Bah!
So now we know what that damp spot is on the seat.
A study from Michigan State University has found that a ride on a rollercoaster is just the ticket for those needing help in passing a kidney stone. More specifically, you need to get yourself to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World Florida. And you need to sit at the back. To verify their findings, the doctors …
I *had* to go to the hospital because of the pain associated with passing a kidney stone. I was able to catch it in a plastic cup it and inspect it under a magnifying glass. Looked like the nutsack of these aliens Sigourney Weaver was fighting some years ago -- lots of spikes and jagged edges.
My insurance payed for the night stay, but I had to share the room with another patient, who brought his own radio to listen to religious broadcasts. I think that was done to make me understand that the pain could, indeed, get worse.
The executive summary is: you _REALLY_ do not want to know.
Amen to that. I count kidney stones and appendicitis as the most painful things I have experienced, and that list of experiences includes such fun stuff as dislocating my arm, breaking it in 4 places and having most of the muscles stripped off of it (velocity and gravity don't mix).
It friggin' hurts in a place you can't reach and cannot control. I'm pretty good at controlling pain until I have time to pay attention to it (don't ask), but that won't work with kidney stones - oh no. Trust me, you won't ignore that one. IMHO it's harder to handle than the pain of acute appendicitis, although both will make you very aware of the state of London's roads when you're driven to the hospital. You will feel every little bump, and potholes are murder.
I've had them on 2 separate occasions and can guarantee that a roller coaster would not have helped me passing them. The first one was 14mm in diameter and required sonic pulses through the kidney to break it up. The second was 18mm and required surgery to cut it up and pull out the pieces. Magically, they did this without cutting me open. (You can use your imagination but I simply refer to it as Pee-hole Surgery.....)
> Magically, they did this without cutting me open. (You can use your imagination but I simply refer to it as Pee-hole Surgery.....)
Ah, I like that name.
When I had to have a stone taken out, I'd have people asking me what seem pretty silly questions - one asked if they wen't down my throat to get to it ! Once I start with an explanation of why there's only one route in, there seem to be a lot of legs crossed :-)
As to what a kidney stone feels like ....
I didn't pass mine, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. But having the stone, I would describe the pain as like someone having crept up from behind, stabbed you with a blunt screwdriver and is twisting it around. Meanwhile, someone else has lassood one of your nuts and is swinging off it. All I can say is, the IV paracetamol when I got admitted in A&E was a welcome relief.
Now, I mentioned I had surgery - pee-hole surgery - to get it out. After they'd taken it out, as a day case but kept in overnight, the day case unit and ward failed to properly communicate. So the day case unit send me "out" with some pain relief, the ward didn't give it to me. The first time going to the loo after pee-hole surgery is ... "eye watering". It just isn't describable, and I imagine the aftermath of passing a stone is similar.
People in the know kept saying that it's worse than childbirth.
If it could be induced on demand, a kidney stone would make an excellent torture.
As an aside, according to the CAA, the peak times for recurrence is after 2 years and 7 years - that's when they require re-examination to confirm absence of any further stones for a pilot's medical.
Have passed kidney stone, have had a horse rear up and flip over on me, have had upper arm bone break, ankle break, and appendicitis. Appendicitis was the easiest, and by far the kidney stone was the worst. Would take the horse every day for a week before another kidney stone. And I am female, so a shorter path, can't imagine what it would be for a guy.
Pretty similar to my first thought; I think the correct English would be "One lucky punter passed three stones; one after each of three consecutive rides on Big Thunder", but I'm ready to be corrected if someone thinks there's a better way to phrase it.
> Can anyone tell us what it feels like?
This is the internet. Look hard enough and you're bound to find any number of fetish sites dedicated to the recreational kidney stone experience - no doubt with detailed instructions on how to keep the same one going 'up and down the tubes'.
You're walking down the street, and suddenly, out of nowhere, an invisible man drives a rusting scaffold through your lower back. They then rotate it back and forth, with the odd wrenching twist for good measure.
Not that surprised that the roller-coaster works. The old-fashioned cure was to ride a horse - "the riding cure" - until it passed. For myself, I've had one relapse since, and I jogged on the spot until it was light enough to jog to A&E for a shot of intravenous paracetamol*. So, yeah, jogging helps. On the other hand, if it's your first kidney stone, you just assume that you're dying, and jogging is not really at the forefront of your mind.
* if you are passing a kidney stone, you WILL look like a drug addict and the pain is pretty much the only obvious symptom, so they will offer IV paracetamol to rule out the smack-heads. And it's surprisingly awesome - the pain just melts away.
