Is passing a kidney stone the worst pain possible?

I have heard people say that a kidney stone is perhaps the worst pain a human can endure.\ \ Anyone had one?\ \ I am curious.

• What an odd question. Speaking as someone who has endured two, I can tell you it is unfathomable pain.\ I was writhing on the floor of the Emergency Room squealing like a child and finally had to be sedated. Unreal pain.

• I was begging the doctor to kill me....it was that bad.

• I''d never vomited or passed out from pain before having a kidney stone. Mine didn''t pass, so it was surgically removed. The recovery from the surgery, though painful, didn''t compare to the pain from the stone.

• Being flayed alive was a bit more painful, IMHO.

  St. Bartholomew

• It''s either that or a Patty LuPone''s 100th or so performance in the same role.

• Never had a kidney stone, but did have acute appendicitis. Worst pain of my life, even worse than my tooth abcess and subsequent root canal. I assume it is a similar pain.

  PPSM

• I''m sure giving birth gives it a run for its money.

• I''ve never had a kidney stone, but smashing into the ground in an Airbus A330 was no picnic.

  Little Dutch Boy

• Has anyone given birth and had a kidney stone to compare.

• Corneal abrasion made the kidney stone seem like a day at the fucking beach - I wanted to shoot myself in the head to make it stop.

• So what causes people to have to pass kidney stones, or kidney problems in general?

  Scared

• [quote]I''m sure giving birth gives it a run for its money.\ \ I doubt that giving birth is even close.

• R10, how was the corneal abrasion taken care of?

• I, like R3, had never before vomited from pain -- until I had a kidney stone. Quite unfortunately, I threw up the morphine pill the doctor had given me before he sent me to the ER to get an x-ray. Shortly after losing breakfast and the only pain medication anyone saw fit to give me, they wheeled me into the x-ray room and injected a bag full of contrast dye into me for the x-ray. That caused a rush of liquid to the kidneys, thus moving the kidney stone and causing me to nearly pass out because the pain was so incredibly intense. I begged everyone who came near me, stretched out, writing in pain on that gurney, to give me something, anything. Yes, I asked doctors, nurses, the fucking janitor, everyone. Finally, some doctor took pity on me and injected me with morphine, though it was probably just to shut me up. It worked. Yes, there are probably more horrific pains you can endure, but that is right up there. I know some women who have given birth and had kidney stones. Many of them have said they would rather have the kids again.

• This thread proves why men don''t give birth. Good grief.\ \ Also extremely painful? A gallbladder attack. Have one of those and get back to us.

• Years ago I used to work in a hospital. One of my co-workers went to the pharmacy to pick something up for a patient. When he didn''t come back we sent someone to look for him. They found him passed out in a hallway. He was in so much pain that he passed out. That is a lot of pain. He was in our hospital for a few days and they kept him doped up on demerol. \ \ \ \ \ He was sick and he had to spend those days in the very same place. How shitty is that?\ \ \ \ Being doped up on demerol for those days - Priceless

• One time in high school I had an enlarged prostate which blocked off the urine path in the urethra. I Stupidly thought that there was some minor blockage or problem, perhaps I was dehydrated in some way and that drinking a lot would fush it out(I think that perhaps for a few days there was a weak stream, and some still passed). So it keep building until the day it wouldn't come out, and I drank a lot thinking it would help a little blockage dissolve and the water would pour out. Long story short, my bladder had become extremely full and enlarged, and could've torn/exploded. Extremely painful waiting those few hours to be seen at the hospital(and the time at home before we went). I remember thinking that if someone offered me $10,000 to experience that again for just one hour, with full relief afterwards, I wouldn't take it. That said, it sounds like nothing compared to passing a kidney stone, the corneal abrasion, and some cases of appendicitis and tooth abscess. I talked about it with my mom, who witnessed the whole thing, and I concluded it was probably a bit worse than giving birth. About a minute after they finally got to me and put a catheter in, I had complete relief. That's all they needed to do and I had to wait hours. Antiobiotics healed it up.

• Try a piece of a spinal disc pinching off and floating into the nerve root of your lower spine. literally paralyzed by pain -wife had to keep pain meds away for fear I would take my life before I could have surgery.

• I had a kidney stone several years ago. The pain was intense. I woke up, vomited and was terrified because I hadn''t experienced that before - and I''d had appendicitis. \ \ I have no idea how it compares to childbirth but man... The stone dropping from the kidneys was the worst. It took a month to pass and I never had pain after that stone finally appeared one morning.

• A straight friend of mine experienced his first kidney stone in the night while in bed. Telling me about it, he said "I woke up and thought my wife had stabbed me." \ \ I laughed at the hyperbole. But his eyes widened and he said, "No, really, I thought she''d stabbed me."

• I stubbed my toe

• R9, I''ve heard from people that have experienced both that the kidney stone pain is worse.

• In the emergency room with a kidney stone, pleading with a nurse cunt to give me pain killer, I realized how people confess under torture. In all serious, if someone had told me they would give me morphine if I signed a confession to murder, I would have done it. The most unimaginable pain possible.

• OK, after reading this thread, I''d really like to know what one can do to avoid getting a kidney stone.

• >>> A gallbladder attack\ \ \ \ what are the symptoms?What other things happen? Were you nauseous? \ \ \ \ I had some severe, severe nausea attack that lasted 7 days. I don''t what caused it, but someone told me it might be my gallbladder attack. I didn''t have any pain, just terrible nausea. I even tried Zofran (it''s used for nausea in cancer patients) tablets and they didn''t have any effect on me

• Typically, physicians will tell you that passing a kidney stone is the second most intense pain "caused by the body," the first supposedly being childbirth. \ \ I say supposedly because after having had two kidney stone attacks I can''t believe anything could be more painful.

• Drink water

• Are all you people time travellers from the 19th or 20th century?\ \ I thought, in the 21st century, they just set you in a tub of water and ultrasoniced it into dust.

