Some people compare passing a kidney stone to the same as giving birth or at least being in labor. It’s hard for me to comment on that statement as I have never given birth.
I’ve witnessed my wife giving birth to all our kids, and it did not look pleasant at all.
From the utter foul language she spewed before and during giving birth, many words directly aimed at me, I can only imagine the pain levels she went through.
So, when I was started to have lower back pains that suddenly moved to my abdominal and bladder area, all on our first vacation day in the Dominican Republic, I got a glimpse into how different pain levels can upset your vacation time.
It started around 9pm with a minor tightness in my lower left back, which I attributed to spending 4 hours on a plane, and perhaps not sitting in an ergonomic position.
We had only been in the country for less than 4 hours!
This tinge gradually increased in pain levels, and slowly moved to my abdominal area.
At first, I suspected a bad portion of beans, but as the pain increased and as I started to pace around the hotel room, I was getting worried that it might be related to the unfortunate deaths that had been encountered in Punta Cana.
I had only had one Caipirinha, so it could hardly be because of that, and we had not touched the mini-bar either!
The next few hours the pain level intensified and no matter what I did it did not go away. I paced around the hotel room for hours, placing hot towels on my back and abdomen, with little or no impact.
As you read in the previous post, this went on until 2-3am, so roughly six hours of pain.
Labor can last a lot longer, but I have had enough of this pain and needed medical attention.
I know I’m a Viking, but my pain threshold does not support this level of pain. I admire women who can carry this level of pain, smile and then give birth as well. I felt as if I was going to melt or implode.
How can women be this brave? What do they do? Meditate more?
The hotel staff rushed me to the local ER where I spent another 3 hours in pain. In the end, I had to shout loudly at the ER staff to get me some pain killer … and they finally obliged and gave me two doses 🙂
Man! Those drugs were good and the opioids magically removed my pain.
The doctor informed that I indeed had given birth to a beautiful little kidney stone, and that caused further inflammation of my kidney, hence the intense pain. It was making its way to my bladder.
After a further 15 minutes in the ER, I was transferred (admitted) to a room at the hospital. They put me on a 24-hour high dosage of antibiotics and regular painkillers.
The following afternoon I was given a sonograph of my abdomen and could see life streaming of my little stone in the making. The little bugger was the root cause of my pain and I hated it!
Not sure I believe the actual measurement, but the doctor claimed it was a “little” stone, approx. 9mm. Man, it was like a small planet inside my body trying to move through a tight passage. Like giving birth to a large orange I guess, through a straw.
But, I had to be armed with patience as the little bastard moved around in my kidney and finally decided to exit through my urine.
While the Dominican Republic is a beautiful location, I would argue that seeing it from a hospital bed is less than ideal. I could seem some palm trees in the distance, but also the looming thunderstorm that was about to hit the area.
30 hours after being admitted to hospital, the doctor informed me I could go back to the hotel. She armed me with antibiotics and painkillers, which should do the trick.
All credit to the women around the World who has or are giving birth. they are superheroes and can tolerate enormous levels of pain.
The rest is history!
