At home, battling a kidney stone..some thoughts

[scheming daemons]

Last edited Wed Jan 22, 2020, 09:33 PM - Edit history (1)

1. This is my 4th one. At 9mm wide, this is the biggest one I have had.

2. Many people say this, and it is true.... this is the most physically painful thing I have ever experienced.

3. Pain first hit at 11pm last night. Tried to tough it out and hoped it would pass, but at 4am I cried oncle and had my wife take me to ER.

4. As the drugs began to kick in, my thoughts went to "how do people without insurance or with high deductibles deal with this?" Do they stay home and suffer through it? This is why we need to save the ACA, add a public option, and begin working toward full universal care.

5. Many people say they wouldn't wish this pain on their worst enemies. I disagree. I specifically wish this pain on my worst enemies. I would love every Senate GOPer to feel this pain. I would love Trump to feel this pain. If that makes me a bad person, so be it.

6. You make a lot of promises to invisible omnipotent beings when pain like this hits. Promises that I probably won't keep now that the drugs have kicked in.

[empedocles]

1. Immediate. litres of water. Next diet.

[albacore]

47. No matter what I do... ZERO oxalates and low calcium...

... I still get 'em. Big fuckers, too.

2 different urologists scratch their heads.

Lithotripsy is my friend.

[Ms. Toad]

62. some people just get them -

My spouse is one of them. She's had 4, if memory serves correctly. Her's aren't large - but they are incredibly painful. they are spikey and get stuck on their way out so they always have to be removed by surgery (the first) or lithotripsy (the rest).

[albacore]

64. Yeah... I love being told by a guy with a whole slew of initials after his name..."We dunno" nt

[Peacetrain]

2. Must be the time of the season sd... I took hubby to the er

2 days ago with his second bought of stones..

[safeinOhio]

3. I know that pain..

I started drinking a half gallon a day of iced raspberry hibiscus herbal tea every day or two and have not had an attack since..

Best of luck

[MyOwnPeace]

4. You have my sympathies!!!!!

I SO agree with statement #5 - a right and just wish!!!!

[bluestarone]

5. Had SAME problem last year! 8mm.

Urologist Finally had to chase it down with laser! (He ended up getting this one And another one) WOW your right PAIN! Take care and speedy recovery to you!

[Rebl2]

6. I have kidney

stones in both kidneys and have for many years. My dr. put me on something called potassium citrate and take six of them a day. It helps to keep them from getting bigger is what was explained to me. If you keep them small they are less likely to move-again what my dr. said. I go to a nephrologist. Do you?

[Blue_true]

44. I read at some point that every person has kidney stones, in the

vast majority of people, they never get large and are easily passed from the body.

[Kali]

7. most painful thing I ever went through, at least until the morphine kicked in

the husband gets them fairly regularly but must have big tubes - he gets uncomfortable but seems to pass them fairly easily (and they are branched and BIG!) he is a freak.

to your point, yes if you have no insurance you suffer or die. that is the way the assholes want it. why should any poor people have any relief from suffering? they obviously deserve it for being poor in the first place.

[albacore]

48. I've got "delicate" tubes. The goddam urologist used that word.

Also... "small".

Just what every man wants to hear... that anything in his urinary apparatus is
"delicate".

[Kali]

55. LOL

[kysrsoze]

8. My condolences. Mine were much smaller, but all i could do was lie in a fetal position

Without the painkillers, the pain was absolutely terrible. I was told it compares to child birth, which must truly suck, pain-wise.

I wouldn't wish this on anyone except the entire WH Administration, Dump and the House/Senate Repubs.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. I found the pain to be worse than labor with twins.

Afterwards, I found myself wishing golf ball sized kidney stones on everyone I dealt with in that ER.

[Duppers]

30. I've passed only one.

The pain was worse than my labor pains for my 10lb son!! Truth.

(Labor with my daughter however was most painful in so many ways. She was transverse and my doc wouldn't believe I was in labor until my husband told him that I was passing vernix, my labor was so hard. My poor daughter died.)

[Crunchy Frog]

40. That's awful! I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

[Duppers]

42. Thank you. 🤗

Sometimes we're even too traumatized to pursue a lawsuit.

[lunatica]

51. That's terrible!

My god! It must have been horrible! Hugs to you and your family. I’m so sorry that this happened to you.

[Duppers]

59. Thank you!

This doc (a ob-gyn in NN, VA) drove a sports Mercedes with vanity plates...so, yrs later, when I discovered his car in a restaurant parking lot where hubby & I planned to eat, I pulled out a tube of lipstick (no permanent damage) & left a message.

