| Author | Message | ||
     Pwnzor |
Ouuccchhh.... I've got a kidney stone. I woke up this morning around 0115 and literally started screaming and crying like a baby. I thought I had torn a muscle under my rib cage somehow, spent some time rolling around and stretching my legs out trying to find a position that would hurt a little less. When nothing helped, Gretchen rushed me to the ER. Doctor comes in, pokes and prods, asks a few questions, says it's a kidney stone. Let's scan it and make sure. One CAT scan later, and it's confirmed. By now, they've gone from Tramadol to Dilaudid... Tramadol did nothing, Dilaudid made me sick right away. Oh, did I mention that I've been violently vomiting intermittently through this whole process? Backed off the Dilaudid and went to a morphine drip, that took all the edges off but did not eliminate the pain. So we hang out in the exam room letting the drip-drip-drip do it's thing, and I guess the stone moved a little because the pain subsided. Obviously did not go to work today. Doctor said it should pass in the next few days. Meanwhile, here: take Tamsulosin, Ketorolac, Lortab, & Ondansentron at regular intervals until it comes out on it's own. Push HARD when you urinate, and use a strainer because I want you to bring me that stone. Oh, yeah... fun times. I can't wait to push that little rock out of my dick. Bring on the kidney stone stories! | ||
| Airbozo |
Been there. Got NO drugs since I wasn't screaming (it hurt too bad to scream). When I showed the DR. the stone several days later, his only comment: "That must have hurt". *^&$^%*%&$ YEAH it hurt! First DR. actually had the gall to tell me I had a back ache and must have pulled a muscle, then interrupted my office visit to take a call about an appliance delivery at his home. He now has all the time in the world to wait for that damn washer since his license got suspended a week later (not just my complaint). | ||
| Aesquire |
I've missed this little joy so far. You have my sympathy, and I'll send a little prayer your way for quick and easy end to your battle. After that... change your drinking habits to prevent this happening again. ( by which I mean, drink more. And smarter. ) | ||
| Sifo |
Been there. Three times! The last time they had to resort to shoving a mechanical grabber, complete with camera and headlight so they could see where they were going into a "natural opening". This was done to me on my birthday! Since then, they have had me taking vitamin B complex and magnesium pills. I'll happily take those for the rest of my life if it can keep me from getting another stone. The first stone left me curled up next to my motorcycle on the side of the road, puking my balls out. The painful part is when it's moving from the kidney to the bladder. I'm told that tube is only about the size of a human hair. Getting it out your dick is the least of your worries!  | ||
| Court |
>>>Bring on the kidney stone stories! Been raced to ER in the middle of the night twice. Ouch. If you need some consolation . . . . they were kid's play in comparison to the burst appendix. I'd been in pain for a couple of days and, of course, ignored it. Found unconscious on the floor . . awoke in an ambulance . . . raced into emergency surgery . . one extra surgeon . . in for 4 hours . . . the guy . . in recovery "what are you like a Green Beret or something . . this had to be child birth level pain for at least 2 days". They called it an "autopsy appendix" . . never seen one like that in a living person. I didn't know why I had to stay in the hospital for a couple weeks until I read about it later. Worst time in the world to have no family or no one within 3,000 miles . . . they had a bid tizzy over who'd take care of the watch, the cellphone and so forth. Thank goodness for online shopping . . . my only relief was to get home and find the 3 guitars waiting. Sucks. | ||
| Court |
>>>Getting it out your dick is the least of your worries! No . . . the fun part is when you awake to find out they have put a stent in your whoopee wand to keep it from swelling shut. Be sure you are laying down when you ask them . . ."how are you going to get it out?" Seriously . . .the removal . . .with the help of some fun drugs . . ain't bad except when you think about it. Think of it as the surgical equivalent of eating Rocky Mountain Oysters. | ||
| 86129squids |
Dang Matthew! Hate to hear this... got a good buddy who was laid out for 3 days recently with the same. Hope you get to feeling better soon... be sure to handle those drugs properly, and when the time comes, treat yourself to a little bourbon self-med... AND, be sure to drink the right stuff to prevent any future stones!  | ||
| Sifo |
No . . . the fun part is when you awake to find out they have put a stent in your whoopee wand to keep it from swelling shut. Be sure you are laying down when you ask them . . ."how are you going to get it out?" Been there too. AND, be sure to drink the right stuff to prevent any future stones! With me at least, it's less about what I drink, and more about the magnesium. I was already exceeding their recommendations for drinking water. The magnesium actually promotes stones to form with the magnesium, but that breaks apart very easily, so it doesn't cause problems. | ||
| Reindog |
