I have a kidney stone. Actually…that’s not true. I have one on either side.
Please note: I did not go screaming and vomitting and fainting into the E.R. because I wanted a handful of percocet. I did so to…you know…stop the screaming and vomitting and fainting, which was quite unpleasant.
In case you don’t know, kidney stones are VERY painful. They are also very simple to diagnose. They put you in a big donut looking thing that takes photos (A CAT scanner) and voila! Out come photos of your kidney stones.
They can then tell you exactly where they are, how big, etc.
So I hopped into the donut machine (after bringing the screaming and vomitting down a notch) and out came my photos.
Except that the E.R. doctor wasn’t “impressed.” He didn’t think they looked like they were in locations that would cause so much pain. In one case (left one, I think) he said it was not a complete blockage and therefore couldn’t possibly be hurting me.
But…it was! I mistakenly explained to him that I’d had a history of stones (about five times before, after which comment, he clearly wrote on my chart “drug seeking behavior” then asked which other hospitals I got my drugs at…
I was pissing blood!!!
I do understand a need to protect some people from overdosing, from the hospital’s responsibility in that case, but come ON man…have some compassion!
In the end, he let me writhe for about 5 hours until the torture ran it’s course, then wrote me a script or Motrin. Yep…motrin.
Wow, for the life of me I can’t understand why they would think you of all people would be looking for drugs. :rolleyes:
When you want some actual help, come back and talk to us. Plenty of us have been around the block with addiction, but posts like this and the one I linked to are just attention-seeking behavior and I don’t think you are going to get the sympathy you are looking for.
You need a script for motrin? Is this some kind of MegaMotrin? 'Cos that stuff’s on the shelf over here. Regular (200mg), Extra Strength (300mg), and OH MY GOD THERE’S SO MUCH BLOOD (400mg).
I’d have tried to get a second opinion, because obviously that doctor is an idiot. And if I was in that much pain, I might have tried to get that second opinion with a bone saw.
But that thread is about alcohol, specifically. Is there really that much crossover between alcohol and opioids? Is the fact that a patient has a history of alcoholism reason for automatically denying painkillers?
Or is there something I’m missing here? Are the vomiting and fainting more symptomatic of drug withdrawal than kidneystones?
The OP was at the hospital for five hours, pissing blood and vomiting, and the test showed that he/she had kidney stones. That doesn’t sound like drug seeking to me.
To echo what Q said, without any true data we cannot say for certain that she’s telling the truth. And in fact, toradol has been shown to be MORE effective for renal colic than opiod medications.
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The study cited in that article (which I couldn’t find the whole text for online) is:
Larkin GL, Peacock WF 4th, Pearl SM, Blair GA, D’Amico F. Efficacy of ketorolac tromethamine versus meperidine in the ED treatment of acute renal colic. Am J Emerg Med 1999;17:6-10.
However, as a physician who deals with ‘kidney stones’ and ‘drug seeking’ on a daily basis. I can tell you that true kidney stones do NOT cause pain. That is to say nephrolithiasis is not painful. Ureterolithiasis CAN be painful.
In other words, if the stone is still in your kidney you WON’T have pain. If the stone is in your ureter, you MIGHT have pain.
So, my doctor told me that the slices taken by the CT scan may miss the kidney stone. This came up after I wanted to argue against the ER’s claim that my recurring pain was due to kidney stones because my scan showed a left stone and I only had right sided pain. My doctor explained again that it was a sensible diagnosis and the fact that I didn’t want to have kidney stones didn’t have any weight.
Any opinions on that as a possibility for the OP? If the denial of drugs was based on the location of the stones, couldn’t some have been missed?
I do sort of understand the doctor’s point of view. I’ve found from repeated studies that I always have kidney stones somewhere, even when pain-free. I suppose if I wanted to subject myself to CT radiation, I could claim I was in pain and expect the scan to show a stone. I don’t, because I don’t want drugs and I don’t want the bill or the pelvic exam that comes along with a complaint of abdominal pain in a woman.
It sounds like drug seeking behavior to me, despite the OP’s melodramatics.
It’s not a reason to automatically deny painkillers but it’s reason to strongly suspect drug-seeking behavior, which is what this doctor did. The doctor should also know what causes pain or what doesn’t cause pain, notwithstanding the waiting room theatrics of the person trying to score the dope. The fact that the OP has apparently used the kidney stone routine to obtain drugs many times in the past is also a red light.
Doctors have to deal with these addicts all day every day trying to wheedle scrips. I don’t know how they stay as patient as they do.
To CeilingWhacks: there’s been a study done in 1997 by John Rodman suggesting that kidney stones may–it’s not conclusive by any means–be created by situations involving alcohol (hangovers, dehydration, etc.). If you need a reason to seek help, this may be it.
I hope you’re feeling more comfortable now and you get a good night’s sleep. Take care of yourself.
Yes she did, indirectly anyway. She said the doctor asked her what other hospitals she’d gotten drugs from. That implies that she must have told him she’d gotten drugs in the past (and multiple times).
He didn’t ask her “if,” he asked her “where.” That means she had to have already told him she’d scored in the past. No doctor would ask where without asking if first.
You don’t know what he asked her with sufficient accuracy to make this distinction. You have only what is most likely a paraphrased summary of the conversation. You cannot assume this is a direct quote.
