The Absolutely Massive Kidney Stone I passed yesterday

[u/Bronxanator]

A let's say... interesting thing to witness come out of your body.

Edit to address some FAQs:

I am okay. Honestly I was only in severe pain one day.

Yes it hurt. Mostly when it was moving from the kidney to the bladder

I hydrate well at a minimum of 64 oz of water per day.

I had a full metabolic work up after my first kidney stone and the best the urologist could tell me was it's stress related.

I used a strainer, I didn't reach into the toilet.

Dimensions are roughly 15mm x 5 mm x 4.5mm at the thickest region.

[u/abfgern_]

Kidney stones are more painful than childbirth apparently

(According to a survey of women who had both)

[u/Rowdyacorn → u/abfgern_]

No. I've had both. I've had kidney stones so big they had to go in and get them. It was a horrible pain. But I've also been on petocin for 16 hours straight in labor. I'd say they're both a terrible, all consuming pain. 

One is not "worse" than the other imo. I will say, the worst pain I've ever felt was when the anesthesia failed during an emergency C-section and I felt the scapel cut through all the layers to get to my uterus. Words can't describe that type of pain.

[u/homes_and_haunts → u/Rowdyacorn]

I’m sorry that happened to you. You might understandably not be interested in listening to this, but there’s a whole season of a NYT podcast about anesthesia failure during c-sections - how much more widespread it is than previously thought, and the work being done to change medical professionals’ thinking about it: https://www.nytimes.com/article/serial-the-retrievals.html

(It’s called The Retrievals because the first season was about women who experienced pain during egg retrievals for IVF. Then in response to that season, the producers heard from bunches of women who experienced the c-section nightmare.)

[u/levian_durai → u/Rowdyacorn]

the anesthesia failed during an emergency C-section and I felt the scapel cut through all the layers to get to my uterus.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[u/nighthawkndemontron → u/Rowdyacorn]

I'm going off reddit now

[u/PaleontologistTall95 → u/Rowdyacorn]

Jesus H Christ on a bike that is beyond awful

[u/little_missHOTdice → u/abfgern_]

I’ve given birth three times and the second time, my epidural ran out. The midwife was like. “No time! Baby is coming.”

It was painful but nothing was as painful as my gallbladder attack. I was in so much pain I couldn’t speak and the paramedics acted like I was overreacting. Apparently, I was making up my pain because I was jealous of the attention my newborn baby was getting.

Was left for 7 hours in the hallway to “teach me a lesson.” They said all this out loud and in front of me.

Doctor took one look at me and was like, “surgery. Now.” My husband was almost a single dad thanks to those assholes leaving me to go septic.

Worst pain ever. I’d rather give birth over and over again all day than do one second of that pain.

[u/Bronxanator → u/little_missHOTdice]

Damn that's terrible. I hope you were comped the treatment after threatening a malpractice suit.

[u/n1shh → u/Bronxanator]

Only in the US would your first thought be ‘I hope they comped you that one when you threatened to sue’ just two very American things.

[u/Bronxanator → u/n1shh]

It's the system we live in unfortunately.

[u/flying_broom → u/Bronxanator]

For sure, and for that you would have deserved compensation for medical malpractice in any country. It just makes it so much more horrifying that you had to suffer through that and you also have to pay for it

[u/little_missHOTdice → u/Bronxanator]

Can’t do that in Canada unfortunately. My mother called and they said it was a misunderstanding and that we should be happy it was all free.

This hospital has a bed reputation. There was a huge scandal when a child died under their care. Parents weren’t even able to do anything. I guess that’s the price of “free health care”.

[u/onarainyafternoon → u/little_missHOTdice]

That is lunacy. What the hell was wrong with them

[u/little_missHOTdice → u/onarainyafternoon]

No idea. When my mother called to complain, they said it was a misunderstanding and “this is Canada, so be happy it was all free.”

Everyone hates that hospital and that day, I had my own personal experience as to why.

[u/n1shh → u/little_missHOTdice]

wtf . Just be happy it was free? It wasn’t free, we all pay taxes for care that meets a standard. Holy crap.

[u/levian_durai → u/little_missHOTdice]

I always hear stories about how women's pain is often ignored by doctors, and every time I hear another one I'm shocked. I shouldn't be, considering how often it seems to happen, it's just insane that this is still happening in modern times.

[u/Traditional_Green127 → u/little_missHOTdice]

Sounds like the hospital in my town! We now go out of town for hospital visits….

