Kinda a silly question but just wondering.

I did last week.  The baseball-bat-hit-to-the-kidneys pain landed on me at work, while I was driving my patrol car.

I was able to drive myself to the ER, nearly passing out, but did make it.  Got out of the PC, the pain kinda fizzled, so I thought it was just a muscle strain, then it started back.  Thought well, I better go in.

Problem:
I went in the wrong door.  Instead of going in the ambulance bay doors, I go in the ER admit doors.  I have to stand there and fill out paper work, while it feels like Mike Tyson is having a hay day on my kidneys.  Then we go to Triage.  Can't sit down, RN does her stuff and all I can do is stand there gripping the desk, rocking back and forth.

Finally, we back to the rooms, gotta walk....
Have to get undressed.  My partner and the other SRT medic is there.  BAD COMBINATION!
I can't undress, so they have to take off my duty rig and help me with me trousers.  These two guys are loving it.  These two are cutting up making fun of me, I'm trying not to laugh, because it hurts even worse to laugh.  I finally say something to them about being knucleheads just as two Houston firemen are walking down the hallway.  They stop and say who you calling a knucklehead, you're the one on gurney writhing in pain! :)

Finally, IV is started - hardly even noticed the venipuncture.  RN dude, says here is some Tordal, should be good in about five minutes.  After ten, team medic tells them ain't working. Comes in with Demerol and Phenagren.  Don't even feel the burn of phenegren..........
           WOOOO WHHOOOOOO!  
You talk about feeling good in no time flat!

Pee Pee in bottle, feels like a boulder.  Low and behold there it is.  About the size of a BB cut in half.  You would never think that something so small would cause so much pain.

Doc comes in with a with a stool test kit for blood - called a Gwuyack (sp?) Kit with rubber gloves on!  I tell her, No.  She says what?  I tell her, I know what that is for and No!  She says we need to make sure your prostate is ok.  I tell her my prostate is fine, ask my wife but in the mean time, No! I apologize for being hard headed but the kidney stone is in the bucket.  She says, It was a kidney stone!  Well duh!

I am just 31 yoa and will never go through that again!  That was the worst pain I have ever experienced.  Even had a serious parachute jump injury while in the military and that does even come close!

Anybody else have story?

Now you know why there are so many junkies in the world....the shit feels goooood.

Seriously, I did a few stints in ERs as a EMT-P and as a SF medic.
Kidney stones have got to be the worst. I've seen gun shot victims that didn't display half the pain as a patient suffering from an acute kidney stone episode.
Most docs don't mess around and go straight to Morphine to kill the pain.
You are right though....it a blast watching a friend crawling around on thier hands and knees crying like a baby [:)]

Thought I'd add this as an afterthought...your expierence validates the effectivness of a kidney strike, if delivered properly. One of the knock-out strikes on a human.

I am 50 years old and have experienced Kidney stones about four times.  My first encounter was much like yours but the stone was never found.  It began as profuse sweating, nausea, vomiting and finally the good ole rabbit punches to the kidneys.  I received morphine at the hospital at about 10:00 AM.  At 3:00 PM after having told the nurses numerous times that I was ready to go, I jerked out the IV, spewed blood everywhere and walked out of the hospital.  Repeat attacks are bad but not like the first.  Check your diet. Since you are a Police Officer I assume that you drink a lot of coffee or caffeinated beverages which are probably the source of the stone.  But then again, who knows?  They can analyze it and tell you with some certainty what you need to eliminate from your diet.  Welcome to the club!  Old age doesn't get any better!

Yup, I'm fifty five now...and I passed one twenty five years ago.  Damn thing woke me up in the middle of the night.  Hurt so bad I couldn't drive to the hospital.  Since my wife had just delivered our daughter and had just come home two days before, she wasn't fit to drive either.  I called my dad who drove over and picked me up.  The ER folks were great...except for the smug nurse who took some evil pleasure in telling me her female patients with kiney stones tell the story of it hurting just like childbirth!  Well...since I had never contemplated having kids...I didn't really give a damn about that!  I mean...it ain't my job...so just bring the drugs!  They refused...I guess in 1976, they'd rather watch you squirm.  They did make me drink as much as possible...and pee in a specimen cup.  After about an hour or so...on one of the many painful attempts...CLINK!  There it was...and it IS amazing how such a small rock can hurt so damn much.
Cheap advice: Watch your diet especially those liquids, there are a couple of types of stones caused by different things, and drink lots of water all the time.  I'm sure the docs told you that already...and I'd think getting out of the cruiser as much as possible to walk around would help too.
Good luck.
This helps too...[beer]

[b]3 solid years worth[/b]

I'm sure most of you guys are familier with the kidney horror stories I had been posting over the past year, but it seems to be 100% completely fixed now... I'm now 1 month pain free, thank God!

