It's almost 6 o'clock, I'm reaching for the mouse to make some cheeky remark on the 'Rack when a sudden burst of pain flares up in my right side, hunching me over the keyboard.
Not fun, but I try to breathe through my nose and rock the pain away - I figure it's a strained muscle or a cramp from stretching too quickly.
Fifteen minutes later, I'm on the floor, twisting like a flag in the breeze, wondering if I'm about to give birth to an Alien.
I manage to climb back into my chair and decide that waiting this out probably isn't going to happen, so I grab the phone and call a buddy. I'm also supposed to make a pickup from his office later tonight.
In mid-conversation, I double up again and decide that being on the floor is a very, very good thing. He remains calm while trying to keep me calm (which, by the way, is really annoying) and starts punching up WebMD. Based on the symptoms and location, his guess is either appendicitis which means I have two hours to live or kidney stones.
At which point the pain flares again, suggesting that perhaps a visit to the emergency room might not be a bad idea.
I crawl, slither and haul myself across the floor to my desk and start fumbling around the top for where I think my cellphone is. At this point, the pain feels like a tight glove crushing down on my kidney and ohbloodyhellthishurts.
I manage to call 911 on the cell and get an ambulance dispatched while my buddy calls my manager and I hang up because I have the sneaking suspicion the grunts, groans and growls will not be easy on his nerves over the phone.
The paramedics show up in short order - by this point, I've managed to stagger to my feet and make it out the door. I remember to lock the door, but not grab my shoes. Oy.
I go through the checklist with the paramedics who then decide to transport me to the nearest hospital - North Fulton Regional. I exchange pleasentries with my manager before we shuffle off. My office is at the base of a hill and as the paramedics make the turn to go up the hill, the gourney I'm on slides sideways and bounces off the other side. Apparently, they forgot to lock the gourney in place. Ouch. By this time, I have an iv port stuck in my arm (very cool looking, by the way), an oxygen tube shoved up my nose (who knew pure oxygen could be such a mellowing rush?) and something clamped to my finger.
Several jokes later, I had them all in stiches as we pull into the hospital. I get rolled into a room, chat with a couple of terminally cute medical staff members while collecting information. I get to wear the "dignity optional" gown, but I do get to keep my pants on.
After getting a pre-lim checkup and being asked to fill a urine specimen (which had a hair of some sort stuck under the label - I told everyone who asked, it wasn't mine), I get wheeled back into the room.
I spend the next two hours twisting on the bed and watching "Cold Case Files" in between flareups.
At some point, I get wheeled into the CT room and get shoved into a giant tube-like machine. While harassing the operator, I wondered idly why the machine's voice was rather pointedly male.
After this delightful exercise, I get wheeled back to my room to await the results.
Based on the urine test and the CT scan, I have a 3mm kidney stone lurking somewhere in my tract. The next day or so should be amazingly entertaining.
And I'm not sure I can afford the Percocet prescription, but I'll debate that after I find my medical coverage documentation - thankfully, this didn't manifest until after I'd passed the "wow, now you get medical coverage!" portion of my job. Mind you, I still haven't acquired any sick days yet. I should be glad I've racked up as much overtime as I have at this point.
Anyway, they gave me a "Care and tending guide to kidney stones" - anything under 5mm you can pass "unassisted". I refrained from asking any more.
The cute medical person smiled, reached down and yanked the tape off my very hairy arms. I thanked her through gritted teeth and stars in my eyes.
Lessee...to wrap this up, I'm padding around the hospital barefoot (because I'd left my shoes at work), waiting for my friend to drive up from the south side of town to collect me and bring me back to the office.
And now I'm sharing the highlights of my most expensive cab ride ever story with you, dear Hatrackers.
Oy - now I just need to find a McDonald's still open this time of night.
(The wedding I'm in this weekend, the bride is a paramedic in atlanta somewhere. I forget where. I should ask.)
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
We also had such an expensive ride today. My baby was holding the door jamb in such a way that when I closed the door, it severed all but a slim flap of her fingertip (the whole nail, and part of the bone). I was trying to keep her from exacerbating it, and could only remember one neighbor's phone number.
