; I could have died from that cancer.