My problem was very rare and created a unique situation.  I had a diverticulum ([i]pocket[/i]) in the top of my right kidney that held fluid and wouldn't drain, so it just kept swelling to the point that it couldn't possibly expand anymore without tearing.  

[u]This pocket did 3 things:[/u]
{1} it created a bacteria chamber causing infections.
{2} it produced and held 1/4" stones the size of large peas.
{3} since this pocket was the size of an adults thumb, the pain was directly proportional to having a stone that was the size of a thumb.

There were many times over the past couple of years that the pain so severe, I very seriously considered suicide, since there was no possible way I could live like this...

For a year, the doctors didn't have a clue what was causing it, then as the pocket began to get larger and larger, they figured it out.  It took 2 trips to Mayo's in Scottsdale to get this fixed, and I was only given a 30% chance of success this last time, but by the grace of GOD, it worked!  ([i]Kidney removal was planned if the repair procedure didn't work this past time[/i])


FWIW: The reason a stone is so painful, is because it is a crystal of sorts, with hundreds of razor sharp jagged edges, and your kindey is probably the softest and most sensitive organ in your body.

Damn that bites. I too am in the process of passing stones.

Sat in ER for 3 hours on wednesday before I got so pissed off that Not 1 person had seen me yet that I grabbed my stuff and left.

I went home and dealt with it.

I seem to pass 1 about every 6 months or less.
All are about 5mm in size.

This last was not as bad as some in the past.

I did learn 1 thing tho,
My local Hospital in totally inept.
If we had Any sort of major tragedy here,
The loss of life from lack of Medical attention would be astounding.

I have never met such a bunch of idiots in my life. There was less than 5 people in the waiting room and they were totally lost.
And this The Major Hospital for the whole county.

As you can tell I am still fuming about the situation.

Worse yet, Right not I am the only Crew Chief that my company has and I am needed to run several crews, so I had to go right back to work the next day. Still pissing blood. And having screaming pain.

We are busier at work now than we were so far this whole year.

When it rains, it pours.

I have always heard that the best thing to do to prevent them was drink plenty of water, and get exercise.

GunLvr

You want a kidney stone horror story?  With the exception of AntiUSSA, I think I've got y'all beat by a mile.

Last year I developed two stones - both about 1.1-1.2 cm (no, NOT millimeters, centimeters - a little bigger in diameter than a 9mm slug).  Didn't feel a thing until one got lodged in the uretor; then it was more pain than I ever would have believed possible.  Went to the ER, and after about 3 hits of demerol, the pain was still there but at least bearable.  Because it was so large and stuck, it had caused the kidney to back up with fluid, which, it turn, caused a very serious infection.  Docs decided to go in through my back with a tube to drain the kidney before it got worse.  Unfortunately they didn't give me enough antibiotic coverage, the infection got loose in my system and threw me into septic shock, which very nearly killed me.  Additionally, sometime during my 2 week stay in critical condition in the ICU and CCU, I somehow contracted a VRE (Vancomyacin Resistant Enterococcus) which has become colonized in the kidney and makes treating any kidney infection infinitely more difficult since Vanco is usually the drug of choice.  When they went in to get the stone out (again, through the back) they punctured the uretor which healed up, but in a manner which sealed off the normal channel to the bladder.  After that I went to Johns Hopkins and they somehow managed to fix what three other hospitals and three sets of doctors managed to completely fuck up.

Delmarksman -

Was your experience at Christiana?  One of the idiots that fucked me up so badly was at Christiana.

Dang Anti and Shaggy!

I guess I won't complain as much.
Well, I have learned a few things about them.

It seems for the most part they are very common in people who consume sodas.  Plus other factors.

I have cut back on my sodas and doing some natural stuff to stop this problem before it happens again.

If anyone is interested, let me know.  I will pass it on.

Drink lots of water and supplemented by cranberry juice.  Some docs say it don't work, I say hog wash.  Seems to really help flush the kidneys.

I am determined to be stone free!

I always considered myself to have a low pain threshold, until I had a kidney stone. When it started, I didn't know what it was. I thought I'd slept wrong or something. Three days later I woke up around 3:00 a.m. and drove myself to the hospital. The doctor said I was in shock and asked who had driven me. I told him I'd driven myself. I was on IV painkillers for several hours until I got to have a nice little bath while they used a sound generator to break up the stone. I passed half a dozen 2-3mm fragments over the next week. Luckily it hasn't recurred in the past five years. I know that in the future I won't be 'toughing it out'.

Tachyon

Hope you're feeling better...and have an IVP scheduled.