Oooh, oooh, me, it's my turn. Had the same fun as everyone else has recounted by the time I ended in the ER. They insisted that I fill out forms but my reply was to crumple up on the floor in pain. I think they got the message. They put an IV line and spiked it with Demerol which became my good friend. A CT scan showed the kidney stone blockage. As I was in the process of being discharged at 3AM, a kind orderly gave me "one for the road" as he spiked my IV with one last Demerol injection. I walked right into the electric doorway on my way out. Getting a prescription at the drugstore at 3AM was reminiscent of the scene in "Natural Born Killers" where they had been bitten by rattlesnakes when they went to rob a drugstore. I don't recommend the following procedure that plinked the stone through my unusual large endowment into the toilet bowl. Drink a beer, drink a water, repeat until it comes out. It worked for me. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yeesh. First, my GF's bro having a rectum retread, now this?!???   | ||
| Etennuly |
I found out about these kidney stone things in my driveway. Wife asks "why are you on your knees in front of the car?". I could not answer. Had to wait until I could breathe again. If this was pain level '10', it was not new to me. I blew out a disc in my back that pinched my spinal chord in half for a couple of months, until they(the Fu#$%^& insurance company), decided to do an MRI. When surgeon saw MRI he scheduled emergency surgery. I had been at level '9' ~ '10' for two months solid. Funny how your body can adapt to that. None of the pain meds worked, even morphine did not help. Back to stone.....wife took me to ER to spend the $3G's to find out what it is. Truly a special feeling as to where and how. I asked what was next, ER doc said it will pass we will give you some pain meds. Went home in a few hours, it passed later that evening. I could feel it moving down the ureter a little at a time. Pain meds did nothing for me again. Sometimes I believe the pain meds such as morphine just mess up time recognition in the brain, not really blocking pain, just making you forget how long you had it. If I feel it happening again, now that I know where and what it feels like, I believe that since the pain meds don't help me, I will just sweat it out at home as long as it acts the same as the previous time. Maybe a shot or two of 100 proof and meditate a bit. Self employed insurance sucks! That first time though.....you have to go to the ER to find out what it is. I had a golfing buddy in Florida years ago who had painful stones every other month or so. I saw him suffer through it on the golf course one time. Not fun. He had some predisposition for frequently having them that couldn't be fixed. His were so frequent that his HMO told him they would no longer pay for his ER visits for this reason! Did I mention I hate insurance companies?! | ||
| Airbozo |
Funny that I never went to the ER for a stone (had 3 in the last 12 years). Hurt like hell, but the DR's office was closer. The second one they used the sonic tub to break it up since it was huge and was tearing up my kidney. Blood in the urine is a good indicator. The last one is when the DR said I had a backache and since I had been through it before, knew he was full of shit. Pwnzor: Have you looked online for the "dissolver" cures? They worked for my sis and took some of the pain away. I think it depends on the makeup of the stone though. | ||
| Hootowl |
I've never had one. In fact, I've never had any major medical issues. I am immortal! So far...  | ||
| Pwnzor |
The doctor sounded confident that this one will pass on it's own. I'll be taking action to prevent any further stones. I'm going to be doubling the amount of water I drink, among other things. | ||
| Rick_a |
Famous last words!  Other than chronic headaches, chronic back pain, TMJ, broken/mis-shapen ribs, a severe head injury, nearly drowning, nearly choking to death, nearly falling to my death, nearly being shot to death (near miss), nearly succumbing to illness a few times (untreated strep throat x2, glandular infection left untreated for a month, massive blood clot left untreated), I'd have to day I've been pretty lucky thus far...  | ||
| Xdigitalx |
The Kidney Stones The Future Stones The Further Stones.... wonder what they would have sounded like... all this Stone talk makes me wanna play some ROLLING STONES!!! (Seriously, hope it passes quickly) | ||
| Strokizator |
Oh, did I mention that I've been violently vomiting intermittently through this whole process? I told my wife "I think I threw up stuff I ate last week!", it was that gut-wrenching. First time, went to the ER thinking they could do something. The last two times, just toughed it out - the worst one while sitting in an RV park in the middle of nowhere. I've heard of guys begging their wives to shoot them. Drink LOTS of water from here on out. | ||
| Pwnzor |
The stone is OUT!!! Praise the Lord, it's out, and I don't have to take any more of these brainkiller pills. Thanks everybody for the support, this was probably the longest 36 hours of my life. I drink what I consider to be a lot of water, but from here on out, it will be a whole lot more. Woohoo!!! I get to have a good weekend. | ||
| 86129squids |
Matthew, you posted to another thread about buying bottled water by the case... why not get one or two good filters for your tap? I've always had a "Pur" brand filter on my sink, until I got a fridge with water and icemaker, using an inline filter... LOVE IT, MUCH more economical, and you're not generating/dealing with so much plastic waste. I also keep a large double-wall sippin' jug for my icewater wherever I go, tucked in my tankbag on the bike or beside my seat in the truck. Just sayin'!  | ||
| Court |