The one and only time I passed a stone, I blacked out before I even hit the floor. Like, lights out instant. I was only out for a few seconds and when I came to I dragged myself home (only a hundred yards away) and called 999, having convinced myself I'd been shot, despite there being no blood. I've broken every bone in my left foot, my right kneecap, my left arm (multiple fractures between elbow and wrist) and right arm (simple fracture), ripped the muscles away from my larynx, all in different accidents (I'm a bit clumsy) and was dosed up on morphine after a dalliance with diabetic ketoacidosis - none of which hurt as much as that stone. Luckily, after a few hours I was left with dull (if extremely severe) ache which ebbed away after a few days.
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The only reliable way to find out is to experience it yourself. Here are some tips:
Don't drink a lot, especially not water. You want your pee always to be bright yellow. This lets the stones get nice and big before they begin their journey down to the bladder.
Make sure you get lots of calcium, more than your body really needs. And since calcium oxalate is the most common type of stone, go for that and eat lots of foods that are rich in oxalates: tea, chocolate, nuts, etc.
Keep your magnesium intake down, since it tends to lower calcium levels in the body. As a bonus you can enjoy worse sleep and possibly muscle cramps.
And needless to say, avoid roller coasters or even gentler things like running or walking.
Or if you decide that kidney stones are not for you after all, just reverse all the previous advice.
I've never known such excruciating or debilitating pain. And apparently mine wasn't that big - about 3mm according to the scan. A client of mine is a State Registered Nurse and she explained in GREAT detail about the process of passing a stone. First you start with a stone that, in my case, is 3mm. Then you send it down a long tube that's only 1mm wide by peristalsis...
I was hesitant about using 'giving birth' as a comparison but she said yes, that's not far off (different result - obvs)
The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association seems a strange place to publish information regarding renal / urinary disease.
In the UK Osteopathy is regarded as not much more "real" than Homeopathy or Crystallography. How reputable is that magazine? Is it peer-reviewed by mainstream medical experts?
This is exactly the sort of science the Igs would reward.
This year's Ig Nobel recipients won 10 trillion dollars (Zimbabwe dollars). Among the winners were Volkswagen, who won the Chemistry prize "for solving the problem of excessive automobile pollution emissions by automatically, electromechanically producing fewer emissions whenever the cars are being tested.", and the Canadian and US team who won the Peace prize for the study "On the Reception and Detection of Pseudo-Profound Bullshit".
http://www.improbable.com/ig/
Passed about eight of them so far in my lifetime, with (unfortunately) more to come. Not a fun experience at all, but once you've passed a few you get used to the symptoms and you just ride it out as there's really not much they can do to help you, other than pump you full of fluids which you can do yourself.
Next time it happens I guess I'll have to find the nearest coaster and give it a try. Or just jump up and down a lot.
There are stimulators that can put you through the paces without taking up acres of land or require decent weather. Bonus would be medical assistance within arms reach or building in diagnostic monitoring equipment. Just need enough clearance to allow free movement of these souped up cherry pickers.
Do not ride
During Pregnancy
If you've have Heart, back, or neck trouble
High blood pressure
Casts or braces that restrict movement or may interfere with the ride's restraint systems
Motion sickness or inner ear infections
Claustrophobia
Excessive height or other body proportions that could interfere with safety restraints
Bodily control issues that may prevent a rider from properly bracing themselves within the ride unit
Do ride
If you suffer from Kidney Stones
You score a free trip to Disneyland (yes, there is one on the left coast).
Yes, sir it was a medical necessity.
Problems? The time it takes from symptoms to going on the ride may be way too long.
I've only seen stones taken out surgically. My dad had a whole bunch taken out. They aren't small and I can see the pain involved in passing them. Not comfy AT ALL. The stones he had were in the 5-8 mm range. He was given them as a souvenir.
"The cast was then placed into a silicon block and removed."
Translated:
A solid 3D model was made of the interior of the hollow bits viz their "negative space". Then that model was coated with liquid silicone rubber compound. When it had set - the solid 3D model core was removed. That left a block of silicone rubber with the correct passages inside it.
To be pedantic, urine is *not* sterile.
It is generally safe for you *only* because there is nothing there that was not already in your body to begin with. ['Generally' because some toxins/harmful agents can be excreted in the urine and any re-introduction to the body would be by definition toxic/harmful.]
It obviously gets 'interesting' if the urine is someone elses :)
Although the risks should be minimal if the people involved are healthy and not taking anything that would be considered toxic or harmful that could be excreted in the urine.