56-year-old farmer tries unsuccessfully to self-medicate, stops travelling for fear of consequences, cannot sleep
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenFran Luin BeijingPublished: 9:00am, 27 May 2026Updated: 9:11am, 27 May 2026A Chinese man who endured three years of intense pain while urinating finally went to the hospital and discovered he had a 1.3kg stone in his bladder.
The man, 56, from southern China’s Guangdong province, surnamed Chen, recently went to the Xuwen Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, to have his bladder checked.
Chen had experienced frequent and painful urination for three years. The symptoms had become so serious recently that he dared not travel far during the day and could not sleep at night.
As a farmer, Chen did not want to delay his work and bought medicine in an attempt to treat the illness by himself.
Chen was diagnosed with a giant 10cm by 13cm stone in his bladder.
A scan revealed that the stone had almost occupied the whole bladder. It was reported to be the largest bladder stone in the Western Guangdong region.
The stone had also caused bilateral hydronephrosis, a condition where both kidneys swell from urine build-up and cause a severe urinary tract infection.
His doctor said that the stone had been pressuring the bladder wall and damaging his kidney function and could potentially lead to uraemia because had he not received treatment in time.
