The Discomfort Thread

Quote: petroglyph

Have you ever captured one [or more] of those stones when they pass, or had them "blasted" while still inside and determined if they are a calcium type of stone or build up?

Have you ever looked at Chelation therapy, or alternative medicine? This repeated suffering just does not seem right. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=chelation+therapy&ia=about

Had them blasted once, the first one I ever had, many years ago. Involved getting a stent put in while they waited for the blaster. By then I was so sick they had to take the stent out when I was awake. After all of that, taking my first few leaks was like pissing broken glass. And it came out near solid blood. THEN they had screwed up the epidural. The firsts day I was fine and wanted to drive back to college, thankfully my parents would not let me because the next day the failure hit. A small hole in the spinal cord let fluid out, causing some kind of negative pressure like a straw causing my brain to hit the roof of my skull (or something) and long story short I could not walk across a room without throwing up and near passing out.

Doc says come to office the next day. Thought I might be better as by MNF I could almost sit up (I remember because Steelers nearly came back from 17 down!) but next morning I was a real disaster, laying in the back of a station wagon because I could not sit up, puking into a garbage bag the whole trip. Get to the docs office and he looks for not 2 seconds and says to get me the hell out of the office and to the hospital across the street. Oh, but we are not done.

The "fix" was to put some blood spots over the hole in the spine, like making a scab. They had to give me a triple dose to relax me, and getting upset I could not hold still. Well, it is about 64F in the room, I'm in a gown in the fetal position and you are playing with needles in the small of my back, so yes, I am having some GD problems "relaxing!"

Sorry for the rant, but after all that I decided easier to just pass the things and deal with the pain at home as much as I can. Usually they are about every 18 months. Two in such a compressed period is unusual, and I think stress-related what with how slow freelance work is in my biz this year.

Don't get them, but there is suppose to be things you can do to reduce the incidence of them. (diet? )

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/kidneystones_prevent

Quote: rxwine

Don't get them, but there is suppose to be things you can do to reduce the incidence of them. (diet? )

Diet. Mainly Fluids. Mainly various alkaline fluids, such as cabbage juice. Eat Kim Chi, face Mecca and drink dark cherry juice.

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: petroglyph

Have you ever captured one [or more] of those stones when they pass, or had them "blasted" while still inside and determined if they are a calcium type of stone or build up?

Have you ever looked at Chelation therapy, or alternative medicine? This repeated suffering just does not seem right. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=chelation+therapy&ia=about

Had them blasted once, the first one I ever had, many years ago. Involved getting a stent put in while they waited for the blaster. By then I was so sick they had to take the stent out when I was awake. After all of that, taking my first few leaks was like pissing broken glass. And it came out near solid blood.

I think it is a survival mechanism that our brains can forget some of the pain and trauma, or the fear of doing some of these things alone, would kill us?

Quote:

THEN they had screwed up the epidural.

I quit counting about 3 years ago, between my back and shoulders I was over 38 at the time, and I have had a few since.

Maybe this will help. First, you want them done under flouroscopy, [live xray], everyone gets to see exactly where they went and where they placed the injection.

I was in Flagstaff about ten years ago. Seeing Dr. Norris, he has/had good creds. I needed multiple epidurals to get the lumbar pain to reduce and I think he and my insurance must have colluded to decide that what I really needed was facet joint injections. [They were way wrong on that one]

Like you, I was in a nearly stainless room wearing a gown [open in the back] and socks and undies. The 3 nurses were wearing heavy clothes, sweaters, and a lead apron, and with all the lighting, they seemed fairly comfortable. I however was shaking I was so cold, and in bad hurt.

Come to find out, although all the reports give this sadist "glowing" reviews, my opinion differs. They apparently don't believe in even a local anesthetic and gave me a ball to squeeze, and I think a stick to bite? After the second or third, I thought something was wrong as I had had them before and this was nothing similar.

