@JuliaDS SO sorry about kidney stone. I too just had one in Europe which never passed and had to be surgically removed here a week ago. (This was my 7th stone. Two more since July and others in the past. Not counting the two small stones still in me which could go at any time.)
The "mix in a little lemon juice" to prevent stones is recommended by docs here but IMO (and the opinion of urologists who are friends) "a little lemon juice" is unquantifiable and unscientific. Use something with a KNOWN quantity of potassium citrate. Look at this link, then scroll down to the "Use beverages" paragraph. Crystal Lite lemonade (specifically lemonade, not other flavors) has the most potassium citrate. Drink a liter a day.
http://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/price-of-potassium-citrate/
Furthermore, you don't want concentrated urine sitting around overnight with their particulates settling out to form stones. Many experts think nighttime is when stones form. Drink enough water just before going to bed that will compel you to get up halfway through the night to pee -- then drink another glass of water so you will wake to pee in the morning. My urologist friend who had more than 30 stones has had none since adopting this protocol. (He also drinks a liter of diet 7-up a day, the potassium citrate runner up to Crystal Lite which he doesn't like.) And overall, you should drink at least 2 liters of fluid a day.
Of course none of that helps existing stones. Because it can take 3 hours to get pain meds at an ER, and perhaps a LONG time to get to the ER if on an intercontinental airplane, I carry around an emergency kidney stone kit of Percocet (nothing else is strong enough for stone pain. but this doesn't help if you are vomiting from pain and puke it up), Cyclizine (for nausea from pain or opiates), Toradol (to take 3 hours after taking Percocet as the percocet will start to ebb by then. So each every 6 hours but staggered by 3 hours), Flomax (to open ureters. begin at first symptom and take one daily until stone passes), and a medical report and CT report of existing stones to show docs in other cities. All of these meds are Rx. Ask your urologist for them, explaining about your travel and therefore possible delays in getting medical care.
Good luck to you. Hope the other stones pass uneventfully.
The service had someone to translate but I didn't need it. All of the medical personnel spoke English and my very basic Arabic pleasantries sufficed with staff. Once admitted, I did have a bit of a challenge in explaining my diet until I remembered someone on one of these forums recommending the term 'medically induced short gut syndrome'. The doctor got that right away and whatever instructions he wrote in my chart did the trick. I got lots of poached eggs and fish and stews of lamb and chicken with yogurt and no rice or bread. Perfect!