My MIL recently went 3 days post op. after having surgery (elsewhere), and she kept losing consciousness where she would stop breathing. The nurses kept asking us “why does she keep doing that? Tell her to stop.”Like lady, WE ARE HERE BECAUSE SHE KEEPS LOSING CONSCIOUSNESS! We’re not the medical professionals, YOU are. Her blood sugar levels were also near coma high, for 3 days, and severely dehydrated. They made her wait in the waiting room, in a chair, for over 12 hours before she left. I took her to another hospital where she got a bed within 2 minutes of registering, they started tests within 20 minutes of us being there, and she got admitted 5 hours after us being there.

The hospital in my town is seriously horrendous. Every time we go, it’s 12+ hours wait. I’ve even gone for potential lithium OD, and I still had to wait in the waiting room chairs for 14 hours before the DR saw me. It’s crazy. Be thankful we live in Canada and it’s free doesn’t help me when I’m potentially dying. No wonder the Woman died of Sepsis in Mississauga after giving birth. They don’t take woman’s pain seriously. I’ve been in terrible pain that was worse than giving birth to my child, but then I get the eye roll because I’m over reacting. Meanwhile, the 13+ kidney stones they found, plus the kidney infection the Dr was terrified by because she’d never seen levels that high, and the severe dehydration I was going through from food poisoning all played a part in the “over reacted” pain I was in.

[u/BlessTheBookPeople → u/little_missHOTdice]

Did you report them?

[u/n1shh → u/little_missHOTdice]

Wow I hope you reported those people to whatever medical organization deals with that where you live. That is massive abuse of power and a breach of the oath they take to help people

[u/lck0219 → u/little_missHOTdice]

Agreed! Epidural failed with my youngest. Gallbladder was waaaay worse. And my surgeon kept pushing me off that it wasn’t that bad. He half apologized after because, apparently, it was. I was on the ground, doubled over in pain, daily for a week before he’d operate.

[u/millie_hillie → u/little_missHOTdice]

What’s crazy about this is that we literally know pregnancy increases your risk of gallbladder failure. So if you had a newborn, that’s the most likely time to have a gallbladder attack.

[u/uglyheadink → u/abfgern_]

I wouldn't doubt it lol. I've given birth to two kids.... If someone asked me if I wanted to do that again or push a fucking quarter sized kidney stone through my fuckin urethra, I'd take the former every time.

I've passed a kidney stone, and it was the size of a grain of sand, and that shit hurt like hell. (Not worse than birth, but absolutely miserable for sure) I literally cannot fathom one this size passed naturally. I might actually just die lol.

[u/TheDucktapeBandit2 → u/uglyheadink]

I had 2, first year on the left, second one a year ltr on the right... Both times i ended up in the emergency room, and instant relief after meds kicked in was like a touch of heaven. I remember i was done babysitting and one of the "attacks" started when i walked to my car, i litterly crawled back in the house layed on the foor asking for a glass of water while i took out my pain medicine i carried with me in my pocket (i was prepared luckely.. fear of that pain does that). It took some time for the meds kicked in, and the kids where a bit confused about what was happening but their lovely attention was really nice...

It hurts like hell... Till a certain point, then the contractions wont come anymore. Bfore it enters the way out i felt really uncomfortble, but the actual going out, true the last channel, wasnt that noticeble..

[u/AwaitingBabyO → u/abfgern_]

Have passed kidney stones twice and have given birth twice.

The first time I passed a kidney stone, it was stuck in the ureter moving at a snails pace for 2 weeks, causing a mild obstruction. I was on anti-inflammatories and prescription pain meds and sleeping like, 18 hours a day until that sucked finally made its' way out.

The pain in my back in those first 3 days was absolutely insane. It felt like I was being stabbed. I couldn't walk, speak, stand, or do anything other than moan, groan, cry, whimper, lay in the fetal position, and vomit.

Childbirth was very, very painful (got an epidural at 8cm dilated and it failed so I felt myself tearing :) ) but uhhh my body just handled that pain better. It was definitely a full-body experience and immense pain, but I'd take childbirth over that first kidney stone experience any day.

The second time I passed a stone though? It hurt. But I thought it was a bad bladder infection. I didn't need to go to the doctor or anything.

So uhh, experiences vary wildly, in my experience.

[u/MoistFootball506 → u/abfgern_]

I’m a woman that passed a 9.8mm stone last year and I can confirm kidney stones are worse

[u/Affectionate_Cow_812 → u/abfgern_]

I have had 4 kids and have had kidney stones 3x. I concur that kidney stones are much more painful. I would much rather go through labor again than get another kidney stone.

[u/Anonymoose_1106 → u/abfgern_]

I'm a man, so I'm technically not at all qualified to comment. That said, having experienced both traumatic amputations and kidney stones, I absolutely believe that kidney stones could be worse than childbirth. They're certainly worse than amputations lol