  Clueless

• The only way to avoid kidney stones is to stay hydrated.

• Yes, as an r.n in the emergency ward...you knew they had one when they were throwing up on the walls. \ \ \ \ \ \ \ We would push morphine i.v. and it barely touched the pain.

• No. Being a Cleveland sports fan is the worst pain possible,

• I've had acute appendicitis, acute cholecystitis, AND a kidney stone! (Not at the same time, I hasten to add.) They were all appalling forms of torture, each with its own special charm... the one thing, though, that made me scream like a completely unhinged maniac was pleuritic pain. Pleurisy is one of those conditions that doesn't get much press nowadays. (It sounds like some antiquated complaint from which Victorian slum urchins might have suffered.) I had no idea what it was but it caused an intense burning-stabbing pain that felt as if I were being run through with a red-hot poker. When I woke up that morning I could not move without crying out; there was no comfortable position. I crawled to my car to drive myself to the hospital. By the time I arrived I could not move a muscle without shrieking in agony and tears streaming down my face. After the morphine kicked in (very quickly, thank goodness) I was totally embarrassed at the howling spectacle I made of myself, especially since the nurses outside my room kept up a running commentary on the ruckus. In comparison I would say biliary colic/gallstones and kidney stones are tied for second place, although the quality of the pain was different for each. For me gallstones caused an intense gnawing burning pain in my upper back near my shoulder-blade; unlike the pain from pleurisy, I could still walk upright and talk in a semi-normal fashion without shrieking like some mortally wounded beast. The best part of the whole gallbladder ordeal was the IV Demerol I got post-surgery. That is the [italic]best shit ever.[/italic]

• r28, you would need a time machine to somehow get treatment before the onset of the symptom that let you know you had a stone. I was eating breakfast one day, with no idea what was to come, and I very suddenly got an intense flank pain to the point of throwing up. A trip to a Med-Check was followed by an ambulance trip to the hospital emergency room. There was no symptom prior to the excruciating pain. I passed the little speck the next day.

• R25, if you feel as though someone has stabbed you in the abdomen, just below your rib cage on the right, and is now twisting the knife in your side, you have gallstones. \ \ I''ve never had a kidney stone, so I can''t compare. But I passed out from gallstone pain. At one point, I couldn''t even hold down water, much less solid food.

• post rejected? why?

• Sorry, it was my anniversary date around here :). \ r24: don''t drink dark colored sodas. Google Diet Coke and kidney stones. That is what did it in my case.

  r35

• [quote]I thought, in the 21st century, they just set you in a tub of water and ultrasoniced it into dust.\ \ No. I thought that also, but I was wrong. That treatment is only for large stones that will not otherwise pass. And, there is a risk: the ultrasonic waves break one stone into many smaller stones. That may move things along, but you are still going to be in pain while the stones are passing through the kidney.\ \ Understand, please, that the size of a stone that can cause excruciating pain is rather tiny. It does not need to be a boulder or even a pebble to make you scream out in agony. So, breaking up one of those suckers is not the quick and easy solution the media made it out to be when the procedure was first introduced.

  R14

• On Easter Sunday morning I went to the ER (St Lukes Roosevelt on 59th St.) with excruciating abdominal pains. They thought I was ''drug-seeking'' and sent me away with ibuprofen. They could find nothing wrong with me and when I asked for an ultrasound the dr. in charge said they were closed for the weekend. (The dr. in charge turned out to be head of the ER. So when I wrote to complain about my treatment there, there was no one to complain to).\ \ Turned out to be a kidney stone. Which I never passed; had to get it removed later that week. Horrible, horrible pain. Never going to the ER at St. Lukes-Roosevelt again if I can help it, either.

• I got really sick back in January for about 2 weeks, and it felt EXACTLY like R34 described. I distinctly remember telling someone I couldn't see them because my liver had exploded. I wasn't insured or working at the time, so I just didn't move, laid on my left side on my couch with my right arm over my head, smoked copious amounts of pot, and kept my fingers crossed that it would eventually go away. And thank god it wasn't eye pokingly bad for more than 4 days. I kept telling myself if I ran a fever or the pain moved to my left side I would go to the hospital...it never did. Now I'm employed and will be insured in another month and a half (contract to hire). I've been avoiding self-diagnosing, especially when I had no path to a doctor, since it would only terrify me, but it does sound like gallstones. I think at the time I decided it wasn't because the amount of pain was consistent, changing my diet, or not eating at all made no difference. But I can't deny that the pain in that area wasn't new, I'd had a flareup a couple of years before, and it's not completely gone. I still can't sleep on my right side, and pain alternates between the usual position under my right ribcage and around back behind my shoulder blade. At least it doesn't sound too serious, as long as I can make it to insurance without another flareup.

• Never had a stone, and I''m way tolerant of pain, but having two rib breaks was excruciating.\ \ You never want to cough under those conditions.

• In case it is gallstones, avoid fatty foods, avoid grease. You want to eat a bland, low fat diet.

• "I begged everyone who came near me, stretched out, writing in pain on that gurney, to give me something, anything. Yes, I asked doctors, nurses, the fucking janitor, everyone. Finally, some doctor took pity on me and injected me with morphine, though it was probably just to shut me up. It worked."\ \ Honey, its called Sunday morning.

