On Monday I was suffering some severe lower abdominal pain, burning during urination, and moderate back pain above my left hip. I was in so much pain that I could barely stand up, and I certainly couldn’t pay attention to anything. I went to the immediate care clinic. They said that they didn’t see anything wrong, but they would give me an antibiotic to treat a UTI in the event that that’s what I had. I took a few doses of the antibiotic and drank tons of cranberry juice. Then I got a call a couple days later that my culture was normal, and I should stop taking the pills.
So I did that. And then a day later, I get some menstrual bleeding and cramping, which is just ridiculous considering I’m on the second week of my birth control pills. The burning during urination gets more intense, and lasts 45 minutes to an hour after I go.
Today I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, so I return to the immediate care clinic. They did a urine culture, pelvic exam, pap smear, and took some x-rays. The verdict? I have a fucking KIDNEY STONE. My mom consoled me that the fact that her kidney stones (she’s had three) were the source of the worst pain she’s ever had in her entire life–worse than childbirth, worse than gum surgery, worse than everything. Awesome.
I can’t afford to miss work–I’m a camp counselor, and I only have one co-worker, and we can’t afford to have only one of us with the kids (30 5- and 6-year-olds this week…fun). I have to call a urologist on Monday and hope like hell that I can get an appointment within the next few days. I have no idea what I’m going to do about the work situation.
So here I sit, writhing in pain, hoping the Vicodin kicks in soon. Shoot man, this sucks.
All sympathies here … been there, done that. The antibiotics helped, anti-inflammatories (over-the-counter Nurofen in my case, this is not a recommendation, take your doctor’s advice) helped too - with all the pills, I could (just about) get through a normal working day. It bloody hurt, though.
(I was lucky - only had a little one, and managed to pass it before they resorted to lithotripsy [disintegrating it with ultrasonics - preferable to surgery really].)
So … well … like I said, all sympathies to you from this quarter.
Been there done that. June 12th I had pain bad enough to visit an urgent care center. They couldn’t see a stone on the x-ray but gave me vicodin.
The next morning, June 13th, the pain was so severe (and I’ve had some big time pains in the past…this was the worst) my wife had to take me to the emergency room where the nice doctor gave me very nice opiate narcotics…mmmm morphine.
They took a CT scan and saw the stone. The on call urologist said it was big enough :eek: that he had doubts about whether I could pass it. So…they wheeled me into surgery and put a stent in. I’ll summarize the next week by saying that a stent shoved up your ureter, with a stone still there, is not fun when mother nature calls…let’s just say oxycontin was my friend that week.
I had a lithotripsy done 5 days later to bust the stone and eventually pass the debris. Last Monday was the final x-ray to confirm that it was all gone.
I too offer my sympathies…the only advice I can give is mega intake of water…if the stones are moving…that will not help …if they are not…water will keep them afloat and maybe the will disappear…I have passed several in my life…just do not allow yourself to become dehydrated. Again very sorry! :eek:
I had so many stones that, after transplant, they had to remove my native kidneys entirely lest their accumulated stones hurt the new grafted kidney. Why yes, I’ve got a lovely collection of hellish scars, thanks for asking!
Drink lots of water. It will help to keep crystal-forming chemicals nicely dissolved so they form fewer crystals.
Your doctor may wish you to try to catch the kidney stone so it can be analyzed; he (or she) can tell you more if, and how, this should be done.
No, kidney stone pain is No Fun At All. I hope they can quickly find out why you’re making stones and advise you how to avoid whatever it is that’s causing them.
I had my first one a couple years ago - the pain put me right down on the floor. Ended up in the emergency room where they zoned me out for a while. Anyway, it wouldn’t pass. They did a contrast study, and found it was stuck in my ureter. The urologist said “Well, if it doesn’t pass soon, we’ll have to go up there and get it.” :eek:
Poor baby My mom and uncle have had several each. Mom swears it’s worse than labor. She had a string of 'em for a while there and it got to the point that the ER staff started recognizing her and would just go ahead and get out the Dilaudid.