I asked the sadist, "why does this hurt so much"? He would stick a needle in from the side, and steer it around until he found "just the right spot". He pulls it out and shows me, he says " see, this needle is really long and we go in from the side, not in from the back where I had had others". He also informs me that "he" doesn't like to even use novacaine so as I can give him an accurate pain report. Which he expected me to fill out daily for a week.

I had to stop him after 3, I was scheduled for 6. They rolled me out to recovery and at least 3 other staff came up and whispered that, "there are other Dr's around that do this and he is the only one that does it without pain management". Now they tell me.

I was in what I would consider agony. We were living 2 1/2 hours north and they had to give me some morphine or something to get home on. By the time we got home I had quarter sized bruises at the injection sites, and I don't bruise easily. f***er

So seeing as how the whole thing took 10 weeks to get set up and approved with this clinic, I went back for the other 3. This time I told him in no uncertain terms that he was going to give me at least a local.

It took about 2 weeks for me to return. So they give me an IV with some benadryl in it so I don't have a reaction. Within seconds it felt like fire was running in my veins and I started to puke. The nurse says " that must be a bad batch, you are the second one today to have a reaction". So they give me a shot of a bad batch of medicine that is supposed to stop me from having a reaction, and all I wanted was some verced.

That guy has to tell me,one of his patients is already competing in iron man and is a black belt in Karate. I'm thinking, "well isn't that special", I'm just sitting here with bruises all over my spine, and your injections, although in theory [his] didn't help one little thing, at all.

So I was scheduled I think 3 years ago for epidurals, when that nationwide bad batch [Kenalog] was shipped around the country. I think it killed around 76, and gave 300 more, spinal meningitus. I see recently, that lab that had mold growing up the walls and cockroaches crawling around closed. They were some friends or accomplices of some politico's, in New Jersey, IIRC? One of the clinics that received the tainted batch was a few miles northwest of here, so I blew off treatment.

Quote:

Sorry for the rant, but after all that I decided easier to just pass the things and deal with the pain at home as much as I can.

You are entitled to as much rant as you think might help, even if it is only mental. I know I have screamed.

In Alaska I was in so much pain, I know they gave me something just to shut me up, so I didn't scare the others in the emergency ward any more than I already had.

Quote:

Usually they are about every 18 months. Two in such a compressed period is unusual, and I think stress-related what with how slow freelance work is in my biz this year.

You may be spot on about stress. I am currently reading an outpatient program with the Mayo for stress, and have looked at the Stanford Protocol for pelvic floor dysnnergia, they think caused by stress.

In a weird way it is sort of a compliment I guess? The ones that get it or those in high stress positions, like ceo's. dr's. etc. The Mayo program is helping, although I may not "feel" like doing it. At this point, it is vital to tone down the stress.

I hope you will consider, chelation.

Quote: rxwine

Don't get them, but there is suppose to be things you can do to reduce the incidence of them. (diet? )

They say there is but it is all so general as to be mostly useless. Lots of it is just hereditary.

Quote: petroglyph

You may be spot on about stress. I am currently reading an outpatient program with the Mayo for stress, and have looked at the Stanford Protocol for pelvic floor dysnnergia, they think caused by stress.

In a weird way it is sort of a compliment I guess? The ones that get it or those in high stress positions, like ceo's. dr's. etc. The Mayo program is helping, although I may not "feel" like doing it. At this point, it is vital to tone down the stress.

I wouldn't consider myself high-level, just a freelancer who tries to always be working. OTOH most of what I touch is six to eight figures in potential loss if I gum it up. OTOOH I may bring some of it on myself, always trying to have several irons in the fire for gigs.

Here's the stress in my life. It just
started raining and I had to rush
out and roll up my windows. At
the store later I have to pick up
wine for dinner. I need a nap..

Quote: Evenbob

Here's the stress in my life. It just
started raining and I had to rush
out and roll up my windows. At
the store later I have to pick up
wine for dinner. I need a nap..

Now that right there, is a proper attitude.

Quote: AZDuffman

(horror story)

Quote: petroglyph

(horror story)

You just reminded me of my motto: "stay away from the guys with knives"