  Lindsay Lohan

• I have had both a child and a kidney stone, and I am here to tell you the kidney stone was far worse. With childbirth, first of all, you're surrounded by a sympathetic team of nurses and doctors urging you on, you have a purpose for the pain, the contractions aren't constant, you can request drugs if you want them, etc. I was sitting in a coffee shop reading the newspaper one Sunday morning when I tried to get up to pee - and nothing came out. But I knew I had to go. Went home, tried again, nothing. Suddenly, a horrible knife-like pain shot through my lower left side. I thought my internal organs were exploding. I crumpled up on the bathroom floor and began wailing ... it was that bad. I finally grabbed my cell phone and had to call a friend to drive me to the hospital, where the nurses - like another post - thought I was faking it and just wanted meds. Finally it became obvious that I was having serious issues when the pain got bad enough that I began vomiting everywhere. After a three-hour ER wait, which felt like an eternity, I was wheeled into a patient room while they went to find someone to administer a shot of Demerol. Oh holy ^%$#. At this point, I was begging someone to kill me. The pain was UNREAL. I can't even describe it - picture your internal organs being pureed in a blender and then knifed up. After they gave me the painkillers, I felt better almost right away and was ordered to drink a ton of water and try to see if the kidney stone appears by catching it in a sieve. No thanks. It was, hands down, the worst day of my life. You do not ever want a kidney stone.

  Crying as I type

• more on how to avoid kidney stones

  viewing cola in a new light

• I had gallstones. All I remember is lying on the floor underneath the kitchen table and then lying on the floor in the emergency room lobby. And then telling some intern I loved him after the pain shot kicked in.

• I feel for you but\ \ the worst pain possible is that a message board for do it yourself home improvement is more interesting than the datalounge - and it''s free...free...all the time.\ \ And it doesn''t ask you to fuckin follow it on twitter

• I just had a surgery TODAY to get rid of a kidney stone...read this and you will get your answer..%0D %0D couple of days ago i woke up with a horrible pain on my right side. i thought, am i dying? what am i to do now? so i got up and tried to breathe, i fell. then i felt like 7 SHARP knives were inside of me...CUTTING me from inside none stopp.. %0D %0D i tried sitting, standing, running, showering, sleeping, NOTHING helped.. i cried.. i cursed at everyone and was BEGGINGGG my mom to kill me.%0D %0D so we went to ER finally and i was crawling on the floor..i was crying so loud the people in the ER felt sorry for me..they took me in.. gave me morphine.. didn't help.. so i was screaming my lungs out..they gave me tortol or something like that.. it helped%0D %0D anyway.. they did surgery to pass it because i cudnt pass it on my own..%0D %0D i threw up constantly.. didn't eat for a few days..medicine made me sick.. i was asking God to take my life..ppl were constantly feeling sorry for me.%0D %0D EVERYONEEEEEEEEEEEEEE in the ER told me "kidney stone is the worst.. way worse than childbirth" the RN told me a HUGE guy with muscles.. and like 30 year old.. CRIED LIKE A BABY because of kidney stone

• [quote] Is passing a kidney stone the worst pain possible?%0D\ %0D\ No, the worst pain possible is sitting through Stephanie Miller''s standup act.

• Uh, no. I bet you''re a guy, aren''t you, OP? \ \ The worst possible pain in the world is giving birth naturally. Maybe passing a kidney stone is the worst pain a man can experience but I''ve known a couple of women who passed stones and they said it was nowhere near as painful as having a baby.

• I've had it twice. The second time was worse.%0D %0D The first time.. it felt... You know those little kitchen utensils that are used to core tomatoes? To take out the stem part? Usually a red plastic handle, with a little scoop like a melon-baller, but with sharp serated teeth? Well, the kidney stone felt sorta like someone took a very rusty one of those things, and jammed it into my lower back, to the side, and just constantly twisted it.%0D %0D It's just CONSTANT. And nothing you do helps. You can't sit still. You can't lie down. You almost have to constantly move. And yeah, it comes in WAVES as well, and the waves of pain make you throw up. It's THAT intense.%0D %0D So why was the second one worse? Well, because the stone got "caught" right at the valve where the uritor connects with the bladder. This means it stimulated the nerves that tell you that you realy, really have to go pee RIGHT NOW.%0D %0D For hours, I was walking back and forth between the two bathrooms in my house, throwing up in one, and desperately trying to pee non-existant urine in the other, screaming in between. It was a fucking nightmare to have the constant feeling you have to pee right now, urgently, all the time, ON TOP of the intense kidney stone pain.%0D %0D I've had women with children tell me in no uncertain terms that kidney stone pain is worse than child birth. Might not be true for all births or all kidney stones, but it's obviously true in some cases.%0D %0D I had a pleural pain before too, and that was intense, but it wasn't CONSTANT and didn't come in WAVES that made me vomit. It was horrible, but it wasn't as bad over-all.%0D %0D About the only thing that really compares is when I was taking a shower and my left lung spontaneously collapsed 100%. Now THAT was pain. But pain that was over after only a few minutes. Unlike kidney stone pain which just goes ON and ON and ON. But that was far more intense (and also involved lots of screaming and vomiting and falling out of the tub naked and then calling 911... and let me tell you, the chest tube while you're awake wasn't fun either, even if I was on a lot of IV drugs by that point, and the rehabilitation was agonizing for weeks... so yeah, that was worse, but still).%0D %0D %0D %0D

• What to do to avoid Kidney Stones varies. There are several types of stones, so there are several types of causes. The only sure way to know is to actually develop one, and then pass it and have it analyzed, along with a 24-hour urine analysis (collect all urine for 24 hours, and have it analyzed).%0D %0D In my case, I had to increase my intake of citrate (mostly by drinking the juice of a fresh lemon daily) as well as lower my intake of cholate (cut down or eliminate dark green leafy vegetables, among other foods).%0D %0D Beyond that, drink a glass (8oz) of cranberry juice every day, and enough water so that you pee about 3 liters a day, and you shouldn't have to worry.%0D %0D I currently have three stones in my left kidney. As long as they're in the kidney, there's no pain. Hopefully they'll sit tight, or just slowly disolve away into nothing. The PAIN comes when they travel down the uritor. The pain lasts as long as they move. If they get stuck in the uritor and don't move at all, the pain will vanish.%0D %0D Some stones are smooth, some are spiked and sharp. Obviously the latter hurts more and is more difficult to pass.%0D %0D

• If you ever were served raisins in a tuna salad, OP, you''d know that a kidney stone is far from the worst pain possible.