Hubby wanted to leave but I insisted on going in, so we did & placed our orders. I scanned the restaurant, found him eating way across the room at a big table accompanied by his nurses. I unfolded my big napkin, got out a pen and composed a short, blunt message telling him NEVER to do to another patient what he did to me and to my daughter. I walked it over, dropped it directly in front of him, and watched. He turned white and got up and left immediately! I felt some small degree of relief. He remembered me and will always remember, I hope.

The way patients are too often treated is deplorable. I adore the good docs here on DU but I bet they've heard some horror stories about others in their field.

[lunatica]

61. You showed remarkable restraint!

It’s small comfort but the nurses must have talked about the incident back at the hospital or/and his office. He wouldn’t be able to run away like a coward then. I’m so sorry.

[applegrove]

52. So sorry.

[mahina]

54. Just hugs

[Duppers]

60. Aww, thank you!

[Crunchy Frog]

9. I had one nearly 5 years ago. Will NEVER go to the ER again if I get another.

My treatment in the ER was the worst experience of my life. I was given nothing for the pain and was treated worse than an animal. Wasn't even given any hydration.

I'm guessing I was treated like shit because I was on Medicaid.

I certainly would wish that kind of pain on pretty much everyone I encountered in that ER.

If it ever happens again, I've got my own pain management supplies at home, and certainly know how to care for myself better than I was "cared" for there.

And yes I'm still very bitter.

I'm very happy for you that you were treated well and given appropriate pain management.

[scheming daemons]

14. That's horrible

I am thankful that the ER was very empty at 4am at my local hospital.

They took care of me quickly, and got the pain meds within 30 mins of arriving.

[Duppers]

31. I'm so sorry for you.

Nothing is worse than being mistreated by medical staff. BTDT. Re: my post above.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Chanca Piedra at your local health food store to disolve them.

.

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientreview-441-CHANCA+PIEDRA.aspx

.

[bluestarone]

38. Just want to thank you for your advice!

I will check into this!!

[wiggs]

43. Yes...I did Chanca piedra for a couple of months and have to say I think

it did do something.

It's not for every day of the year....but every so often I think I'll do twice a day regimen for a month or two as preventative. I had minor symptoms and IMO Chanca helped pass a few stones uneventfully. I did Chanca tea alongside a 'stone free' herbal supplement. The local homeopath swore it would work. I think it did.

On the other hand, before I knew about Chanca I had a sizable kidney stone and then lithotripsy, where they break up the stone with sound vibrations. I got blocked up from the stone fragments trying to escape and quickly found myself in the ER begging for drugs. The blockage resolved quickly after that....but it was an experience I don't need to repeat!

[dewsgirl]

11. My husband has had several, depending on the severity

and our financial/insurance situation, there were a couple times he didn't go, he survived I wouldn't recommend it. A businessman I know, in my town had one that took three weeks to pass, I don't know how he survived.
Good luck to you, I hope it passes soon.
Number 5. Is great.

[wcmagumba]

12. Three timer...

1st time passed into the funnel while at work, 2nd time they did the sound wave smash up thing (technician's famous words "this won't hurt", she was sooo wrong), third time I tried the olive oil mixed with lemon juice home remedy, this was extremely bad tasting and I can't say it really did the trick but after drinking this mixture just once, the stone passed the next day....all three episodes hurt like h*ll so I feel your pain....hang in there as best you can....

[SCantiGOP]

15. My daughter had several in her late teens

and early 20s. A female doctor once told me that she had had two children and one kidney stone. She said that if she had to choose the pain of one, she would go through birth again.
Hang in there daemons; This too shall pass (pun intended).

[greatauntoftriplets]

16. Feel better!

[HAB911]

17. OMG, my sincere sympathy

by far the worst experience of my life, and I had shingles once.

and I just remembered, my brother had 100+, kept them in a vial for old times sake. He was a stronger man than me.

[BigDemVoter]

18. Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink. . . .

It needs to be flushed out. Those damned things are HORRIBLE.

[Coleman]

19. Through 2 of them

I had stents put in. The first one because I was going to Alaska, the other one because I was going to Galapagos. Still a bit of pain, especially when I urinated. And the blood, wow. But if I was the type to become addicted to something (other than sugar) morphine would be it.

Oh and my last one was made of uric acid, so they had a hard time tracking it with x-rays.

[mnhtnbb]

20. Ouch. I will confirm it is the worst pain. Way worse than labor.

I had one once. Toughed it out. Alone. Just kept drinking water and more water. Called the doc on call for our family physician (my MD husband was out of town) and he confirmed to just keep drinking water. Take Tylenol. And if it got so bad I couldn't handle it, go to the ER. I toughed it out and eventually passed the stone.

I learned the hard way to make sure to hydrate every day.

Hang in there. It will pass.

[MFM008]

21. My sympathy

Ive had 3. I get it.
I drink cran- cherry to help...
I get UTIs along with the stones...

[justhanginon]

22. I feel for you. I have had them all my life.

Mine started back in the fifties in service. I have three incision scars from back then, two on the left side and one on the right about nine or ten inches long and a one to two week stay in the hospital. Then it went down to just a one or two inch incision for the next couple. Fun times! Now they pretty much blast them to small easily passed fragments and have had that done a few times also. I think I have one working now that i can feel on my left side but can handle it so far and hopeing it will pass as some others have.
Good luck!

[woodsprite]

23. OMG! I SOOO feel for you. I've been thinking the same re: the pain.

Pain meds are awesome! I just had a 9mm blasted with sound waves (lithotripsy) on Monday afternoon. I was told that a female can't pass more than a 5-6mm so they suggested a procedure. I hated having the stent before, so chose lithotripsy. I had a 12mm and a 5mm in 2018 where they ended up doing both types of procedures to get rid of them. People who haven't had kidney stones just don't understand that it is a pain you will never forget.

The pros/cons of lithotripsy are 1) it's not invasive, 2) your 9mm is now broken up into smaller gravel that you still have to pass, 3) passing the bits can take anywhere from a week to several months, 4) within a day or two after the procedure you are feeling back to normal, 5) pain only recurs when you're actively passing the gravel bits. The pros/cons of ureteroscopy is that 1) it's invasive, 2) you usually come home with a stent that stays in about 5 or so days (so not fun; painful and annoying), 3) they can see exactly what they're going after, laser it, and flush out a good portion of the gravel bits before you even wake up.

Oh, make sure you can get a small amount of pain meds to keep with you once this bout is over if you don't end up passing it or a doc taking care of it. I don't travel anyplace without 2 doses of prescription pain meds, just in case one starts to get active and I can't get to the ER right away.

Sending many healing and positive thoughts your way!

[Different Drummer]

24. You have my sympathies!

I've had a couple. The first one, I was able to pass on my own. The second one hit me last summer and was apparently pretty big. I couldn't pass that one--had to have surgery to have it removed.

Hope you get better soon, daemons!

[Roy Rolling]

25. It took 3 Times for me

The third attack, I immediately drank as much water as I could hold down and bounced up and down to dislodge it.

It sounds crazy and I don't recommend it, but it is 100% true. I have not had another kidney stone attack since I have remembered to drink water.

How stupid has the human race become that we don't even drink enough water? It took me two ER visits to catch on.

[Blue_true]

46. People hate having to pee a lot. I have developed a habit of drinking a lot more water.

I had a clinician explain to me that water also helps with blood circulation and helps reduce work that people's hearts do. Seems commonsense, but most people never hear that.

[marble falls]

26. They found mine one (so far) doing another procedure and I got it removed painlessly.

[keithbvadu2]

27. My first one was on a Navy ship off Camp LeJune. Rode to shore in an AAV, a swimming bulldozer.

My first one was on a Navy ship off Camp LeJune. Rode to shore in an AAV, a swimming bulldozer.

Not one of your better rides in pain.

First of many.

A cement block studded with nails ripping its way through your guts.

[gademocrat7]

28. Wishing you well.

Take care.

[3sam3]

29. Lemon juice

a 1/2 cup of lemon juice in 2 qts of water. My brother was operated on to remove one. His Dr. recommended it.
No problems since then. I do too as my well water here coats everything with a deposit of crust. It's
good all year long. Nice in summer especially. Lemonade w/o the sugar. It's a great toilet cleaner too. One cup, let set, it'll loosen it all up. Brush and... For that buy the cheap stuff. If you can afford lemons go that route. Good luck sd.

[Hortensis]

32. So sorry you're going through this. My husband finally had his

gallbladder out, but not before a (at that time painless) blocked bile duct turned him yellow and briefly terrified everyone about the possibility of liver cancer. Being the kind of guy who never gets tired of his own jokes, he likes to claim "I want my gallbladder back!," but definitely not really.

Of course most people going through this are driven to seek care, if not always, definitely when it's as bad as yours, and then they go through a whole different kind of pain when the bills start arriving. So +1000 to #4. Always.

And also to #5!

It's a few hours later now, Daemons. Sure hope you're feeling better.

[Vinca]

33. Ouch, that's miserable, but a great time to be drugged.

Hope the darn thing passes soon. Have you had your uric acid checked in your blood? Sometimes that can cause them and there's a drug to prevent the uric acid crystals from causing havoc. If you've ever had gout, that's the uric acid, too.

[TNNurse]

34. Have never had a kidney stone,

but as a nurse, I met many patients with them. It was as severe pain as I have ever witnessed. I can remember patients squatting in the floor as that was the least miserable position for them. Have been away from it for awhile, but wonder if they thought this was one you could pass? Do they still blast them with ultrasound to break them up? Take the drugs while you need them.