>>>>I've never had one. In fact, I've never had any major medical issues. I am immortal! So far... Hahahahaha . . . . That's pretty much my experience. I, other than a couple days in the hospital when I got shot in 1970, had NEVER been in a hospital for a health issue until I was 60 years old. We tend to think of ourselves as immortal . . . hell, I went to college on a gymnastics scholarship . . . was always man athlete and in great shape. I ran a 10k on my 55th birthday. But, time and tide takes it's toll. I am also not unaware that, with the exception of smoking, there is no greater threat to one's long term life expectancy than weight and I've picked up a good deal over the last couple years. I'm trying to eat right, eat less, drink more water and all those wonderful things. Should be easy . . . but to those of us raised in the "bountiful portion and clean your plate" era . . . it requires lots of discipline and learning. Interesting . . . as I keep in touch with many of my old childhood friends . . . to see how time has treated them so differently. | ||
| Sifo |
I drink what I consider to be a lot of water, but from here on out, it will be a whole lot more. Drinking water alone may not do it. If you managed to trap the tiny pebble, have your Dr. analyze it to find out what it's made of. Then they can give you suggestions about what you can change in your diet. They told me cut back on meat. I told them to suggest something else! I've been stone free for a few years now, and hope it continues. My last one was nasty! | ||
| Sifo |
I also second the water filter idea. I've got a dedicated filtered spigot at the sink for drinking water. Much cheaper that bottles, and no plastic. | ||
| Xdigitalx |
Somebody got some.. Satisfaction!! | ||
| Pwnzor |
I actually get bottled water by the pallet, not the case. 2 pallets = 96 cases = 3840 bottles = 5 bottles per day for 5 people for 153 days. All set. Not too worried about the plastic, Georgia waste management facilities are staffed by people who sort 100% of the trash and recycle everything accordingly. Yes, Georgia picks through every bit of trash generated here. So yes, I shred every document. Feeling much better today, just my right side is kind of achy-sore... hope to throw my leg over the bike for a few hours tomorrow. Calling Buellish... maybe see you up at TWoS? | ||
| Pjd2ss |
I had the same thing this week. Tuesday (the 31st) I had taken the week off and was chaperoning 48 6th graders at their outdoor ed camping trip for the week. At dinner I started having sharp pain, had to get up and leave the dining hall as the pain got so bad I thought I was going to throw up. Everything I tried didn't seem to help. After about two hours of writhing in pain, I finally made one of the other chaperons drive me to an ER (luckily only about 1/2 hour away). They gave me a shot to help with the pain (which was as severe as anything I'd experienced in the last 30 years). But then I had to wait for about 6 hours to get into the doctor. A CT scan at 3 am confirmed a 5 mm stone in the kidney. My wife had to come pick me up - as a camp chaperon, I'd failed. They next couple days were not fun, alternating between pain and nausea (probably mostly from the meds). Finally think I passed it Friday. What a relief. Once you have one, they say you are much more likely to have more. Not something I'm looking forward to. Some websites say eat more citrate. This evidently will bind with the calcium and prevent stones from forming, unlike foods containing oxalates, which allows formation of calcium oxalate compounds - which is what most stones are made of. So drink your orange juice. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Orange juice, water, cranberry juice, water, water, more water and then some water. No more Red Bull. That stuff is death apparently. I used to drink 4 cans a day, dropped it down to 2 per day about 18 months ago... then down to 1 per day maybe 6 months ago, and 1 per week about 2-3 months ago. Now, it's going to be zero cans per week. I don't care if I'm tired for the rest of my life, I never want to go through that again. | ||
| Hacksaw |
Just had another one of these the day after I had hernia surgery a week or so ago. I think this is the sixth one I have had. This one passed about five days after the ER visit. Sure didn't have to wait very long to get into the ER. I couldn't keep anything down either including the pain meds for the hernia fix. Doctor told me to drink the juice of two lemons a day to help stop the formation of the stone. Don't know if it helped or not since I still had three stones in my kidney and this is the first one I have passed since then. According to the ultrasound there are still two to get rid of. | ||
| Robertl |
I passed one at age 17, hearing it hit the toilet. Don't recall much pain before but wow did it hurt afterwards. Doc said once you have a stone, you are more likely to have them in the future. Further research confirmed. Probably why I am obsessed about always drinking water and little to no soda. Even during my rock star party days, I always had 1 water to every 3 drinks or whatever. None in the 25 yrs since so guess that has worked. | ||
| Sifo |
My last trip to the ER for a stone was pretty bad. They told me I had another one still up in a kidney to pass too. A year later they were checking up on it and it was gone. Must have passed without issues. I do remember a couple of days of lower back pain that was unexplained. I'm fairly certain that was the other stone. I also had similar symptoms back in my early 30's. Days of unexplained lower back pain. My wife finally made me go see a doc. By the time I got to see the doc, things were fine and they never came up with a reason. I guess including those 2 minor events, I've had 5 stones. 3 had me puking anything that went down in minutes. It's a bad cycle because it dehydrates you making things worse. It's an experience I don't care to go through again. | ||
| Hacksaw |
The first one I had was removed by surgery and to top that off I got a staph infection afterwards. That was 30 years ago. |