  R44 From the Tuna Salad Thread/The Anti-Raisin Troll

• R52, it''s far worse to find olives in tuna salad. But Kidney stone pain is pretty bad. You''d probably have to put raisins, olives, AND walnuts in it to make tuna salad even remotely as bad.%0D\ %0D\ I''m just sayin''.%0D

• Forget about waterboarding. We need to figure out how to give the bad guys kidney stones.

• I''ve never had a kidney stone (yet, knock on wood) but the stories about nurses not believing your pain make me feel a little less crazy. On New Year''s Day, I got sudden, unexplained pain. I have vague memories of all manner of fluids exploding from both ends, of being soaked in sweat and having excruciating pain and begging my partner to call 911. I was in and out of consciousness. The nurse acted like I was exaggerating. A doctor had to demand morphine.\ \ Turned out it was nothing serious, but oddly my doctor had the same thing happen to him a few years ago. He said the ER nurses were bitches to him, too. Are they trained to be assholes to people in pain or something?

• losing to Sandra Bullock was the worst pain you can endure

  M

• My mother had kidney stones right before my birth. She said that having me a was a breeze compared to the kidney stones. This is a very common story amongst women who''ve had them. Kidney stones are the worst pain imaginable. People would rather give birth to triplets than to have them. The can literally make you pass out on the floor because its so fucking painful!

• Cluster headache. nuff said.

• Oxalates in foods are what create the most common type of kidney stones.

  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48

• Thanks R59. Are there foods that fight off Oxalates and/or kidney stones?

• [quote] so i was screaming my lungs out..they gave me tortol or something like that.. i\ \ Toradol. It''s an anti-inflammatory. Works well, but use must be limited because of dangerous side effects with prolonged use. We used to give it twice a day for 3 days to our patients who had chest tubes. They used to ask us to give it again ands forget the narcotics (narcotics make people woozy and nauseated, Toradol doesn''t). But alas, we could not. Three days max.

• R32\ \ I had a pleurisy attack, and I concur, it was the most excruciating pain I ever felt. I literally screamed for 2 hours while they tested my for a heart attack. Pleurisy is an infection of the lung lining. You lung (dry) rubs against the chest cavity. I can not describe the pain.

• I passed a ureter stone and had nonidea whatnwas going on because the pain was in the front, not the back. It started as a twinge deep in my right abdomen, near the pelvis. I thought it was mittelschmertz. It continued and I had a dental appointment that day, so I went to the dentist. On my way there, I realized the pain was coming at regular intervals. While I was in the dentist chair, the pain got worse and worse. I was drawing my legs up. "Sorry,, sorry .. Bad cramps, I guess." (My dentist was female). By the time I left the office I knew something was going on. I sat in the car in the parking lot and every few seconds had to draw my knees to my chest. I thought, "this is coming in eaves like labor pains.". I called a friend who is a women's health NP on my cell to ask her if I might have burst an ovarian cyst... But it felt like it kept bursting over and over again. My friend was at work and got back to me hours later. Luckily, I had Tylenol #3 the dentist had prescribed for my root canal. I took one, then another one an hour later, then a half of another one. After about two hours of drawing my knees to my chest In the car, the pain eased enough for me to drive the 10 minute distance home. I passed out when I got home. I awoke 90 minutes later, had another 10 minutes of pain waves and then it suddenly stopped.

• I had pleurisy and it was painful, but screamingly painful? No. Not even close to passing a stone. Pleurisy is rather exhausting, since you cannot sleep. If you fall asleep you start to breathe deeply and the deep breathing causes pain that wakes you up. This goes on for days. I used to smoke and went to my doctor complaining of chest pain and he told me I had bronchitis without even listening to my lungs and told me to lay off the cigarettes. My mother took me back 5 days later and told him, "This is no bronchitis. I''m not a doctor and I can tell this isn''t bronchitis, so figure out what it is and break out that prescription pad!" That''s when he listened to my chest and heard the rub.

• No it is not the worse pain. I have passed 3 stones before, and yes, it was very painful and made me very ill. But it was not nearly as bad as the time I ruptured a disk in my back, or the time I had abdominal surgery. Both of which made me understand why people kill themselves rather than live in pain.

  I am ok now

• [quote]Oxalates in foods are what create the most common type of kidney stones.%0D\ %0D\ Actually, R59, if you read that whole article, there is no conclusive evidence linking the consumption of oxalate-laden food with kidney stones. According to the article, only about 15% of the oxalate in the human body comes from food. Since a lot of those foods are very healthy, it seems unwise to limit them unless an MD suggests it.

• What was the deal with your abs? How extensive was the surgery?

• ^ removal of a tumor on my liver and a piece of my liver being removed (benign tumor, thank god) and exploratory laparotomy- where the surgeon feels and examines your internal organs for any other tumors, cancer, cyst, or damage etc... The recovery was absolute hell too.

• How to prevent them? One theory suggests supplementation with Vitamin B6 and magnesium.

  http://www.mg12.info/articles/kidney-stones.html

• Thanks R69.

• Mine were cholate stones... I''m perscribed to avoid dark-green leafy vegetables (high in cholate) and to increase my intake of citrate (like lemon juice).%0D\ %0D

• R63 I''m now wondering if I may have had the same thing. I had a lot of the same symptoms you had. My pain hit me in the middle of the night and was so bad that I felt like vomiting. It would keep hitting me wave after wave, nonstop for about 5 hours or so. I thought maybe I had ruptured an ovary or something but didn''t have health insurance and didn''t want to deal with getting taken to collections over an ER bill so I waited it out at home. Finally it stopped and that was it. \ \ It was far worse than when my back went out for 6 weeks.

• If life gives you kidney stones, make lemonade.

  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/24/health/webmd/main1653742.shtml

• Good find, R73.

