Kidney Stones Are No Joke!

Kidney stones were something my brother got, not me. He has been in and out of the hospital on multiple occasions with them. I never thought of them except when he had them.

Then came the worst day of my life. It was 5 am on a Saturday morning. I felt a pop in my back and then the most excruciating pain I’d ever felt. I swear I thought my back had broken or an ovary had burst.

For the next hour I walked around trying to “walk it off” like I was a football player who had just been run over by a 300-pound dude in a helmet and pads. This did not go so well.

The pain was on my right side in the middle of my back. It came in waves that got progressively worse. I couldn’t sit still because of the pain.

Another hour passed, and I was breathing like a woman in labor. The pain was so intense that I was throwing up. I finally called my parents. They live the closest to me. I don’t remember what I said, but I know I said that I thought I was dying.

They came to my rescue. I didn’t want to go to the hospital and after a few minutes of them being at my house the pain subsided to nothing. I figured whatever had happened was done. Boy was I wrong!!

The reprieve I got only lasted about 3 minutes. Then I was throwing up again. This convinced me that I should probably go to the ER and see what was wrong.

Pain + Medicine = Bliss

My dad drove, and he did a great job. I was in the back seat with a bucket in my hands. I was throwing up and he just kept driving like his child wasn’t in the back seat dying. I don’t think I could have kept it together like he did. My mom was watching me almost the entire trip up with a worried look on her face.

At the ER the receptionist asked me to fill out a paper with my name and complaint on it. Had I been in any other frame of mind I would have probably screamed at her. But, at that point I couldn’t even think straight.

I filled out the stupid paper. I had to write my name a few times because every time I got halfway through a fresh wave of pain would overcome me. I couldn’t read my handwriting, so I am not sure how the nurse did when he came to take me back.

My nurse was great. That I do remember. He asked about my pain and then asked for a urine sample. I was able to give him a little one that was the prettiest shade of red.

He told me that I would need to be still while he inserted the IV needle. I did my best, but it is hard to not move when you are in that much pain. After the IV was in came the much-needed pain meds. I writhed in pain for a long time and was taken to get a CT.

Turned out I had a 5mm stone in my right kidney at the begining of the ureter. I was told that was on the large side, but not huge. That meant nothing to me at that time. As you can see in the image above, it isn’t all that big. Where it was located is why it caused so much pain.

I ended up getting three doses of morphine during my stay in the ER. Once the pain was pretty well masked I was sent on my way. There was a referral to a urologist for the following week and some pain meds.

During this time my mom was with me, because no father should ever see their adult daughter in a hospital gown unless absolutely necessary. Mom wrote down all the things the nurse and doctor said. She knew that I was in no state to do anything but groan.

My parents stayed with me for the rest of the day and wouldn’t let me take more pain meds than I was supposed to. Once the morphine wore off the pain came back rushing over me. I was again relegated to groaning and not sitting still. When the meds kicked in I slept.

Later that night the pain subsided completely. I was able to get a good night’s sleep with my mom in the guest room.

Kidney stones are no joke. The pain they cause is so severe that you want to die. Dying would be a much better option while in the midst of the pain than dealing with the pain.

I can’t even describe the pain. I haven’t had kids but was told it is worse than that. Organ pain is the worst pain there is according to my urologist.

The Takeaway

Things I have learned since having this horrific pain is that it might happen again. That is not what I wanted to hear. I did find out at drinking sodas and tea are big culprits in the forming of kidney stones. Knowing that I cut all sodas and tea out of my diet. Salt and processed foods are other things that can help in the forming of stones. Those items are gone from my diet as well.

The best thing that anyone can do to avoid getting kidney stones, especially if you have already had one, is drink water. Water is my new drink of choice for all occasions. Luckily, I really, really like water.

Kidney stones are horrible, little, balls (or spiked balls) of pain. I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy.