I’m a 32 year-old man, and I’ve had stones for the past 18 months. I’m convinced that my bouts with these stones have been brought about by exposure to certain compounds in wood stain/varnish.

I was refinishing a heirloom cradle in anticipation of my son’s birth, and was using a composite stain/varnish material without gloves. Within several months of this project, I had my first stone, 2mm, which passed after about 5 hours.

Stains and varnishes may contain a compound called melanine, which was also responsible for the tainted baby formula scandal in China in 2008. It can be absorbed through the skin, and the primary symptom of exposure is kidney stones

After my first stone, I underwent no less than 8 trips to the emergency room in the next month alone. Repeated CT scans and x-rays could not find a stone, however, there was a large amount of blood present in my urine.

I suffered through the last few weeks of my wife’s pregnancy, unwilling to take narcotics in the event that I would have to drive should she go into labor. I was actually taken to the er while my wife was in labor, and was given enough medication to make it through that day on my feet.

3 days after my son was born, I had a massive stone attack, and was diagnosed with a massive 8 mm stone. That was the first of 2 ureteroscopic stone extractions I underwent in 6 months, and have passed 14 stones or fragments to date. I’ve been stone free for about 5 months now, and my KUB xrays are looking good.

I’m drinking copious amounts of water and lemonade (potassium citrate keeps the calcium in suspension and unable to form crystals) and have given up beer, soda, tea, and most high-calcium foods.