• R20 - I can empathize, because that''s exactly what it feels like - as if you''re being stabbed. Or, I guess, what you imagine being stabbed would feel like. I didn''t have a very bad one, and what I had broke up and passed in a couple hours, but man - I couldn''t imagine having one last longer than that. I''m sure childbirth is a lot worse, but really, pain is relative to the person who feels it, and I''m a big pussy when it comes to pain. Hell, I still cry when I throw up and I''m 40!

• Believe me, R75, what I''ve heard from women about childbirth doesn''t even come close to what I''ve read in this thread or heard about other physical issues from other people.

• I''ve had kidney stones and diverticulitis.\ I''d take the kidney stones again in a flash.\ \ I think there''s a door frame or two in my old apartment that has my fingernail marks in it from the intense pain of diverticulitis. Imagine diahrea cramping times 1,000. \ \ In fact, in the early stages, I thought it was another kidney stone. Then as things progressed I was quickly doubled up on the floor screaming.

• That sounds incomprehensibly awful, R77.

• have u had a q-tip stuck inside your penis to see if you have an std? ouch.

• I had one of my lungs spontaneously collapse while I was taking a shower. A 100% collapse.%0D\ %0D\ THAT was the most painful thing ever. %0D\ %0D\ But Kidney Stones were a close second.%0D

• Nope, R79. Is that commonly done? R80, how and why does a lung collapse? I cannot imagine the magnitude of that pain and horror.

• r81, it was about 10 years ago and I forget which std, maybe gonorrhea to get a sample? I honestly don''t remember, but OWWWWWWWWWWW.

• R79/R81, I''ve had that done. It doesn''t even live on the same planet as kidney stone pain.%0D\ %0D\ Yes, it''s uncomfortable. Even painful. But ... there''s simply no comparison. Not even close. %0D\ %0D

• [quote]R80, how and why does a lung collapse? I cannot imagine the magnitude of that pain and horror.%0D %0D You said that exactly right. I was alone in the house at the time. It was horrible and horrifying. I had never heard of a collapsed lung, so I had no idea what was going on, and that just made it worse.%0D %0D Anyway, I'm tall and then, and I grew really quickly. Apparently, for people with my build, there is a not-uncommon issue where the support structure around the lung isn't sufficient, and a "weak spot" (called a "bleb") can rupture spontaneously, and all the air rushes out of the lung, pushing it down into a tiny little mass smaller than your fist just hanging off the bronchial tube.%0D %0D The process isn't instantanous, or smooth, and of course it triggers a lot of couging in with the screaming from the pain. At the time I likened it to someone taking a baseball bat, and pushing it, fat end first, through your back through your chest and out the front.%0D %0D It mostly happens to smokers, so I was rare in that it happened to a non-smoker. But at 6'4" and only 160lbs, I was exceedling tall and thin, so I "fit the profile". Most collapsed lungs are due to trauma... and most are not 100% collapses either.%0D %0D I could go on into a lot more detail (there's some good stories there), but it's late and I need to go to bed. But let me say that the cure was every bit as painful as the initial trauma (and lasted a lot longer).%0D %0D And even with all of that, I put Kidney Stones a solid second on the pain scale.%0D %0D

• Shit R84, I''m very sorry that happened to you. Perhaps another day you can tell us about the cure.

• [quote]Anyway, I''m tall and then,%0D\ %0D\ Erk. I meant "tall and thin" obviously.%0D\ %0D\ And "coughing". Good lord, it''s late. I should really go to bed. Forgive the typos.%0D\ %0D\ %0D\ %0D

• r86, your such a card, hon! Here''s coughing up a lung at ya!

• It''s pretty bad, as described; I''d rate it the same as gallstone pain, which I also had. With the gallstone, I did throw up, and then the pain and incident was over; I was told that was typical. After the second attack, had my gall bladder removed. Then last June I woke up at four in the a.m. with a similar, horrible pain%E2%80%94but on my LEFT side; gallbladder was on the right side. Went to the ER at Bellvue; they had me diagnosed and on painkillers by 10-11 a.m. After the first pill, I fell asleep. When I woke up, about 2 p.m., there was no pain, and I went to the bathroom...lo and behold, I passed the stone with no pain whatsoever (the worst thing about it was retrieving it from the toilet so my doctor could have it analyzed). I only knew to look for it because they''d told me to at Bellvue. So remember...each person''s experience is different. And I highly recommend the Bellvue ER.

• I have have gone through childbirth and had my gallbladder removed due to stones-diverticulitis. They are different forms of pain.\ \ Childbirth is by far more painful, I was in labor for 26 hours and my water broke naturally early on, this caused me to feel the painful contractions more intensely and thus was way more painful than going through labor insulated by the fluid, thankfully most women go through labor intact and the Dr. breaks the water at the end. \ For men, I would say the closest they get is gallbladder issues and kidney stones.\ Neither is a walk in the park, but we women deal with painful periods and know childbirth will be painful, men do not have these experiences or expectations so the pain they feel blindsides them.

  Anonymous

• I had a gallbladder attack,it''s the same kind of pain as a kidney stone attack...horrid. And for those who say giving birth is worse,,,it''s probably on the same level but at least you know it''s going to end soon, with these attacks they can last forever it seems

• Sounds like every experience is different. I had a large kidney stone, looked just like a tic-tac on the x-ray but I was lucky it was smooth like that. It hurt like hell when it moved but then it would stop. This went on for a month as I waited to pass it. It eventually got stuck in the opening of my bladder, that''s when it feels like you have to pee really bad all the time. The pain, for me, was bad but bearable. Finally it passed with a quick jolt of split-second pain. While I had the kidney stone, It did feel like someone kicked me in the balls though.

• The pain and yearning of not having my big dicked, uncut Romanian rent-boy is intolerable, a pain no other human being should endure.

  OP of that other thread.

• Isn''t it harder/more painful for a man to pass a stone? There''s a longer path out anyway, right?

