I meant to say they “should” give general anethesia for liptotripsy. I wish my edit button would work. All they do now is give you periodic shots of wimpy morphine. And when you need a shot the nurse is never around. But I found out how to get her attention is to move off the torture machine a little so the Doc will yell at her to get you another one. 
sneaky huh?
My SO who is a doctor always gives as much pain medicine as she feels is safe for the patients, be it Schedule II or not. Hers and my experience is that there are a lot of doctors out there who simply avoid giving pain medicine, instead choosing anti-inflammatories, or worse just writing a freaking prescription for Advil of all things.
I had to go to three doctors to relieve the worst pain I ever felt in my life before one of them would give ANY pain medicine. The first two gave anti-inflammatories, not caring that I was in so much pain I was in a wheelchair, having trouble breathing, and had not slept hardly a wink for 3 fucking nights. Finally, the third doctor (in 2 days) said “Great Buddha! (I kid you not) You should not be suffereing like this!”. And he gave me an immediate shot of what I assume was morphine, and prescribed some maximum-dosage Lortabs. That night, I slept soundly for the first time in 3 days, and didn’t wake up crying from the pain. In a week, I was all better - and no pain-killer addiction.
The short of it is - if your doctor will not relieve your pain, seek another.
I agree that pain is under-treated in the US.
But I also know several people who went through withdrawal that in their opinions was worse than the pain. Admittedly, a couple of them were given meds in Vietnam–heavy-duty narcs too-liberally provided. But I think it perfectly reasonable that doctors be required to jump through hoops to prescribe SchedII drugs.
Again, though, I agree that there is a culture of under-medication for pain.
And Bill I still maintain that lawyers are the symptom, not the disease. I find it a little puzzling to see you, of all people, generalizing with such hatred.
*Originally posted by andros *
(looking down like a little boy with his hands in his pockets kicking the dirt) I know. But I have been sued probably more times for stupid reasons by a mean I mean mean(funny series of words)lawyer that looked like the Nazi dentist in the movie “The Marathon Man” so yes I don’t like lawyers. And I will and have ask God to help me with this problem. And your right it is a broad generalization I am using. I will put it this way it is 90% of the plaintiff attorneys that make the other 10% look bad. .
And Antos, even God knew the court system is not a good thing to use for his people and told them not to use it.
Anthracite–I totally agree with you, and I didn’t want to let my wording make you think that I don’t.
The doctor has to weigh the potential side effects of a pain medication against its benefit, just like he would with any drug or procedure. The problem is that most doctors 1.) overestimate the side effects, and 2.) underestimate the benefit of pain relief to the patient.
Judgements about pain medication should not be based on any legal threat, but on the clinical situation itself. I personally think that inadequate pain relief is outright malpractice. Thankfully, more and more doctors are agreeing with me.
Dr. J
Well, I quoted you originally because I thought I was agreeing with you. It seems we both agree with each other. 
Wildest Bill, I just saw this thread and do I feel for you!! I just went through my FOURTH lithotripsy two days ago, to break up a 8mm stone that wasn’t there six months ago. The stint is a bitch isn’t it? I am female so the placement would be somewhat different, but with me the end would JUST tickle inside the bladder and make you feel like you needed to urinate ALL the time! The doctor still doesn’t say what may be causing them to recur(they started 3 1/2 years ago)but the next step is called a 24-hour urinalysis. Yum! You save it all for 24 hours and MAIL it to a lab in Oklahoma City and they send back to the doctor an in depth analysis of your chemical waste. Tasty. Have you had this done yet? I remember when the doctor told me that some of his femal patients who were mothers said that kidney stones were more painful than childbirth. I haven’t borne a child but it was still the worst pain I ever felt. Once they gave me Demerol. I LOVED it. You don’t care what happens then! Anyway, hope you get it conquered. Keep us posted.
Baker,
Lady, I feel for you. 4 torture chamber sessions for the same stone wow! Mind is real big too. I hope don’t have to go through another one of those fun shock sessions. I gotta know did they give you a tshirt? :rolleyes:
And don’t feel alone in the feeling like you gotta pee all the time it is doing the same dern thing to me. Plus I actually do have to go about every 5 to 10 minutes. This whole situation is horrible.
I gotta know after the fouth lipto did the little sucker come out? And if it did(stone came out), how much did it hurt when they took the stint out? I am very paranoid about them taking that stint out without me being under a general anastetic(sp) I mean it is a pretty big tube to go trough such a little hole. :eek:
Anyway thanks for your concern.
