Kidney stone sufferers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are a number of documented cases of historical figures and distinguished members of society who suffered from nephrolithiasis, which are commonly known as kidney stones, or from urolithiasis, where the stone forms in the urinary system. These are crystal deposits that can accrete in the urinary system when certain chemical substances become concentrated in the urine.[1] Among the symptoms associated with nephrolithiasis are intense colicky pain, nausea, fever, chills, and the reduction or blockage of urine flow.[2] Historically, the condition of having a kidney or bladder stone was referred to as "the stone" or "the gravel".
According to Guinness World Records, the largest and heaviest kidney stone ever removed from a human came from Peter Baulman of Australia. It was removed from his right kidney in December 2003, and weighed 356 g (12.5 oz). At its widest point, the stone measured 11.86 cm (4.66 in).[3]
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[edit] Actors and media figures
- During the shooting of the film Family Plot, Alfred Hitchcock underwent surgery for colitis and a kidney stone. He was also fitted with a pacemaker.[4]
- Hollywood talent agent Lew Wasserman was suffering from a kidney stone during the 1970s. As he was about to embark on an oceanic voyage, he insisted that it be surgically removed despite the risk and the reluctance of his doctor.[5]
- Early in the filming of Live and Let Die (1973), actor Roger Moore was hospitalized from a pre-existing kidney stone condition.[6]
- During the shooting of the City Heat (1984), actor Burt Reynolds became debilitated from a kidney stone, and had to resort to medications to continue filming. He also suffered a broken jaw when struck by a metal chair and displayed inner ear problems.[7]
- Commentator Bill O'Reilly dislikes doctors, and so for two years he avoided medical attention for a kidney stone. It was surgically removed in 2002 and he was back on the air within four hours.[8]
- On October 19, 2005, while working on the set of Boston Legal, actor William Shatner was taken to the emergency room for lower back pain. He eventually passed a kidney stone, but recovered and soon returned to work. Shatner sold his kidney stone in 2006 for $75,000 to GoldenPalace.com. The money will go to a housing charity.[9]
- English radio producer Karl Pilkington was diagnosed with kidney stones in late August 2006.[10]
- Buzz Kilman, Chicago radio personality, took leave from the Steve Dahl show while on-air (announcing, "I gotta go") in order to have his kidney stone treated.[11]
[edit] Artists and musicians
- In 1549, Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo was treated for kidney stones by anatomist Realdo Colombo. He appears to have suffered for many years from recurrent uric acid stones and may have died from obstructive nephropathy. His condition may account for his artistic interest in kidneys.[13]
- Five years after retiring because of ill-health, in 1612 Italian composer Giovanni Gabrieli died from an attack of kidney stones.[14]
- Arthur Sullivan, of the musical partnership Gilbert and Sullivan, began to suffer from kidney stones in 1872. This would effect him for the remainder of his life, although he would continue to write while suffering from pain. He underwent surgery in 1874 in an attempt to treat the condition.[15]
- Crooner Bing Crosby suffered from recurring kidney stones from 1951 onward, according to biographer George Carpozi, Jr..[16]
- Among his many medical maladies, in 1964 composer Cole Porter was hospitalized for the removal of kidney stones. He died two days later, most likely bronchopneumonia in his chest. He was also found to have chronic nephrosclerosis, or degeneration of the kidneys.[17]
- Musician Billy Joel was hospitalized for kidney stones in 1989.[18]
[edit] Authors
- The post-mortem examination of noted diarist Samuel Pepys revealed, "a nest of no less than seven stones" in his left kidney. These weighed a total of 4.5 ounces. When he was younger, Samuel had undergone bladder surgery, pre-anesthesia, for removal of a large stone. He carried this stone with him to try to persuade fellow sufferers to endure the painful surgery.[19]
- Michel de Montaigne, the French Renaissance writer who popularized the essay, began to suffer from chronic kidney stones in 1578. His father had died from kidney stones.[20]
- Mary Ann Evans wrote under the male pen name of George Eliot. She had suffered from various health problems for all of her life, and starting in February 1874 she endured a series of kidney stone attacks that lasted until her death.[21]
- American author Jack London used morphine to alleviate the pain of kidney stones. He most likely died at the age of forty from kidney failure and possibly a toxic dose of pain reliver.[22]
