"nospam" wrote in message ...

However I want to be prepared for my medical without doing excessive
tests or having excessive delays.

Here's what AOPA has to say about the topic (I post this here because I believe it is
directly lifted from the FAA guidelines):

a summary of your history of stones, including the date of diagnosis, method of treatment, current status, and prognosis for
recurrence; and
a report of recent ultrasound, IVP (intravenous pyelogram) or KUB (flat plate X-ray of the kidney, ureter, and bladder). If the
reports confirm the absence of stones, and there are no other complications, the medical examiner may issue the certificate.
Retained stones or a history of recurring stones is disqualifying for airman certification. The examiner should defer the
application to Oklahoma City for review. In most cases, certification will be withheld until evidence of successful treatment with
passage of the stone(s) is submitted to FAA. If the examiner defers the application, it may take six weeks or more before you hear
from Oklahoma City.

Bring the paperwork and it sounds like you will be OK.

Probably the best thing to do is to call my AME and ask him what I
need to do to prepare for this medical exam

Call AOPA's medical team. This is what they are there for (provided you are a member).

Has anyone gotten insurance, specifically an HMO that requires a PCP
referral for all tests, to cover the ultrasound/IVP/whatever required
for this?

Depends on whether you can convince your doctor and the managed care that
the test is necessary. My insurance company didn't even bat an eye on the
the extra urinalysis I needed for one of my medicals. However, if it gets into
expensive tests (like the cardiac stuff the FAA wants if you have a history)
the FAA wants them more often than most of the rest of the medical industry
feels is justified.

If I lose my medical temporarily (like if a retained stone is found
and I have towait for it to pass), could I still take instrument
training with a CFI and log the time as PIC?

Yes. As long as you hold a private certificate and you are the sole manipulator of the
controls you can log PIC. You can even go ahead and take your checkride provided the
examiner is willing to act as PIC. The only thing you pretty much end up not being able
to skudge by with the instructor/examiner being PIC is the solo requirements for the
commercial. The FAA dropped the requirements for medicals to take the checkride
a while ago.

5. Any other advice or war stories would be appreciated.

If the doctor is inclined to defer to OKC, try to avoid having him do this. Get him to
call the regional flight surgeon to see if they can work the issue out. OKC is a paperwork
cesspool.