• There are kidney stones and there are kidney stones. Yes it is supposed to be one of the most painful of pains- but not always as horrible described. Depends somewhat on the size of the stone and the individual ureter.%0D %0D In my rather long experience of observing pain in hospitalized patients, I would rate bone metasteses as the most horrible pain. Other tumor pain such as can happen with pancreatic cancer spreading locally can be pretty awful too. But defuse bone mets are the worst I have seen in patients. They usually require high dose opiate pain treatment- nerve blocks as well, but even that can be dicey since defuse bone mets are everywhere.%0D %0D Kidney stones tend not to be life threatening- so they can be triaged to a lower level in ERs. Lesson there is to have a primary MD, and NOT go to an ER with kidney stones, at least in the US. Call your doctor and tell her/him it is an emergency if you are in great pain.%0D %0D Worst pain I ever had came from what turned out to be a pinched or tweaked nerve in my neck that produced first a headache and then a HEADACHE. For 2-3 days I could not keep food down, had to sip water in small amounts, larger would come right back up... tylenol with codeine did not make a wit of difference... and it abated to a normal headache. I did not sleep for 3 days, I passed out a couple times, one time came to on my living room floor. I thought I had meningitis as first, did not- I have a primary MD who ruled that out and correctly diagnosed the nerve tweek. %0D %0D Yes drink lots of water. In most people they are caused by too much calcium excretion in the urine which is an heritary condition. Avoid megadosing vitamin C which can cause stones, and if you have "gout" (high uric acid) make sure you are treated- and back off on animal protein in your diet. Some people with problems like colitis or Crohns disease who have had part of their intestine removed are at risk for stones as well- cause by overabsorption of oxalates in the diet. Occassionally stones can cause infection which makes the whole thing worse and more serious, so they do require pretty timely medical attention. The major symtom of infection is fever and more diffuse discomfort.%0D %0D

  charlie

• I''ve had two, I think the worst was the sickness before I passed them, the lower back pain. Passing them hurt like hell but was such a relief.

• Gallstones here. Beyond the blinding pain was the ferocious nausea, vomiting and dry heaves. Really horrible.\ \ You really do doubt your ability to remain alive.

• cramps

• w&w R5

• R93, kidney stones cause the intense pain described by others in this thread when they are in the the ureters - the path connecting the kidneys (where urine is made) to the bladder. Men have longer urethras - connecting the bladder to the outside world, but when the stone enters the bladder the worst part by far is over. \ \ The ureter is more rigid and is supplied by different types of nerves than the urethra.\ \ It should be said that there is no correct answer to which of these phenomena are the most painful. Pain is by definition subjective and there are various degrees of all the conditions mentioned. There is mild pleurisy and then there is severe pleurisy. Furthermore, those who feel they don''t have a particular disease because they are missing one type of common symptom should think twice. Things rarely present exactly as they are discussed in textbooks.

• I had them twice, too and yes, they are painful and frustrating - like earlier posts I threw up from the pain and was begging for painkillers from doctors and nurses. I even got out of my hospital bed with the IV in my arm, walking to the door so they could hear and see me begging for painkillers.%0D\ %0D\ The doctor said the best thing to do to avoid them is to drink lots of water.

• Passing the kidney stone is not nearly as bad as when the stone blocks the urine duct in the kidney. That''s a pain that will make you wish for death. The actual passing of the stone through the urethra, while painful, is minor in comparison. Trust me on that one.

• They found kidney stones in Egyptian mummies.

• I was hosptialised with them not two weeks ago. Happy Days.

• R80/R84 I too have had a kidney stone and a partially collapsed lung -- actually the lung collapsed a total of three different times over the course of four years. The "spontaneous pneumothorax," while painful were not on the order of the pain that I felt from the kidney stone. And, your description of the typical people affected by this condition is accurate. I was in my early 20s, tall, and very, very thin. The first two times, the lung -- over the course of a few weeks -- inflated on its own without any intervention. The third, and last time, a much more significant percentage of the lung had collapsed and I went to the ER where the doctor inserted a chest tube. When he reinflated the lung it was painful, but they gave me good drugs afterward, so I didn't care. A day or two later when he yanked the tube out -- it felt like it was the length of a garden hose and about as wide -- the pain was excruciating, and the drugs weren't as good, but it was over very fast. I was in law school at the time of the third occurrence and the father of one of my friends was a thoracic surgeon. A few months after it was over he told me that if it happened one more time, they would likely recommend taking "preventative action" to make sure it never happened again. I knew what that entailed because another classmate had gone through it. He too was also tall and very thin. The doctors made an incision through his back, "roughed up" the lungs, and then sewed him back up. This was done to promote the growth of scar tissue which would be stronger than the original tissue. My friend said that his recovery took weeks and was a nightmare because every breath hurt (like the folks above describing pleurisy). This was 35 years ago, and I doubt that they even do this type of procedure any longer. It sounded barbaric.

  R14/69

• bone cancer is apparently the worst pain in the world but i have had acute pancreatits and apparently thats the second worst it was excrusiating i would rather die than go through that ever again

• I had a kidney stone about 30 years ago. Passing it is by far not the most horrible pain ever (although it's painful and most times bloody). The horrible pain comes long before the stone gets into your urethra. It's when it blocks the duct way back in your bladder (or wherever the duct is that gets blocked). That pain will bring you to your knees. I went through torture for months on and off trying to pass a stone that turned out to be smaller than a grain of rice. Then one day I was standing at the urinal doing my business and I felt something solid coming up my urethra. It didn't actually hurt much at all but I then it came out and I saw some blood mixed in my urine. I almost fell to the floor thanking God or whoever that I had finally passed the damn thing and praying I'd never get another one. So far so good.

• The ER physician treating me for a kidney stone described what the pain would be like once the stone had moved from my kidney and begun its exit journey. "The pain will be less than it is right now, but it'll still feel like you're pissing barbed wire."