- At the end of her life in 1980, author Ethel Wilson was hospitalized and suffering from recurrent small strokes. The day before she passed away, she was in physical distress from passing a kidney stone. A doctor injected her with medication to ease the pain.[23]
- Author Isaac Asimov suffered from kidney stones, and wrote about how his pain was treated with morphine, saying that he feared becoming addicted to morphine if he ever needed it again.[24] During the 1980s, his problem with kidney stones developed into kidney disease, which resulted in multiple hospitalizations.[25]
- In his book A Year at the Movies, Mystery Science Theatre 3000 writer and performer Kevin Murphy describes his ordeal with a kidney stone: "Being gut-stabbed with a dirty spoon in a prison cafeteria is less painful."[26][27]
- Chuck Palahniuk, the award-winning author of Fight Club, wrote about his experience with passing a kidney stone in his nonfiction book Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories.[28]
- Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Art Buchwald suffered from a kidney stone late in his life.[29]
[edit] Nobility and emperors
- Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, suffered from various physical maladies including kidney and bladder stones.[30]
- From at least 1518, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony suffered from gout and kidney stones.[31]
- James I of England suffered from several symptoms characteristic of kidney stones, including abdomina colic and passing red urine. Following his death in 1625, stones were found in his kidney.[32]
- While he was alive, King Louis XIV of France frequently voided kidney stones but without suffering apparent pain. A small stone was found in the left kidney of his corpse.[33]
- In 1722 the Russian ruler Peter the Great began to experience kidney problems. The symptoms grew worse during 1723 and by the following year it was diagnosed as the stone. He suffered from extreme pain in the loins and then tumors began to form on his thighs. Early in 1725 he passed away.[34]
- Empress Anna of Russia was known to suffer from kidney stones, and in 1740 her condition became more acute. After becoming bedridden, she died later the same year. An autopsy showed that the stones resembled branching coral.[35]
- With his health deteriorating, in 1860 Lord Thomas Cochrane twice underwent surgery for kidney stones. He died during the second operation.[36]
- Napoleon I of France became ill with a kidney stone during the Battle of Borodino, September 7, 1812. This condition may help explain his unoriginal tactics during the battle.[37]
- Dom Pedro I of Brazil suffered from frequent kidney stone attacks.[38]
- Napoleon III of France may have lost the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 in part because of a massive kidney stone. He died from kidney stone surgery in 1873.[39]
[edit] Politicians and military commanders
- The English military and political leader Oliver Cromwell may have suffered from kidney stones during the 1650s. His doctor said that, "being much troubled with the stone, he used sometimes to swill down several sorts of liquor, and then stir his body by some violent motion ... that by such agitation he might disburden his bladder."[40]
- In 1659, Myles Standish, who served as military officer of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony, became "sick of the stone" and died after suffering much "dolorous pain".[41]
- John Hart, a member of the Continental Congress representing New Jersey and signer of the Declaration of Independence, died of kidney stones in 1779 after much suffering.[42]
- British General James Wolfe suffered from "the gravel" prior to the Battle of Quebec during the Seven Years War.[43]
- The eleventh President of the United States, James K. Polk, suffered from kidney stones during his youth. At the age of seventeen he underwent a successful lithotomy without anaesthetic for removal of a urinary stone. Thereafter he was sufficiently well to be able to receive a formal education.[44]
- Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia, suffered from recurrent kidney stones. He was twice forced to seek medical treatment in Vienna; the second time for removal of a kidney stone.[45]
- U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson suffered from kidney stones at various times in his life. He was reluctant to seek treatment because of the effect it may have on his political image.[46]
- Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, has had a number of kidney stones, necessitating kidney stone removal surgery.[47] Other congress members who have experienced kidney stones include Representatives Tom Price and Mike Simpson.[48]
[edit] Religious figures
- Pope Vigilius, whose papacy began in 537, died in Sicily while suffering from kidney stones, 555.[49]
