My Thanksgiving

[Susan]

Happy late Thanksgiving to you all, I hope you all had a wonderful day. I had a rather interesting and unpleasant Thanksgiving myself. My fiance and I had two invites to dinner on Thursday and since I was feeling a bit under the weather decided to skip the earlier invite and take a nap until it was time to go to my future in-laws. Well, I awoke from my nap in indescribable pain in my lower left back, I have never felt such acute pain before in my life! I finally called my fiance in a panic and he came and brought me to the emergency room.

After much paper signing and waiting and blood draws and more waiting, and more paper work, I was finally admitted to the ER and given a stunningly ugly hospital gown to put on. I was hooked up to an IV and given like 3 or 4 different shots, one was a glorious painkiller which took away my agony in like 4 seconds. I had a couple of CAT scans and it was determined that I was giving birth to a kidney stone. The attending doctor told me it was like pushing a watermelon through a drinking straw, hence the pain. I've heard that analogy used for actual childbirth before also, which scares the bejesus out of me, if having children hurts this bad, I think I will adopt!

By the time I was allowed to go, it was 12:30 at night, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. When we arrived at my fiance's house, his parents and my brother were waiting there with Thanksgiving dinner for us. I was deeply touched and thankful for such wonderful people in my life. I was groggy and slightly nauseous, but, my fiance and I had our dinner together at 1:00 in the morning and it was wonderful. I am truly thankful, for my loved ones, that dinner, and finally passing that kidney stone on Sunday!!!

[Harry]

Oh Susan, I feel for you. Went through several kidney stone attacks about 5 years ago. The pain was out of this world. Had morphine several times to knock me out. Finally had a lithotripsy procedure to break up the stone(s). I haven't had a new one since, although at times it feels like there is one back there.

I'm so glad you are okay now and you had a happy Thanksgiving.

[Shelley]

Well guys, let's form a Lizzie Stoned Club- they are the scourge of my existence and I average one attack a year, usually followed by several courses of lithotripsy to bust 'em up. Geez, I'd rather have a baby. Mine are oxalate stones, the second hardest kind so I have to limit choclate, nuts, green vegetables, cola, fruitcake and other things I love. plus drink 64 oz. of fluid minimum daily. You know you are having an attack when you feel as if you were being cut in half and spend quality time peering into the porcelain throne! Hope you are feeling better soon Susan- have that stone analyzed it may be calcium, which are the commonest. I tease my urologist by telling him I will be furnishing his retirement!

[Harry]

So sorry, Shelley. That's hard to face every year.

I know what you mean about feeling as if you were cut in half; that's the exact feeling I had. Thank God for morphine.

[Shelley]

"Thank God for morphine."

I bet that's what Lizzie said too, Harry!
It's no fun "Romancing the Stone". I now have enough for a necklace and matching earrings!

[Kat]

Geez Susan! You passed that stone pretty fast!
Shelley is right - you should find out what it was made of- then you know what to stay away from!
I think fizzy soda is one culprit.
Good luck and thanks for checking in!

[Susan]

Thanks, all, I figured there were others who had a membership to the club. I feel for you, Harry and Shelley, having more than one, ugh, I can't imagine going through that again! Apparently my kidney stone became dislodged due to being slightly dehydrated, so, I was told to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate; I've been drinking water until it comes out my ears! The CAT scan showed that I have another one in my right kidney, but, the doctor said that it needn't come out if I keep well hydrated.

Kat, its funny, that is pretty much the time limit that the ER doctor gave me, about three days to pass the stone. One of the drugs she had administered was something that dialated my ureters to help with the passing and help alleviate the pain. My stone is this ugly, small brownish looking thing, I'm not sure what they normally look like? I do have to call and have a follow-up visit and bring in my stone for analysis, the doctor told me that there are many, many different types. Outside of a slight achy feeling in my lower back and arms that look like they belong to a junky due to the multiple blood draws, I'm feeling much better. I still have a slight nausea thing going on, but, think it might be from taking the Vicodin that was prescribed for me.

[Kat]

You poor girl!
Tonight, after reading you, I watched William Shatner on Late Show With Craig Fergusen. Shatner talked about passing a kidney stone last year!
He described it as a small dark roundish thing, ugly, and said it had *teeth*- protuberances all around it that were sharp and sounded like a hard burr and roughed up the passage as it traveled.
Yikes!

He took his stone and donated it to an auction and they got $65,000 for it, and the charity matched funds to the tune of a total of $90,000 and they built a Habitat For Humanity House in New Orleans for a displaced family!
He said some family now had a home built on his kidney stone! Neat-o!

[Shelley]

Cool! Good coming from all that pain! I love "Capt. Kirk" in Boston Law- funny guy. Calcium stones sometimes look ghostly white on the X-ray. Uric acid stones are the hardest. Sometimes stones are a composite of 2 or more substances., and I think they look like kitty litter. If you go for regular X-rays every 3-6 months, you can catch them before they become a problem. Actually they are only a problem when they start moving- as long as the little buggers stay put, you never know they're there!

[Smudgeman]

Sounds dredful, I hope I never have the pleasure of experiencing that kind of pain. I have had back surgery for herniated discs so I do know pain, I just don't want to go through ANYTHING like that again. Sorry for all of you that have, but I have had friends and family memebers that had passed a kidney stone so I know what you went through.

I have heard that you should drink lots and lots of water to avoid this in the future. Water is good for joints, bones, generally all over good health.

[1bigsteve]

Welcome to the club, Susan!!