IF you are offered lithotripsy/ESWL, do it!
Breaks up the stones with sound waves.

I used to be administrator of the kidney stone clinic and referrals for lithotripsy at a V.A. medical center.

That made me laugh-not-because I've had stone since my mid 20's, a looong time ago.

If you trust herbal/alternate medicines, ask at the local botanica for Palo Dulce. It is an imported wood, used to make a tea...helped me..no stones for 5  yrs, other than just a tiny bit of gravel that didn't take an ER trip.
Make sure you get the sliced, mature wood.

PossumKiller
email for instructions on the wood tea if interested.

I went to Kent General.

Christiana is Infinitely better.

So that doesn't say much.

1 of the reasons for me being the only available Chief is because BOTH hospitals
Failed to diagnose Salmonella poisoning and my Other chief has been out for the last 3 weeks.

It took a Native American "Lenape" to figure it out.
He was a friend who just stopped by to see them.
It was 1 of his first questions.


Del

2 bouts with them.  Drank lots of fluids  & passed rather quickly - thank god.  But worst pain I've ever had.

I'm 31 and have had two stones so far. One about a year ago and the first on about 4 years ago. The general consensus is once you have 1 you will most likely have another. The first one of course not knowing what it was I thought I was dying! I buckled over in pain and my Father rushed me to the ER. I got the morphine but it really didn't help! It took me 3 days to pass it. Then I was so happy! WoooHooo! The last on I had was the worse.3 trips to the ER and several doses morphine & Demerol, and I have a high tolerance for pain. So, after 8 days of agony and not being able to pass it I had to have surgery."Scopic" surgery in which they go through the hole in your penis and find the stone and pull it out. The fun part was waking up after surgery and having to go to the bathroom realizing I have a tube still inserted in my penis with a piece of stitching hanging out that is connected to it. The pain while urinating with the tube in was unbearable! The reason it was so painful is because the tube cuts off your natural vacuum and the urine flows back to your kidney as you start to go. Also for the first few times I pissed pure blood. I thought that couldn't be good so asked the Doc and he said it was normal. I had to leave the tube (Stent) in for 3 days while I healed. Then I had to go back to my doctors office so that the Nurse could remove the tube! Now I know what the string is for! WooooHoooo! That was a sensation I can do without. About 2 hours later I felt as good as knew!
Stones are caused for many different reasons if you really want to try and prevent them you need to have your stone analyzed so they can tell you. My grandfather has had them all his life. In his case it was dairy products causing calcium buildup creating the stones. My grandfather refused to give up his milk so he dealt with it. Drinking a lot of water will help and cranberry juice. Avoiding Soda and heavy amounts of dairy is good,too.I try to drink as much water as possible but it's pretty hard for me to drink what I should.  To bad it couldnt be beer.....


John

DAMN! You guys have me scared about these kidney stones.  I'm never drinking soda again!  Those sound nasty.  I'm 30 and have never had one and hope I never do. Yowch.

Crash

Only when Hillary was elected.

You got that right Crash!!! I'm cringing and slouching as I read these "horror stories"..
I have never seen this happen to anyone and hope I never have to.. God bless you guys who have dealt with these horrible little monsters!!

 OUCH!!
   hawkin

 

I passed two in 18 months. Doctor said to drink liquids as often as possible. No problems since taking his advise. Only problem is now I spend have my life in the HEAD!!!!!!

Well, I just grabbed a hugh glass of water to drink while I type.  I'm going to be in the can for half of my life now....

I had 3 of them last year. Woke up at 2:00 am in the most horrible pain I've ever felt. My wife had to drive me to the emergency room. Never having had one before, I didn't know what was causing the pain. I honestly thought I was going to die! I think that only people who've had kidney stones can understand the amount of pain involved. I always thought that they were something you get when you're older, but I'm only 33 and from what I've heard, they're becoming more common in younger people.
DRINK MORE WATER!!!!!

I went through a bout of kidney stones after a hard night in Tiajuana. I was made to wait in the Balboa Naval Hospital waiting room for an hour all the time pacing, wretching and damn near passing out from the pain plus was hung over. When I finally went to Triage the Corpsman took my BP and pulse, both of which were very high, and told me to go back to the waiting room. I said " I want to see a doctor now, I am not going back out there." He insisted that I leave and go back to the waiting room but I raised enough hell that a nurse finally came in, saw that I was sweating buckets and was in tremendous pain and wheeled me off in a gurney.

I was very dehydrated from the night before and I could not keep any water down long enough to pass the stone. The nurse set me up on a morphine and saline drips. I do know why some people can get hooked. The stuff was nice.