• The thing about childbirth I haven't seen anyone mention yet (despite the fact this thread is 18 months old), is that women naturally release oxytocin, an amnestic hormone, throughout the birthing process. It blunts the pain, at least in women's memory of the event. So you can never trust a woman when she tells you how much pain she experienced (or didn't experience), because the truth is she doesn't really remember it. My sister is a perfect example of this - she was screaming and crying her head off during her first and second child - yet to this day she swears that it was "easy," that she didn't experience a lot of pain, etc. And she says it all so smugly, to the point that I just want to smack her and tell her, "Trust me, I was there, and you were screaming like a banshee." So I have no problem believing that childbirth is as painful or more painful than kidney stones, it's just that most women don't remember it well enough to know that.

• Don't drink tea, coffee, anything carbonated, drink lots of water. Dr.s want people that have had stones to drink one gallon of water a day. Water, water, water.

• [quote] pleading with a nurse cunt to give me pain killer Nurses are not in charge of giving you pain medication. The doctors, PAs and NPs are. If there is no order for pain medication, the nurse cannot give it. The best medication for kidney stone pain is Toradol. Unfortunately, Toradol can only be given for a limited number of times because it can cause side effects. Then it's back to morphine, which is not even close to the pain relief of Toradol. Many hospital units no longer have Demerol in their medication cabinets because of the potential for abuse, particularly by staff members. IV Demerol gets you really high and happy, as well as relieveing pain, while morphine reduces pain without so much of a high. I loved Demerol back when I had it. Morphine... meh, it makes me dizzy. Demerol is still stocked in hospital pharmacies for postanesthesia shivering.

• The worst pain of my life. It feels as though someone is relentlessly stabbing you with the tip of a dagger in your side.

• I had a stone in grad school in '93 or '94. Pain woke me out of a sound sleep, and after less than an hour of me pacing the floor it got so bad I couldn't stand upright. I got both Demerol in the ER and a scrip for Percocet. Luckily, it was a small stone and it disintegrated while I was in the ER -- I can't imagine how people who've had larger stones endured the pain. The doctors told me it had probably been caused by the high lime concentration in the water of the town where I was going to school.

• I knew a woman who had 5 children, and she swore to me that passing a kidney stone hurts far worse than having a baby.

• I continuously vomited from the pain, and writhed on the floor of the ER (at this point I couldn't stand or even sit/hunch over). My hands were going white and numb because I wasn't breathing regularly - basically I was hyperventilating. The agony was unforgettable.

• Worst. Pain. EVER. Have had two bouts with kidney stones. First one started as a nauseous feeling as I was driving home from work ... like I was going to be sick to my stomach. A low, uneasy pain in the abdominal area. Pain got progressively worse once I got home, and no -- NO -- position alleviated the pain. I tried stretching out, fetal position, rocking on the bed, standing on my head .. nothing. Got so bad that I headed for the hospital, running every red light and stop sign on the way (it was 2 a.m. with no real traffic). Barely made it through the ER doors and couldn't fill out any of the paperwork in my state of being. They managed to get me into a room where I upchucked all over the place due to the pain. They knocked me out with some sort of painkiller and I woke up the next morning with my doctor saying, "Congratulations, you've come as close to childbirth as you'll ever come." I passed it about 1/2 hour later that morning, where it was caught in a "strainer" and analyzed for composition. You will -- WILL -- want to kill yourself at the height of a kidney stone session.

  Stoned%20Love

• bump

• I went through a period where I had stones every 6 months or so. It was awful. I had lithotripsy 3-4 times in a year and a half. After a while, I got used to them. I could feel one moving around and then at some point I would piss and - PING! Out the stone would come, ricocheting off the porcelain. They actually are crystalline in shape...and shit brown. Glad I passed through that phase.

• Thanks, R109. Good advice.

• So in retrospect, did all of you people who had kidney stones have bad health/eating/drinking habits that contributed to them? Please describe them and what to avoid if you don't mind.

• R15- bitch, have you had a kidney stone?

  Anonymous

• R119, see R109's reply. Both of mine were from too much coffee, cola and calcium. Slight change in dietary habits and I've been stone-free every since (25+ years since the last one).

  Stoned%20Love

• It's a walk in the park compared to fibro and gluten sensitivity.

• I can answer that with a resounding YES. I was literally convulsing and shaking... the pain was that intense. I almost blacked out too. Incredible. Just incredible. I now drink an uncomfortable gallon of water a day just so I don't have to deal with that ever again.

• R123, what are the preventive measures that the rest of us can take in order to avoid having to ever experience this?

• Drink lots of H20.

• Thanks, can do!

• r24, I have read that olive oil can help prevent them. Earthclinic.com is a resource I've used and I like it.

  but don't take my word for it

• Thanks, R127. Olive oil really is wonderful.

• It's cause it's the closest thing men will ever come to childbirth. Plain and simple.

• R129, passing a kidney stone sounds FAR WORSE than childbirth, and I am not trying to downplay childbirth.

• When I had Shingles I wanted to die.

• If you are prone to having kidney stones, don't eat a lot of spinach (oxalic acid). Take IP6 to prevent.

  Anonymous%20

• Pulling down the pants of my "love at first sight" partner, only to meet the gaze of a turgid baby dick was a pain I shall never forget.

• My doctor said that women who have given birth and passed kidney stones say the kidney stone is worse. I've passed one and I hope to god never again. That shit hurts. I literally couldn't stand up right at the hospital. I remember the nurse yelling at me that she couldn't read my paper work. I was like fuck I can't even stay up right bitch I fill the paper work out later.

• R130, you can get meds for the pain of a kidney stone. With childbirth you don't unless you want to endanger the baby (except for an epidural). There's no way a kidney stone is worse than passing an 8 lb living being out of a 2 inch vaginal canal.

• From what I've heard, it certainly is worse, R135.

• Omg, r133!

• [quote]what are the preventive measures that the rest of us can take in order to avoid having to ever experience this? Well, I mentioned it upthread, but I'm happy to repeat what has worked for me: B vitamins and magnesium supplements. I've taken both and not had another kidney stone in 15 years. A few weeks ago I confirmed this with my doctor, who is a medical school professor and a very highly regarded urologist.