I had an annoying ache in my back just to the left of my spine for over six years. It would wake me at night but the pain would always go away once I sat upright. I thought it was a pulled muscle. One evening it woke me up and the pain got worse. After spending six hours on the floor in massive pain I got into the shower and hit that spot with hot water. The pain dissappeared instantly, like someone turning off a light. An hour later the pain was back so I repeated the trip to the shower. The pain was gone for good. The next day my bladder started burning and a few days later I passed a small stone that looked like a clump of brown sugar crystals. It's amazing how much pain a small stone can create!!

I feel for you, Susan. Been there done that that. I'm happy that you have people around you who care. That makes all the difference.

So, how was the pumpkin pie?

-1bigsteve (o:

[Susan]

Great story, Kat, at least something good came from Shatner's stone. I love that! I also wonder who payed to own that stone, ewww.

Scott, I'm so sorry about your back. I've spoken to people who have had issues with discs and such, the pain, the multiple surgeries. Every time someone has described their surgery to me, I've had to sit down as I get such visuals; it just makes me weak in the knees!

Steve, I don't know how you layed there for 6 hours in pain like that!!! I think I was only able to bear with mine for like 45 minutes before I was almost screaming in agony! I felt bad, my fiance's dogs were with me and they knew I wasn't well and they began to circle me and whine. The more panicky I got, so did they. They were waiting for us when we got back from the ER too and just couldn't give me enough doggy kisses. We're an odd bunch, but, I love my people and animals, we work well together. Oh, and no pumpkin pie, I opted for the peanut butter pie instead, yum!

[Haulover]

what a topic to discover. i'm just now getting over a back pain (disc) flare-up from two days ago. how morbid. but i see i'm not alone in this.

you know -- i thought of something during this round of it -- the brain does not allow you to remember exactly what the paiin was like. it's something you can't remember. but if not for opiates, i don't know what alternative there would be. (i realize this was a stone topic, but i relate at this point in time to the pain issue.) it's strange to watch the world go by around you while you're trapped in this awful cell -- nothing but that one thing matters. i think i set a record this time. it was at least 12 hrs before i got some relief, and during the period it never stopped for a second.

for whatever good it does to record this kind of information.

[1bigsteve]

I know exactly what you mean, Haulover. Pain can make you feel like you are all alone in the world, like no one is experiencing pain but you and you feel like saying, "Hey doesn't anyone realize I am in pain here?"

I once had a split molar that hurt so bad I was out of my head with pain for three days. I would come out of it long enough to swallow a dozen aspiren before going under. I vividly remember what that pain felt like. I had no money to get it fixed but it was the Dentist that caused to tooth to split because he never capped my tooth properly after drilling for the root canal. I didn't know whether to shoot him or myself. Pain I can do without!!

-1bigsteve (o:

[1bigsteve]

Great story, Kat, at least something good came from Shatner's stone. I love that! I also wonder who payed to own that stone, ewww.

Scott, I'm so sorry about your back. I've spoken to people who have had issues with discs and such, the pain, the multiple surgeries. Every time someone has described their surgery to me, I've had to sit down as I get such visuals; it just makes me weak in the knees!

Steve, I don't know how you layed there for 6 hours in pain like that!!! I think I was only able to bear with mine for like 45 minutes before I was almost screaming in agony! I felt bad, my fiance's dogs were with me and they knew I wasn't well and they began to circle me and whine. The more panicky I got, so did they. They were waiting for us when we got back from the ER too and just couldn't give me enough doggy kisses. We're an odd bunch, but, I love my people and animals, we work well together. Oh, and no pumpkin pie, I opted for the peanut butter pie instead, yum!

Peanut Butter Pie, Susan? I've never heard of that one and I love pies!

I have a recipe for a Fruit Flan that will knock your socks off. I'll put the list of ingredients in the Stay To Tea section. You'll have to try it, Susan.

-1bigsteve (o:

[RayS]

All I know is what I read in the newspapers.
They say that not drinking enough water is the main cause of kidney stones. So drink those extra glasses of water!

I'm assuming your water will not cause any other problems.

[1bigsteve]

All I know is what I read in the newspapers.
They say that not drinking enough water is the main cause of kidney stones. So drink those extra glasses of water!

I'm assuming your water will not cause any other problems.

Brocolli and other calcium-rich foods can produce kidney stones. Drinking a lot of water helps keep the kidneys flushed out. I drink 1 1/2 gallons a day but being a weight lifter I sweat a lot of it out.

Anyone dumb enough to drink my city's water deserves what they get. The cold water smells like someone flushed their toilet into my line. It's the stinkinest, rankinest gawd-awfullest stuff I ever got near and for once I am not kidding! Last time I drank a glass of it I had to suck on a dead skunk to get the taste of it out of my mouth. I'll take bottled any day.

-1bigsteve (o:

[Smudgeman]

That stinks BigSteve, I drink glasses and glasses of my tap water at home, and I like it. I will admit it has a hint of chlorine in it, soemtimes, I feel like I am drinking bleached water.

[theebmonique]

I drink a lot of water too...probably just under a gallon a day, in the form of Crystal Light. I have taken a strong liking to the pink lemonade flavor. I put away at least 5 gallons a week.





Tracy...

[1bigsteve]

Scott, you are drinking bleached water.

Five gallons a week is just about right, Tracy. Keep drinking. Cheers. The last thing you want is a kidney stone, believe me! It feels like someone put a gun muzzle to your back and pulled the trigger. The pain is just unbearable and people do die from the blockage they create. I'm surprised they don't die from the pain! I can only imagine what they did in Lizzie's day to dis-lodge a stone. Probably jump up and down.

-1bigsteve (o:

[shakiboo]

I've heard that passing a kidney stone for a man is like labor pains................or the closest, that a man can ever come, to knowing what it's like to give birth!!.