5 mm kidney stone, flecks in urine, travel plans, uretoscopy

I'm new to the board but not new to kidney stones. I'm a 69-year old female and had one kidney stone thirty years ago. It passed on its own after weeks of misery, followed by acute pain, vomiting, then relief. I was never able to capture that stone, so I don't know what it was made of.

Fast forward. Two weeks ago I had some abdominal crampiness and a bit of nausea for two days and didn't make much of it. A week later, the abdominal crampiness returned but was more uncomfortable--5 out of 10--but not kidney stone level. Then I started vomiting and noticed a fair amount of blood in my urine. An urgent care center sent me to the hospital ER for a CT scan. It showed a 5mm stone positioned between my kidney and top of my left ureter. I was already feeling better by the end of the six hours in ER. They sent me home with Flomax, Bactrim for urinary infection, and painkillers. That was five days ago, and the crampiness and urine blood haven't returned.

I met with a urologist a couple days later. He's giving me 2-3 weeks to pass this thing since the CT shows the stone so close to the kidney. An renal ultrasound is schedule for Feb. 23.
He's put me on a schedule for a uretoscopy Mar. 1 in case the stone doesn't pass by the 23.

So here are my questions:

1. I'm doing the drill to flush this thing out--drinking two liters of water, taking Flomax, Bactrim. I'm also drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice which someone at Dr. Internet's said might break down the stone. I'm in no pain at all. But I noticed a few white very soft flecks--not like grains--one of them a bit stringy, in my last urine collection. Could this be the stone breaking down? Should I collect the next batch of urine and get it cultured? I am on Bactrim and have no symptoms of infection that I had when all this started.

2. If I do need the uretoscopy, what's the total recovery time for procedure, stent, and stent removal? The surgery is scheduled for March 1st if I don't pass the stone. The stent should come out a week later--March 7-8. I'm supposed to fly overseas on March 26th--seven hour flight. If you had this procedure, what shape were you in three weeks after the surgery? I'm otherwise in excellent health.

Thanks fellow sufferers, especially the fellas since kidney stones are more painful in men.

Post Edited (spouse21) : 2/16/2016 3:12:35 PM (GMT-7)

Thanks so much for your response. I'm female by the way, so mileage may vary for men. Here's what happened:

--I had heavily hydrated, exercised, jumped rope, took hot baths, and much more to dislodge the stone on my own, but it didn't budge from where it appeared on the CT scan two weeks ago--stuck at the juncture of the kidney and upper ureter. My urologist scheduled urtereroscopic surgery for yesterday because of the danger of future kidney infections--not good. My symptoms, crampiness for a couple days, but basically not the usual kidney stone pain people usually have, can mask the seriousness of the situation. I had already gotten an infection, which is what landed me in the ER two weeks ago.

--I got ureteroscopy surgery yesterday. I wasn't a candidate for lipthroscopy because of the embedded location of the stone up by my kidney. Plus it was 5mm, which is small for lipthroscopy. He said this kind of "infected kidney stone" situation can lead to serious kidney damage.

--The surgeon had trouble locating the stone with the ureteroscope because it was so embedded. But he finally snagged it and blasted it with the laser.

--I have to have a stent for the next two weeks since my ureters proved to be narrow. It's uncomfortable to void and will remain so while the stent is in. Otherwise the rest of me feels fine. The surgeon said no driving, outdoor walking, or heavy lifting while the stent is in so as not to displace it.

The stent will come out a week and a half before my overseas flight, but I've got my fingers crossed all will be okay.

Good luck to all kidney stone sufferers. For such tiny fragments, kidney stones are . . . the pits!