[hijack]
I grew up there. I knew there had to be some purpose for that place other than the Cowboy and Firemen Halls of Fame.
[/hijack]
Wildest Bill, it wasn’t the same stone but NEW ones each time. I’ll pass all the fragments, show a clean X-Ray, and then six months or a year or so later more of the little bastards(and some not so little)show up. That’s what the urinalysis will be for, to see if there is a chemical imblance in my body that lets these stones come back. At least with this latest one I’m not enduring the stint, but I have done it twice. I called the office and spoke to the doctors nurse and they could write me a prescription for something that lessened the feeling the stint causes. Maybe they can do it for you too. It wouldn’t hurt(pardon the pun) to give the office a call.
I only wish the doctor had told me this after the second time I got them. I’ve wasted a lot of time, money, and my health is at risk, and I want to stop these little bastards!!! I can’t go on for the rest of my days like this, being a cash cow for the hospital.
PS forgot to mention that it didn’t hurt too much to have the stint out. Rather like great discomfort, and it was done in the doctor’s office, not in the hospital. But as I said, the placement of the stint will be different for me than for you. Let me know how your removal goes.
Hey baker,
Doesn’t your stint go up your I can’t think of a easier or nicer way to say it so what the…you know “your pee hole” sorry? If not, where do they stick yours through to get it in there.
And if it is there. It didn’t hurt at all when it came out. Oh I forgot about y’all threshold for pain is lot more than ours. So no matter it is going to hurt for me.
And far as being a cash cow to hospitols I know exactly what you mean.
Sua,
I think your insurance company is ripping you off in an emerency situation I don’t think they can tell you where to go to get treatment especially if the facility is further away.
I am not a doctor, but I think it’s safe for me to say that urine should NOT be red, unless you’re taking some sort of medicine or dye. Red urine probably means that you’re bleeding inside, in which case you need to go to a doctor NOW.
Bill, you are correct about the placement of the stint. By the way, the name of the tube that goes up to the bladder is the ureter, and was described in Gray’s Anatomy as being about the diameter of a goose quill. So it doesn’t take much to block it up. An 8m stone in the kidny,like I just had blasted, is WAY too big to pass. Just about an hour ago I had a call from a follow-up person at the hospital. She was checking on how I felt, was I treated nice, etc. Well, I was, treated nice I mean, because after all they have to keep their investments happy. Maybe I didn’t REALLY mean that last crack, but I freakin’ want this ordeal to be over!!!
Just to ensure there is no confusion
the uretra goes from the outside world into the bladder
the ureters (two of them in the body) go one each from the bladder to its repsective kidney.
blood in the urine is deffinately a bad thing, either your bleeding in a kidney itself (really bad) or somewhere in the lower excratory system (bad)
Just something else to consider (I just now finished the A&P section of my paramedic school, taught by the same professors at the UNM medical school, so I am full of intersting trivia at the moement) – Kidney stones are not nice round little pebbles – they are much like “goatheads” – really pointy. The treatments to breakup the stones are beging to fall out of “style”. It has been found that when the stone breaks, it often breaks into many little shards, each shard being more destructive to the epitheal lining of the ureter than the single stone.
Kinoons,
So what are the new methods for getting rid of the little suckers? Also do you know if the stint’s hurt coming out of a guy? And what happens if the stone doesn’t come out what do they do next(btw it is up to high to do a basket removal.)
BTW I totally love your sig line. Patton was one of my favorite Generals of all time but I did not ever here that one before it is funny and wise.
I don’t really know how the stones are removed if they fail to descend into the bladder. My WAG would be that if there was no way to get it to descend, it could be removed surgically. I do have access to some resources at the UNM Health Sciences Libary, give me a day or so and I’ll see what I can dig up about the current procedures to remove Kidney stones.
As far as the stint’s coming out, It’s not what I would call a pleasent experience.
*Originally posted by kinoons *
Oh great. I might as put a gun to my head now. I am pain wuss when it comes to my crotch area.
What can be done is something called a nephrolithotomy, in which a small incision is made over the kidney, and a scope is passed in. It allows a surgeon to remove the stone directly. See this site for information: http://my.webmd.com/content/dmk/dmk_article_3961685
You might also want to get a referral to a metabolic specialist or a nephrologist to see if there is a reason you’re getting all these stones. My dad has gout, and when he’s dehydrated (like from exercise), he gets stones. He controls it through diet and medication and pushing fluids when he’s sweating a lot.
Robin