@minkeygirl
Eight? Just reading your post makes me hurt. I take it that you had it removed? Stones that large tend to not pass. If you passed it, you have my sympathies.
I don't pass mine because of their location and unfortunately the stones are in a place where they are painful.. I didn't know that you can be in pain from internal stones. There are other locations in the kidney, where you don't feel them and they can become hugh. It really helps to have a urologist who has also passed stones.
I have just been diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism . My low vitamin D causes the parathyroid to produce too much PTH. Right now I'm getting vitamin D but you have to be careful as vitamin D can cause heart problems.
Developing the kidney stones, as well as the fact that I'd never had them befoe a year ago, means I may get the procedure to remove most of the tissue in the four parathyroid glands. It only takes about fifteen minutes and it's done with local anesthesia. I have read that this simple operation can turn your life around as far as the symptons.
Have you had your PTH checked? There are usually other tests that are abnormal with hyperparathyroidism so don't go by what I say and consult your physician.
Here is a resource about hyperparathyroidism.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperparathyroidism/basics/definition/con-20022086
Barb