Kidney stones on a 5 hour flight

[cgarr]

Originally Posted by jyl

My stone hurt getting to the bladder, then nothing. A few weeks later, it popped out during a pee, no fuss at all. It wasn't that big a stone though.

It depends on what kind of stone you have. Mine are like sand burrs and can sting like a red hot poker when passing thru the pee-pee!

I'm surprised they did not give him a strainer to catch anything?

[sailchef]

They gave me a strainer, and I used it initially in the hospital, it looked like something came out resembling a brownish colored snowflake but disintigrated while I pissed on it. Sounds weird I know. I was tired after the whole ordeal and really didn't want to pee thru a screen every time I stopped at a gas station on the way home. I had a 3 hour drive after all this. So I tossed it at the Hospital.

[Noah930]

Wow, what an ordeal. Having kidney stones and no IV narcotics doesn't sound like fun. Absolutely writhing in pain.

While it didn't work for you due to the issue of urinary retention, if stuck in a similar situation I'd advise most people to try super-hydrating themselves. Getting the kidneys to flow urine may wash the stone(s) down the ureter and into the bladder. It's frequently the stone scraping its way down the narrow ureter (tube that connects the kidney to the bladder) that causes the pain. Of course, if there are other medical issues going on (hydronephrosis, renal insufficiency, congestive heart failure) going on, super-hydrating on an airplane might not be the safest option. But from personal experience, I've found drinking tons and tons of water (squeeze in a lemon, if possible, too) has helped avert a full-on hospital-requiring attack.

Not all stones are alike. The most common are calcium oxalate stones. But there are also stones composed of calcium phosphate, uric acid, struvite, etc. Not all of them will show up on an x-ray. You're usually given a little strainer to catch the buggers as you pee them out, but more often than not even if you bring them back to your urologist they just get tossed in the trash. I think my wife named my stones Rocky, Chip, and Crystal the first time I had them. She thought that was hilarious.

[typ550]

Given my own experience with multiple kidney stone attacks (starting in my 20s), I literally feel your pain. I can only imagine the horror of being stuck on a multi-hour flight.

[dagriff]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

In my carry on, I keep a bottle of Oxycontin & Buscopan. Oxy kills the pain & the Buscopan quells the kidney spasms. Thankfully, I haven't had to dip in to my stash on the road.

Ian

+1. I have had three KS "episodes". I never travel without major pain killers to hand. I fly a lot and my worst nightmare is a 9 hour flight to Europe in pain!

I have been told by women that have given birth and had a kidney stone, that the stone is worse (for one reason they know the labour pains will eventually stop!

[Mark Henry]

I bet I'm "King of the kidney stone attacks", 100+. I have a whole pill bottle full of them. After litho one time I passed a 5mm X 7mm stone, that one hurt, passed it as soon as I got a shot of morphine.

I had a KS attack at the bottom of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, had to walk out, luckily I had my stash of painkillers, because I wasn't about to go to a US hospital. Getting ready to drive home to Ontario I passed it, so we stayed to finish up our holiday. It was just a little 2.5mm stone.

Have your para-thyroid checked, I had a benign tumor on one of mine. No new stones since then, but I still have several leftovers.

[tubwreck]

I passed this unaided. Urologist said he'd never seen one that big come out on its own. Didn't hurt as much as the one he had to go in and get, though. Worst pain ever.



Yeah. Half an inch.

[Mark Henry]

Nice...Was you dad John Holmes?

[imcarthur]

Ah litho . . .

I had 2 litho experiences. The first time - aside from the kidney punching - all went well. The 2nd time . . . not so good. The rubble blocked my kidney & I was writhing in pain 24 hours later. I ended up back in the hospital for 5 days of weirdness with a new bag of Demerol every 3 1/2 hours. It was a hospital that was slated to close & I was in a near empty ward which made it very, very bizarre in my drug addled state. Then a stent was inserted & I had the extraction string hanging out for a week but I was out of the hospital. For extraction, I got Demerol + Morphine.

Ian

[cgarr]

You could have that set in a ring for the wife?

[onlycafe]

i was thinking belt buckle.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Ah litho . . .

I had 2 litho experiences. The first time - aside from the kidney punching - all went well. The 2nd time . . . not so good. The rubble blocked my kidney & I was writhing in pain 24 hours later. I ended up back in the hospital for 5 days of weirdness with a new bag of Demerol every 3 1/2 hours. It was a hospital that was slated to close & I was in a near empty ward which made it very, very bizarre in my drug addled state. Then a stent was inserted & I had the extraction string hanging out for a week but I was out of the hospital. For extraction, I got Demerol + Morphine.

Ian

Ian, it wasn't in Halifax was it?

In the 80's I had litho in Halifax, They had to give me a private room and the freaking room was bigger than my house. If you mentioned pain they whacked your brain right out. Never been so forking stoned in my whole life.
Missed my flight home and they said no problem we'll phone them and do you have any pain? I was like "well yeh a little bit" and bam! Woke up the next morning to "are you feeling any pain" and it was "FUCH NOOOOOO !!!!!! "

[imcarthur]

No, Toronto. In the old Wellesley Hospital. I had a black nurse that was on night shift & for days I thought she was a Voodoo Witch. Truly surreal - like living in a horror movie.

Ian

[sailchef]

Originally Posted by tubwreck

I passed this unaided. Urologist said he'd never seen one that big come out on its own. Didn't hurt as much as the one he had to go in and get, though. Worst pain ever.



Yeah. Half an inch.

tubwreck, LOL dude!

Seeing that rock made me laugh for the first time in 5 days. I just passed mine about 3 hours ago. The pain quit yesterday and I've been pissin thru a screen the whole time to catch it. Doc said 3cm, it looked awfully small to cause all that pain. I learned the benefit of having good pain killers when you need them.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by tubwreck

I passed this unaided. Urologist said he'd never seen one that big come out on its own. Didn't hurt as much as the one he had to go in and get, though. Worst pain ever.



Yeah. Half an inch.

Dude!

[pete3799]

OK......stop reposting that picture.
It hurts just looking at it.

[carslutt]

sounds awful..... i have had issues with kidney stones my whole life. this summer had 3 separate surgery's for them....... never gets any easier.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by carslutt

sounds awful..... i have had issues with kidney stones my whole life. this summer had 3 separate surgery's for them....... never gets any easier.

Ask to see a nephrologist and have him/her check for a benign tumor on your parathyroid.