As I read your words about wishing this on others, I remembered that when I was going through chemo, I knew that I would not wish breast cancer on anyone. It was 2012 and there were some GOP women who I could not even wish it upon and they were people who were truly awful. However, cancer can kill you....kidney stone pain is pain, not a terminal diagnosis. So, I am good with you wishing this pain on those you mentioned. They just might catch on to the need for others to have coverage for health care. Not really, they are raging assholes who do not care about anyone but themselves. They do not even care about saving the planet for their children and grandchildren.

[busterbrown]

35. Nothing funny about those things....

But I do a little stand-up and did a bit concerning my Kidney Stone.
Was in Sarasota Florida visiting my mom who just turned 101 years old.

1 day into my visit and then the pain hit You guys described it all perfectly.. My Dr.in Sarasota.. Took it out and left the stent in.. and told me to make an apt, when I got back to L.A.

So I'm on my back in L.A. at a Drs. office (Urologist) naked from the waist down waiting for the Dr.with a nurse... kind of weird.. a quick bit of fantasizing... but man.. fear will always outrank sex fantasies every time.

So in comes the Dr. with his white Md. outfit ready to extract the stint..He looks at me naked on my back with the nurse and calmly states.... "Now I want you be BRAVE!" "Brave"!!! Fuck that!! Being Brave is not what I wanted to hear..Brave is a word you hear for soldiers in combat, Fireman who risk their lives.. etc.. Yea the stone came out....But I'll never forget his ridiculous suggestion to "be brave".

[woodsprite]

37. All I got was "Stand up, drop your drawers to your knees, and take a deep breath".

Then she pulled. The med assistant was like "Doesn't it just look like a little piece of spaghetti?" It might have looked like a piece of spaghetti, but it felt like a piece of 3" pvc shoved up there!

[busterbrown]

65. Yep.. You never sure whats gonna happen to ya..

Thank God she wasn't referring to your anatomy ......

[moondust]

36. Hypercalcemia?

Be sure to have calcium level checked.

[Golden Raisin]

39. You have my complete sympathy.

I've had 2 "attacks" in my life and when I had a scan for something else my doctor told me I have another stone in me. It was literally the worst pain I have ever felt, and I have a very high tolerance for pain. The first time, not knowing exactly what was happening, I thought perhaps I was dying or poisoned (the attack commenced with a lot of vomiting). At the ER when the doctor touched my back near my kidney I involuntarily jumped about 3 feet off the examination table straight up in the air. The second attack I at least knew what was going on. I passed one stone at the hospital ER and the no-nonsense African-American nurse who was checking me out looked up from her desk and said, "And now you know how your mama felt when she had you!"

[tishaLA]

41. Hope you feel better

I had them twice, both soon after I left the hospital for heart failure. Turns out they overdid it on the diuretics when I was in CCU and that ended up causing them.

The meds definitely help. Best of luck to you.

[MissMillie]

45. The one I had made it only so far, and it wouldn't budge

so they went in after it.

Absolutely the worst pain I have ever had. Even worse than childbirth.

[UTUSN]

49. So sorry

[Zolorp]

50. My last kidney stone I had no insurance.

I laid in bed drinking as much water as I possibly could and toughed it out until it finally passed about 62 hours after it started.

Took another two days before I could get out of bed.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

53. So sorry to hear... wish I had some good advice. All the best for a quick recovery!!

[DFW]

56. I have heard it is one of the worst pains one can experience.

A friend of mine in Dallas is currently in the hospital getting a kidney stone treated, and with him, it's not trivial--he only HAS one kidney. Cancer took the other one decades ago. He just turned 80, and this is the first time in 30 years I have been in Dallas and NOT seen him.

[Codeine]

57. Like pissing fire and razor blades.

Unimaginable pain, which thankfully I’ve only had to go through once.

[spanone]

58. Been dealing with stones about 12 years....

It's the worse pain I have ever endured.

Hang in there....Hope you pass it soon.

[Ms. Toad]

63. Most potent argument against the restrictions on pain killers.

My spouse has repeated kidney stones.

Her urologist is always backed up for at least a week.

Since she's had stones, we recognize them when they arrive. If you've had them, they are unmistakable. BUT since she can't get in to see her urologist - AND - he can't phone in a narcotic pain pill for her she is forced to go to the ER (where they can do nothing for her but tell her to go see a urologist AND - prescribe a pain pill)

So - to get relief from the pain she has to use ER resources to acquire pain pills that cost pannies because unless the doctor physically sees her (which he can't ever do with less than a 1-week wait) he cannot prescribe the pain medication they both agree she needs to have while she takes FloMax and waits to see if it will pass.

What a waste of time and resources!!!