- Saint Ailred of Rievaulx, took frequent baths and consumed wine to alleviate the severe pain from his kidney stones.[50]
- The German monk Martin Luther periodically suffered from kidney stones, and he almost died in 1537 from being unable to urinate. During his lengthy journey home, the jostling motion of the carriage released the stone and so spared his life.[51]
- Pope Innocent XI survived primitive surgery for the extraction of kidney stones.[52] After his death in 1689, he was found to have a "stone weighing nine ounces in the left kidney and another weighing six ounces in the right side."[53]
- Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science, a movement that discouraged its members from seeking help from doctors for their illnesses. In 1903 she began to suffer from extreme pain and consented to a visit by a doctor. After a diagnosis of kidney stones, she agreed to injections of morphine to alleviate the pain.[54]
- After praying to Mother Teresa, a half-inch diameter kidney stone disappeared from the lower ureter of Father V. M. Thomas in Guwahati, India. This occurred a day before the priest was scheduled to undergo surgery for the stone's removal. The surgeon said that, "the disappearance of the calculus (stone) was beyond medical explanation." This alleged miracle was used to support the case for sainthood of Mother Teresa.[55]
[edit] Scientists and philosophers
- In 271 or 270 BC, the Greek Philosopher Epicurus died from a stone blockage of his urinary tract lasting a fortnight, according to his successor Hermarchus and reported by his biographer Diogenes Laertius.[56]
- The Dutch humanist and theologian Desiderius Erasmus suffered from gout, kidney stone and hypochondria.[57]
- Robert Boyle, regarded as the first modern chemist, was troubled for much of his adult life by kidney stones.[58]
- Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist, suffered from kidney stones in 1771 and their "passing caused him very sharp pains". He had 57 stones at time of autopsy in 1788.[59]
- During Sir Isaac Newton's later life, he was troubled by painful urinary incontenence, probably due to uric acid stones in the bladder.[60]
- The distinguished mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz died from a combination of gout and the stone. Although he was a member of several distinguished societies, he had fallen into such disfavor that only one man came to his funeral.[61]
- In the final years of his life, Benjamin Franklin is known to have used laudanum, an alcoholic herbal preparation of opium, to alleviate the pain of recurrent kidney stones.[62]
[edit] Sports figures
- During a 1996 attempt to cross Antarctica, explorer and endurance record holder Sir Ranulph Fiennes was forced to turn back because of kidney stones. He lists it as his most painful experience.[63]
- L.A. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson underwent a lithotripsy procedure to treat a kidney stone in 2003. It was the first time he missed a game as coach. He had experienced symptoms for two years prior to the surgery.[64]
- In 2004, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer had surgery for kidney stones. A stent was used to allow two stones to successfully pass.[65][66]
- Rich Aurilia, an infielder for the San Francisco Giants, was rushed to a hospital in 2008 because of a kidney stone. He said, "it felt like somebody stuck a knife in my rib cage".[67]
[edit] Others
- Dutch blacksmith Jan de Doot is remembered for having his portrait painted with the "four ounce palpable stone" that he supposedly removed from his perineum using a kitchen knife in 1651.[68]
- Between 2001 and 2006, 14 American astronauts developed kidney stones during space missions.[69] During long-duration space flights, astronauts are at higher risk for kidney stones because of an increase in the amount of calcium in their blood. This is caused by a loss of bone density in zero gravity.[70]
[edit] Fictional
Fictional incidents of kidney stones have been portrayed in the media on several occasions.
- On an episode of Seinfeld, Kramer, portrayed by Michael Richards, suffers from a kidney stone. He eventually passes the stone at a carnival, but the pain induced by its passing causes him to scream so loudly that he interrupts the carnival and causes a tightrope walker to fall.[71]
- During the 100th episode of the situational comedy Friends, Joey Tribbiani suffers back pains and later passes kidney stones.[72]
[edit] References
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[edit] Further Reading
- Moran, Michael E. (November 2-3, 2006). "Famous Stone Patients and their Disease". Conference Proceedings, 1st Annual International Urolithiasis Research Symposium: 412–416, Indianapolis, Indiana: American Institute of Physics. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
