Looks like I’m heading for a nephrectomy

After a year of multiple uti’s I was sent for a CT scan by my GP in Feb 2025. Two weeks later I was told by my doctor via text that the CT showed a kidney stone and he would refer me to Urology. I waited until November 2025 for this appointment but wasn’t unduly worried by the wait as I wasn’t in pain. How wrong was I - consultant dropped the bombshell I had a large Staghorn kidney stone in my right kidney and that my CT had shown that this stone had caused severe damage to the parenchyma. He said a PCNL was probably not an option as the stone had already caused too much damage and recommended kidney removal via an open nephrectomy!!

I was sent for a DMSA scan on 1 December - I waited a further 3 months to find out the result which was my kidney function was only 23% in the right kidney and 77% in the left. I was then told that my case needed to be discussed at a MDT meeting in March and I have a follow up appointment on Wednesday to discuss what the outcome from that meeting was.

I know the NHS is on its knees but I feel so frustrated by the timescales. 15 months seems a dangerous amount of time to be left with this stone inside me - it feels like a ticking time bomb! I’m going out of my mind with worry and the thought of losing my kidney fills me with dread.