I spent Saturday night in the Emergency Room, for the second time this season.
Earlier that evening, I thought I had a bladder infection. My sister took me to an Urgent Care by my house so that I could get some antibiotics. While I was there, I experienced the worst pain I've ever felt in my side. I walked out to the lobby and laid down right on the floor and couldn't move. Finally a doctor came and examined me - he told me that he thought I had a kidney stone. He said they didn't have the equipment to take care of me - I was in so much pain that he said I needed to go to the Emergency Room.
My poor sister drove me there, screaming and clutching at her shoulder the whole time. Finally we got to the ER, and I walked up to the window, sobbing and moaning, and they actually told me to fill out a form. I handed the form to my sister and went to lay down on a bench and writhe and cry until she was done. There was a man sitting in the waiting room who just looked at me in horror. The nurses came out and told me they were getting a room ready for me - they were having a busy night, so they pulled me into their little office to start taking my blood pressure. The pain got so bad that I had to throw up - I've never thrown up just from pain before. I caught a glance from the man in the waiting room again - he could see me through the window, and was even more horrified than before. I felt bad for him.
They finally got me into a room that was lined with supplies - nurses kept coming in during my whole visit to get gauze, ice, stints, etc. We kept joking that they put me in the supply closet, but that was probably close to the truth. They were trying to get a blood sample, and couldn't find my vein. The nurse kept digging the needle through my arm, and I didn't care at all, I just wanted him to do what he had to do to make the pain stop. Finally they got the blood sample and then put an IV in my arm and gave me morphine ... four times. By the third morphine shot, everywhere in my body felt great, except for that one spot in my side that burned like the sun. So they gave me morphine #4. Then they took me in for a cat scan, and saw that it was a kidney stone. They said it was 4 millimeters in size, just small enough for me to "pass" by myself. Great. During the cat scan I had to breathe in and hold it, and that started the pain going again. They gave me a new drug, something that started with D, so that I could leave the hospital. They left the IV plug thing in my arm, in case I needed to come back within 24 hours. They took me in a wheelchair to the car, and I thought that the last pain-killer they gave me would last awhile, but getting in the car was enough to make me scream for the first few minutes of the drive until I could push the seat back almost flat.
I've been on heavy painkillers since then. Sunday morning we had a scare where we thought I'd need to go to the ER again, but after a call to the hospital, they suggested that I supplement the pills they gave me with 800 mg of ibuprofen. They said that if I couldn't keep the pills down or if the pain was unmanageable, that I should come back in. I did okay for the rest of the day, and we took out the IV plug last night. But this morning I've started throwing up again, and I can't stand for longer than it takes to run to the bathroom. I still haven't passed the stone, and they said it could take days to come out. A lot of people have told me that kidney stone pain is worse than having a baby. I didn't think it was possible, but this does hurt more than my miscarriage 6 weeks ago.
I may have to go back to the ER later today if I don't improve. Wish me luck.
4 comments:
Aaaaa! Your poor body has just been through so much! So sorry, Bre. I hope you get better soon.
Wow! I am so sorry for you! I wish there was something that I can do or say that would make you feel better... but the only thing I can come up with is that if you can go through this, then childbirth should be a piece of cake. You're a strong woman, and you can handle anything after this. It's ok that you scream and cry like a baby because there's no reason that you should pretend that it doesn't hurt as bad as it does. Maybe it's a godd thing that you weren't pregnant when you had to pass a stone. Those painkillers may have caused a serious complication.
You just described Doug's two weeks in September. We went to the ER four times. Sometimes leaving the kids alone here all night long. It's awful. I'm so sorry!!! Oh, and the morphine did nothing for him--he got those other shots, too, I think they called it Dolated (sp?).
Oh my gosh. That sounds horrible. I can't believe it takes so long to come out! I hope it comes out soon. What causes that to happen? My math teacher had them once and his seems like a walk in the park compared to yours.
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