I laid on the gurney with saline and morphine drips for 2 hours before I could muster any liquid to pass. I stood and while holding a plastic piss catcher was treated to the sound on the stone hitting the bottom a solid 3 seconds before any liquid came out. I was so amazed that I went to raise the urinal to take a gander at the offending stone damn near pissing all over the floor.  I finished and finally got my first look at this implement of pain.

Mine was jagged and kind of dark but was not just a single color. The tips of the jags were a lighter color on some of the spines. I was amazed that something that small brought me to my knees. I went back for the dye treatment to see if any permanent damage was done to my urinary tract. Luckily I was ok. I feel for anyone who goes through this. Worst extended physical pain I have ever been through.

Interestingly enough, I too was told to drink lots of water to keep the stones from forming...  but with a severe diverticulum that held fluids, guess what..?  IT MADE IT WORSE! [pissed]

Hey guys, gallstones are just as fun!  Especially, when your doc just doesn't know how to diagnose 'em.  

My mom (she had 'em, too) told all the kids that if she had to choose again between passing gallstones and giving birth...labor wins.  Sure glad the gallbladder doesn't grow back...

Yes I passed one the size of a grapefruit through my Penis.

Well, hell, all you guys need is to get a prescription for a woman who can suck a grapefruit-sized kidney stone through a, ummm, "garden hose". . . .

Ask the head nurse.

Wow, those stories scared the piss outa me. Had no idea they were so common. I'm going to get a big glass of H2O. The water at my house has alot of dissolved limestone, does anybody know if that's a risk factor?

I drink a shit load of soda. I should be pissing  stones like a machine gun.

[uzi]

What do kidney stones taste like?

Tastes like blood.
Cause you are biting your lip so hard just to keep from crying out loud.

We put in a new water softener and have it set pretty high to eliminate those possibilities...

So, I wake up at about 3:00am, feeling like someone has put a broadhead into my lower back.  Stumble into the head, tool in hand and wait...wait...wait...ka-ching! Hosed out a stone the size of a BB, followed by about 1/2 pint of urine, blood and other particulate.

Back to bed.

Woke up again at about 4:30, pain was more like someone probing for my renal artery with a dull spoon.  Passed more blood. Shaking uncontrollably, I stumble back to bed.  Wife wakes up long enough to ask me to stop shaking the bed.  "Sorry, Hon, I'm just a little cold for some reason. C'mere and warm me up."  "Man, you're putting out heat like a wood stove!!". I had a 105.5 temperature.  Since I was cooking off brain cells at a rate that I could ill afford, I went to the doctor the next morning.

I just walked in without an appointment was seen.  Doctor asks, "Why are you here, today?"  I told him, "Because I passed a stone and now I've got a kidney infection."  He's like, "Oh! So how did you diagnose this?"  I said, "Well, Fred, based on the 105+ fever, the blood and pus in my urine and the one I put into he x-ring this morning!!"  He's says, "Well, I'll need a urine sample."  I get a little cup and was sent to the head to produce the required sample.  By this time, my urine was a thick green and red concotion that smelled slightly cadaverous.  I come out and hand him the sample cup.  He looks at it, does a double-take like Rodney Dangerfield and goes, "Holy shit!!! You're sick!!"  So, I said to him, "Did you have to go to medical school to come up with that diagnosis?  Because if you did, you better get your money back. Does this mean you'll prescibe some antibiotics and painkillers? I'm just about outta patience and energy."  

About 10 minutes later the nurse comes in with a tray that has got 2 syringes on it--and antibiotic and some Demerol.

Was advised to give up the Mountian Dew, which I used to consume at the rate of about 2 liters a day.

Oh Sweet Jesus!  You had to bring THIS up!  Yes, i've had kidney stones.  I started getting them at age 18 and had an "episode" almost once every year (one year had 2 in one month!!)  The worst was one time I had a bi-lateral obstuction (a stone in each ureter, the tube that comes out of the kidney and into the bladder) OHMYF'INGGOD was that the most painful experience I can imagine.  I passed out twice, had TWO shots of morphine and 1 of demerol and I still was flopping around.  I even passed out several times.  After 8 hours of torture, they moved to the bladder (each passed later).

[B]NEVER EVER DRINK CRANBERRY JUICE IF YOU SUFFER FROM KIDNEY STONES![/B]

The most common kind of stone is Calcium Oxalate.  Forms a BB with millions of f'ing needles on them.  Cranberry Juice is high in Oxalic Acid.  You'll just be giving yourself more shit.  Water is the only way to go with re-hydration.

Even worse, my urologist told me that even avoiding all the bad stuff my chances are still 50/50 in getting another one.  Its just bad genetics.

Tordol is the best for pain management.  Non-narcotic (so you're not 'disconnected') and very powerful.