Tough as a . . . kidney stone!
Ever have a kidney stone tear through one of your kidneys? I have!
The first time I was 22 and in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. I was hospitalized for two days and given morphine until I passed it in my urine. Anyone who has ever tried to pass a kidney stone will tell you you need something like morphine to manage the pain. Some people liken it to a woman giving birth.
The second time was 12 years ago, just after I moved the magazine to Gold Beach, Oregon. I forget what drug they gave me when I went to the hospital, but I needed it. It took only a day to pass that one.
Yesterday morning I doubled over in pain from what I suspected was my third stone. I knew I had several stones lodged in my left kidney after a CT scan accidentally detected them last August while I was being checked for possible broken ribs after I fell through my living room ceiling while putting up insulation. (I live dangerously!) So I suspected that one day one or more of the new stones would give me a nasty surprise. Yesterday morning was it.
But old guys like me tune out pain pretty well because you get all kinds of new pains as you age. So I waited until this afternoon to see a doctor. By then the pain had subsided, and a urine sample showed trace amounts of blood, which indicates a kidney stone had been passed, and an x-ray revealed the stones discovered in August were no longer present in my left kidney.
That means I passed the new stones without pain medication. How tough is that!
October 29th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
mega tough! I hope I never get one of those!
October 29th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I feel for you Dave. I to have been there and done that without the meds!