Kidney stones on a 5 hour flight

[sailchef]

I flew down to St. Croix for a few days to look at an investment I made over the winter. Return flight was from St. Croix to Puerto Rico, and then direct Puerto Rico to BWI (Baltimore /Washington). 20 minutes after the plane took off from Puerto Rico to BWI, I felt that sharp pain in my side and knew exactly what it was. I had kidney stones 15 years ago and recognized the pain immediately. I figured I could man up and deal with it if I didn’t move around too much. There was no way I was going to ask the plane to go back, we were already at 38,000 ft. and cruising. The first Hour was uncomfortable but bearable. The next two or three hours the pain was coming and going and getting worse, but by this time I was stretched across three seats in the last row of the aircraft. I was actually going from the seats, to laying on the floor, to standing, back to the seats etc. The flight attendant had notified the captain earlier and had even asked if I wanted the plane to make an emergency landing in Atlanta. I felt like a fool for being all bent up but declined the offer. I just wanted to get home to BWI. I spent the last 2 hours talking to a lady who was a nurse and the talking seemed to ease the pain, or at least take my mind off of it. The flight attendant had recommended that I drink water to help flush it thru. Wrong! Don’t ever do this. I couldn’t pass any urine and after 2 bottles of water my bladder felt like it was going to explode. So now I’m standing, sitting, laying down and trying to use the head every 15mins. The pain at this time next to unbearable but I just kept trying not to think about it. I was also chewing on Advil that I had brought with me which seemed to help. We finally got to BWI and it had to be all the fluids I had taken in because as soon as I stepped onto the walkway leading from the aircraft to the terminal and the cold 20 degree air hit me I felt pain like I had never felt before. I made it into the terminal and that was it. I collapsed on the floor and curled up like a baby. Paramedics were called after I explained to a security guard why I was on the floor and what was going on. It was 10 PM and the terminal was practically empty. I negotiated with myself and the paramedics whether or not I wanted to go to the hospital or try to drive home to the beach. The paramedics were very professional but said the decision would ultimately be mine. After 20 minutes going back and forth and the pain not getting any better I crawled up onto the stretcher and off we went to Baltimore Washington Medical Center. The paramedic kept asking on a scale of 1 – 10 how bad is your pain? I was laughing and practically crying at the same time. By now it was a good 12. It was the worse. It felt like I had a long spike being stuck into my side. I had spent the last 5 hours bouncing around on a plane and now I was bouncing around in the back of an ambulance, and still had to piss like a race horse, but couldn’t. I thought I was going to pass out. Once we got to the BWMC they took really good care of me. I thought for sure I would be lost in a long line or left in a hallway somewhere but they got me in and took care of me pretty quick. They took my vitals and admittance information on the fly. I passed thru the hands of several nurses and the doctor finally came in to watch a nurse while she gave me a pain killer, an anti- nausea medication, and I believe a third medication to dissolve the stones. After a half hour I felt great and fell asleep on the ER bed. Around midnight the doctor woke me up and asked how I felt, I tried to stand up but was still a little groggy and had to drive 2 hours from BWI to the beach so he said he was going to keep me in the ER and let me sleep for a few more hours. It was the best rest I had in years. Around 4:30AM a nurse woke me up, I took my luggage into the restroom , took a very long awaited piss, brushed my teeth, changed my shirt, checked out, and drove home. I don’t ever want to go thru that again. It was a very long day.

[Neilk]

Ouch, that sounds horrible. Are they all out? Your description of the pain makes me hope I never get them.

[Tishabet]

Yeeeikes!

[dtw]

Ye cats, I'm gonna go hydrate now.

[pete3799]

Went through much the same only it was my gall bladder. Worst pain i've ever encountered.
Was on my way to Florida but ended up in a hospital in Virginia where they removed it.
Hope you don't have to go through that again.

[azasadny]

Get your Serum Uric Acid (SUA) level checked...

[RWebb]

ow!

if it's any consolation - I got intense kidney stone pain in the desert some years ago - had to hike out for a few hours, and THEN drive to a hospital ER

it was great fun

[cgarr]

I have had so many I could finish my driveway. You don't "man up" when you have stones!! I always keep some very strong meds with me when on any kind of trip, you never know....

You cant dissolve stones, you either pass them or lots of time they push back into the kidney (then no pain) to await your next trip..

It may have passed into your bladder in which case it will make its final exit soon.

[island911]

Reading the title I thought "why didn't you title the thread Hell ?" . . .but then again, your title sounds worse.

[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

[RWebb]

this really brings home the superiority of the systems in birds - they can excrete uric acid - no problem

just a little tidbit to think about the next time you have this incredibly severe pain...

[sailchef]

The advice to take along stronger pain killers will be on the top of my packing list next time. I think the long flight down dehydrated me somewhat and may have contributed. I am also going to see my doctor about the SUA levels. I'm glad I made it to the terminal where the paramedics could get to me. The funny part was all during the episode in the hospital the nurses kept asking "on a scale of 1-10 how bad is it". There were some really cute nurses too. Hell of an introduction though.

[sailchef]

Originally Posted by RWebb

this really brings home the superiority of the systems in birds - they can excrete uric acid - no problem

just a little tidbit to think about the next time you have this incredibly severe pain...

So you're saying skip the advil and go straight to bird poop?

[imcarthur]

For me, a significant humidity change is a trigger. But surprisingly, if I fly between the different humidity zones, I typically have no ill effects. Vegas in January this year was an exception but it still was not drug worthy.

Ian

[JavaBrewer]

Kudos to you to survive the flight w/o alternate landing. My worst nightmare is a KS attack on an airplane. My one and only KS attack nearly killed (IMO) me. Oh and I also remember a nurse asking the 1-10 pain scale in the hospital...I answered "higher" as I was barfing. I got a second round of pain meds and my toes finally uncurled. LOL...but not funny at all.

[imcarthur]

Oh . . . to save time next time. Once you get to the doctor, ask for a bag of Demerol. It makes you queasy but it does stop the pain. It is like an IV of bliss.

Ian

[jyl]

My deep sympathy. In the last two years, I've had 3-4 gallstone attacks and 1 kidney stone. So unfunny. I carry a few oxycodone on trips, have not needed them so far.

[Tobra]

I missed where he said they were uric acid stones. You don't dissolve them, you shatter them with ultrasound into small enough chunks to pass through the peter.

Protein metabolism in birds is as germaine to this thread as 27 is to purple.

[JavaBrewer]

My understanding is that the PITA part of a kidney stone is going from the kidney to the bladder...narrow pipes full of pain receptors. Passing the stone from the bladder is small potatoes...well...for some folks...LOL

[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.