I couldn't tell at this point what part of the finger was still attached because there was so much blood. I thought of rinsing it but was afraid of losing the tip down the drain. I debated for a brief second if I should just leave it and let her grow up with a little extra character, but I knew my husband would want her to keep the tip if possible. So I also called an ambulance today.
The stitching went okay, I guess. The pulled off the nail and used it as a splint, sewing it back to the finger. Which seemed really freaky.
P.S. I did go to the hospital with menstrual cramps once. At least, that's the best they could tell they were.
Mercy. Take care and remember - if they accept your first $5.00 partial payment, they are obligated to let you pay the bill off in $5.00 installments . . . . Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Ooooh, that sucks. I'm so sorry... I'd mail you my left-over percocet, but I'm pretty sur that's illegal.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Ouch. Look at it this way, though, Trevor; it can't be worse than my sister-in-law's 24 hours of Pitocin-induced back labor with a 10 lb. baby, followed by a c-section, followed by a secondary infection, accompanied by three days of engorgement and double mastitis when she decided not to keep trying to nurse the baby. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
Man. I feel for you Trevor. I had a kidney stone almost exactly 3 years ago, right after being laid off from my last job. In my case, though, the stone was triangular and managed to burrow into the side of the tube it was trying to go down, so they had to go in after it. Not fun.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Mothertree, I asked in another thead what had happened--no need to answer there if you come across it, now that I've read your post in this thread. I'm glad they were able to stitch back on the end of her finger. How's she doing?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I had one, as I said, but JenniK had one a year or so before that.
Neither of us had a history of them either.
JenniK's mom just had a bunch taken care of....her kidney looked like a gravel pit, but she wasn't in any pain. They had to go in twice, and once was to surgically remove a 5 mm stone that was enbedded in the wall of the kidney. Charlotte had no pain, but was unable to keep any food down for a month. She lost 35 lbs, and was even throwing up water.
posted
You know, for some reason I can't help but see the word "cabride" in this thread's title as "carbide". I'm not sure why, but even now, after I *know* what it really says, I'm still unable to keep from transposing those letters.
The reason I didn't come into this thread for so long was because I didn't think that expensive carbide sounded very interesting.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote: an oxygen tube shoved up my nose (who knew pure oxygen could be such a mellowing rush?) and something clamped to my finger.
The something clamped to your finger would have been an O-2 monitor (I can't make the 2 in subscript on here). Measures how much oxygen you have in your tissues at the extremities, to see if they is a problem with reduced blood flow or oxygenation.
Like, yours should have been at least 95% perfusion or better, I'm guessing.
Sorry that you had such a horrible day; I know kidney stones are excrutiatingly painful. I'll put you on my prayer list, Trevor, that it all "passes" successfully.
posted
So far so good - I dug up my old prescription card and tried that, hoping it would work because I hadn't gotten my new one yet.
No luck. So I figured what the heck and grabbed a bottle of Advil. I'm sure it helped, but I was still rolling around, wondering if the Alien I was birthing would have my eyes.
When I finally regained consciousness this morning, I called my office, spoke to my hr coordinator and she got me the number for the medical insurance people and the rest was downhill from there.
Made a run to the pharmacy during one of the down-cycles and the script was only $4 and change. I was pleasantly surprised.
So I get to waste a day posting to the 'Rack and ignoring the occasional twinge in my side, at least until it becomes a big twinge.
And I grabbed the wrong sort of beer...oh darn. Looks like I gotta start over from...hiccup...scratch.
But so far, it's all good - as I was telling my kidney stone this morning, "sorry bud, but ya gotta come out because urine too deep."
-Trevor
Edit: And thanks for all the good thoughts, one and all - did I mention I was dehydrated to boot? The poor guy drawing the blood sample had to stick me twice to get enough.
posted
I wondered about your hydration last weekend. I should have harassed you. I'm sorry, dude. Stupid not wanting to tell a grown man what to do...
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
You know that dehydration can be a huge factor in the formation of kidney stones, right? I pretty much existed in a state of constant dehydration before I had my run in with a stone, but since then I've made a point of drinking 2-3 litres of water a day.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Did they give you a little screen bottomed cup to pee through, in hopes of catching the stone?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Stupid not wanting to tell a grown man what to do...