AwSnappity, I think there are enough of us kidney stone sufferers on the SDMB to start our own support group. I haven’t seen norinew yet in this thread, but she’s just recovering from a kidneystone operation. I had my damned right kidney taken out in January, after fighting a nearly six year battle(and losing) with the stones it produced.
I’ve never had children, so I can’t speak for relative pain. but the pain I experienced with my first stone was worse than anything I’d ever felt, the more so because it came out of the blue. My urologist echoes what others here have said, that his female patients told him it’s worse than childbirth.
If you had a big honkin’ uric acid stone smashed by lithotripsy, wouldn’t that generate a big bolus of, essentially, razor-sharp uric acid crystal “shrapnel?”
Count me in as a Kidney Stone Sufferer of the SDMB.
Luckily, the pain was mild for the few days up to the actual gut-wrenching toe-curling agony that preceeded the emergency room visit. Cue two hours of writhing and sobbing and near-vomiting until I finally went to piss and…relief! I passed it before they could even give me painkillers!
Of course, I still demanded the painkillers, and went home to nap while my wonderful mother in law cooked up Thanksgiving dinner.
I also heard stones are worse than just about any other pain out there, so I’m kinda happy knowing I’m tough enough to stick out the worst pain on the planet. The worst is over.
My sincere sympathies, I wouldn’t put my worst enemy through a kidney stone session. And yes, the bright orange urine is a neat little trick. Pumpkin pee!
Another veteran of kidney stones here, so my sympathies to any fellow sufferers. Having read the various threads about this topic though I thank my lucky stars that I have got off lightly compared to some. Both mine were painful but the first was the worst because I had no idea what was going on :eek: The second time, knowing all about it, my wife drove me to casualty for some of their lovely painkillers. I was lucky in being able to pass them myself.
It’s interesting hearing from those who have had stones and given birth, comparing the two events. I’d heard that the two pains were similiar and I’m rather pleased that giving birth will never happen to me.
Uric acid stones are much harder to see on an x-ray, but they tend to “dissolve” easier with other meds.
I don’t know that it was “razor sharp”…it was basically gravel (I had to screen to collect it). Some got “passed” when he pulled out the stent…a bit of an ouch in and of itself. The rest passed in the next couple of days. The passing didn’t hurt.
The actual lithotripsy itself…while better than going up the ureter with a scope :eek: still hurt later that day. The nurse said some people say it feels like getting kicked by a horse in the kidneys.
I’ve never been kicked by a horse but I was glad to have oxycontin that night. Ouch.
It’s funny…any pain I would have I would always compare to the original pain that caused me to end up in the ER and think “Well…this can’t be that bad since its less pain than the ER pain”. My urologist had to tell me to make sure I stayed on top of the pain curve with the meds.
I had meself a kidney stone some 17 years ago and it was excruciating.
Although, I must say it probably wasn’t as bad as yours.
36 hours and mine passed.
Although, I have to say that the sensation of it passing through the last several inches of ureter was certainly …um… unique.
I haven’t had a kidney stone, but have had the delights of hauling Papa Tiger to the ER with one. Suffice it to say I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy!
I had a kidney stone in 1988. I have NEVER experienced that much agony. Even the gallstones that caused me to have my gall bladder removed last year didn’t hurt that much.
I had the roto-rooter job done to get rid of it. The doctor put in a shunt to keep the tract open and told me to come back in 4 days, that it was a simple office procedure to remove it. DON’T EVER BELIEVE A DOCTOR IF THEY TELL YOU THAT!! He wound up shoving something the size of a sewer pipe up my tonker and fishing around for the end of the shunt. When he finally found it and pulled it out…man, Torquemada would have loved that routine.
My mom and uncle have had several each. Mom swears it’s worse than labor. She had a string of 'em for a while there and it got to the point that the ER staff started recognizing her and would just go ahead and get out the Dilaudid.
