Ugh, Kidney Stones SUCK!

[Tennie]

I woke up at around 3:00-3:30 A.M. on Saturday morning with excruciating pain in my upper right back. I tried to get back to sleep but couldn't, so I went over to my parents' bedroom, where my dad was sleeping. I told him about the pain and he felt around the affected area, but couldn't find any sign of a knot or some other muscle-related problem.

After a fitful night of sleep for me, dad got up and called my mom, who was away on vacation. She did some research and suggested that it could be a kidney stone. When I took my morning leak, I noticed that the pain seemed to subside for some time after that and told dad as such; we soon figured that it must indeed be a kidney stone. When the pain returned we immediately decided to go over to the hospital. Once there they did a blood test and hooked me to an IV (primarily to get some fluid in me so that they could run a urinalysis test); they also put in some morphine and some anti-nausea medicine, though the morphine didn't do much at all with the pain (and it was a somewhat large dosage, to boot!).

They ran a CT scan on me (lying on my back for that was uncomfortable due to the pain), and later had me try to urinate in a cup for the urinalysis test. It took quite some time for enough urine to come out that they could use the sample; it also took a while for my CT scan's results to be processed, as the radiologist also had to deal with the CT scans from three or so trauma patients.

The results came back, and they indicated that there indeed was a small kidney stone. Now, the size of a kidney stone is less important in terms of the amount of pain caused than the shape of the stone, and mine was apparently quite irregular in shape (smooth stones cause much less pain than irregular ones). It was also already dislodging from the kidney and they said that it could be out within the next day or so. They gave me prescriptions for meds that would help with the pain and nausea and help make it easier for the stone to come out.

The doctors noted that kidney stones could bring even the toughest of people to their knees, and after my experience (the first kidney stone that I can recall having) I'd have to agree!

Incidentally, on the night before I'd drunk a rather large glass of iced water after eating some pizza for dinner (pizza tends to make one quite thirsty due to the salt in it), and yet I still ended up suffering from a kidney stone!

So, has anyone else here suffered from kidney stones?

[Ankhani]

Not personally, but I have had some experience with them. Getting a block in your ureter can be quite an unpleasant experience, as far as I can tell. If you're really lucky, it passes before then, but even still usually sonication will be enough to dislodge and/or break it up enough to get it out with out too much problem. They usually build up over a long period, though, from minerals in your diet. Having a glass of water, sadly, rarely will do more than help you bite the bullet and loose it.

I sympathetically cross my legs for you. That's just no fun at all.
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The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[LynnInDenver]

Yes, what Ankhani said. Most kidney stones are built up over a long period of time. The best thing to do is act preventatively in the future. Drink more fluids, avoid foods and such that can contribute to the sort of stone you had, and increase intake of the ones that can decrease the chances of forming one. For once you have one, you're likely to get one in the future. And once you have one passing, all you can do is tough it out.

I've had three now in my life. Not something I would wish on anyone.
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"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[Rod.H]

....kidney stones.....I hates them. Because of them I've discovered: morphine make me vomit; a certain doctor only injectable painkiller doesn't work; a general anesthetic is a good nap; and having a tube shoved up there for them to 'star wars' a stone, creates a annoying recovery period. Public hospitals yay!!

The only time I've had sonication was when I went private.

I'm currently on the public system waiting list to deal with a stone, but they're not fussed about it due to the location it formed in. It can't move anywhere, just grow. That and apparently I get a mix of all the kidney stone types with a predisposition for the uric acid variety.

I believe that there's a good possibility that I get them due to constantly running borderline dehydrated - If I don't feel thirsty, I don't drink any fluid. When I do it's typically at meals and probably doesn't meet 'my' daily h20 requirment.

[LilFluff]

Never had one myself (looks around for wood to knock on), my father on the other hand... He worked in a hospital prior to retiring and happened to get a kidney stone on the day of a big game. Now you have to realize he's quite the joker and will start inventing things (often wildly unlikely things, "Why I remember back during the War Between the States, I used to tell General...") at the drop of an imaginary hat. So when he walked over to the ER and calmly told them he was in severe pain and thought he had a kidney stone -- well they took one look at him, then a look at the TV that they had in the ER showing the game, and back to him before telling him, "Right, you'll need a better story than that. Back to work."

The calmness with which he was telling them he was in pain was simply too close to the deadpan way he'd start telling stories. From what he said it took about five minutes for him to convince them he was serious about actually being in pain.
Here's hoping your stone will spontaneously grow smooth and sneak out with a minimum of fuss, and if it won't do that then at least the leave with a minimum of fuss part.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

[Mark Skarr]

You have my condolences. I've had one and it was miserable. 7mm x 5mm x 4mm. They gave me vicodin at first, which doesn't do anything for me other than make me unable to drive. When I talked to the urologist two days later, he prescribed percocet for me. Gave me 40 pills and told me to "take one or two when it hurts. If you run out, call and we'll get the prescription refilled for you."

I still have 18 of them left.

I tried, once, to not go to sleep when I took a percocet. I was playing Minecraft at the time and, when the haze lifted . . . had no idea where I had gone in the game. On the other hand, percocet worked wonderfully for me. After 30 minutes the pain turned off. Which gave me ample time (another 30 minutes) to get my bed ready and comfortable before I turned off.

The hospital told me that mine was too big to pass normally, and the urologist would give me options for taking care of it. When I talked to the doctor about options he told me that there were a lot of things they could do, but, since I was a big guy, he felt certain that I could pass it.

I did.

And, once it hit the bladder, like the doctor told me, the pain just went away and it dissolved to be passed during urination. I didn't even have to urinate through a strainer to try to catch the sucker.

But, if I had my choice between having another kidney stone, or giving birth, to a flaming porcupine, anally, I'd look into the second option before deciding. Hemorrhoids don't hurt nearly as much.