  R69

• Thanks, R138. But I was wondering if the requirements were different for those who have already passed a stone, as opposed to those of us that never have.

• better a kidney stone than a David Stone.

• my doctor said the best thing is drinking lots of water - I heard that from two different doctors in different cities (had them twice)

• Irukandji Syndrome, bitches.

  http%3A//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_syndrome

• Oh I also remember trying to tell the nurse what was wrong, like others have stated she wasn't impressed that I was in pain, and then feeling like the floor had dropped out from under my feet and I kept hearing this screeching banshee. I looked at the nurse and said what is that sound and she said it's you!! I got my morphine, it took the edge off but I was still in pain. Once I was able to pee I peed frothy blood then finally the stone. Took three friggin days. I couldn't eat or sleep. All I did was lie on the couch drink water and pee and take pain meds. No lie I lost 10 pounds in three days.

• I just passed the biggest effin kidney rock in creation. It was 9mmx5mm. Had one about 15 years ago and it was a few grains of sand large. That time and this, the worst thing was the pain when it was moving from my kidney to my bladder. Actually peeing it out, even this big one, didn't really hurt that much. But the experience of seeing something solid come out of your dick...that was terrifying. I must have a pretty high pain tolerance. Even with this recent kidney rock, I did not experience nearly the pain others have described.

• So is hydration the main thing? Even if you drink a good amount of water, will the likelihood of eventually getting a kidney stone increase in correlation to how much alcohol you drink?

• I think that there are teas with tonifying herbs that would help with this. Republic of Tea apparently has some great tasting ones with good reviews, I just ordered some. Otherwise a natural foods shop would have quality teas that tonify the organs, and this takes care of the hydration part too.

  trying to hydrate more

• I have heard some women talk about keeping emergency contraceptive on hand just in case. That's smart vs. haing to wait hours to go get it. I don't even have OTC pain relievers in the house but this thread makes me want to keep powerful pain relievers on hand even if I have to get them from Mexico. Throwing up and pissing myself in pain is nothing to look forward to, and the longer you live the more that it's a possibility, what with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, kidney stones and the odd pinched nerve root.

  your body is trying to kill you

• I experienced my 1st kidney stone today. I was lucky; pain lasted only 15 minutes before it made it to the bladder. I just arrived at the er where they had an xray and ultrasound done. It looks that the best is to come; i have a 5mm stone waiting in my right kidney...they prescribed me percocet so i'll be ready when it tries to make its way out. About the pain, it was definitely intersting. But it is still less painfull than the acute pancreatitis attacks i experienced 15 yeats ago... Some of them lasting more than 48 hours. I have not been in hell (yet) , but i'm sure it feels a little bit like that.

  manu

• I had a kidney stone and experienced no pain at all until it was in my urethra. Even then, the pain was pretty mild. It was more uncomfortable than anything else. I did have intermittent episodes of peeing blood, however, for months before it passed.

• I've had a bunch. Some not so bad; discomfort and peeing blood (which is terrifying). Others i can't remember; was so painful i blocked it out.

• This thread is making me horny.

• being burned is the worst pain. It is blinding pain.

• Nighshades have been implicated in causing kidney stones. Think about it: our grandparents never had them, and they didn't drink water all day. And they likely drank strong coffees and teas. It's because we eat far too many (shouldn't eat any) tomatoes and potatoes.

• The first time I had lithotripsy to help remove the stones (see link below) they installed a stent to keep the ureter open. It had a string attached to it that hung out the end of my dick. During the day, depending on activity, the stent would move around and the string could disappear. A week later when I went to the Dr. office to have the stent removed, I had to get undressed and wait for the Dr. to come in. He did and said "Where is the string?" So I had to try to pee on command to force it down and out and, of course , could not perform. So the Dr. said "We'll have to go in and get it" and left the room. So, I am standing there with no pants on thinking what the hell does that mean and imagining the torture I am about to endure when I look down and there's the string. I grab hold of it, waddle to the door and stick my head out. I say "Hello. Hello." a few times before the nurse heard me. I tell her to tell the doc that I found my string. She knows just what I am saying and comes back with him in a few seconds. He walks in, puts a glove on, grabs my shoulder and starts pulling the string with the tube attached out of my dick. It was the weirdest feeling ever. I am 6'5" so the tube was fairly long. I thought I was going to pass out when it finally came all the way out. I told him I did not think it was going to be so large and he said, "You're a big boy!" I became a religious drinker of water - 2 liters a day at least - but still had stones off and on for 5 years or so. Sometimes they just came out on their own - surprise! But I had to do the lithotripsy several more times over the years. Hopefully, never again, but I'm not betting on that.

  http%3A//www.webmd.com/kidney-stones/extracorporeal-shock-wave-lithotripsy-eswl-for-kidney-stones

• Drove my car while experiencing kidney stone pain. I had no choice. When you don't have the luxury of passing out or screaming at anyone in your vicinity, you deal. Called my partner and asked to be picked up from my car because i was having such pain. The answer? No -- I'm waiting for the cable guy. So.... I drove.

  Like%20I%20Said%2C%20You%20Deal

• [quote] Think about it: our grandparents never had them Uh, YOUR grandparents never had them. My grandfather had them and people have suffered with kidney stones since the dawn of time. Many people DIED from kidney stones in the past. Jeezus god spare me from ignorant hicks who know about anatomy, physiology, pathology or history, but go around posting know-it-all shit on Internet messageboards. .

• [quote] It's because we eat far too many (shouldn't eat any) tomatoes and potatoes. My grandparents on my mother's side ate virtually nothing but potatoes and had no kidney stones. The entire population of Ireland would have been dropping dead of kidney stones, since they had virtually no medical care.

• Only liars get kidney stones.

  Rosie

• The guy who plays Curly in the upcoming Three Stooges XXX tweeted that he was hospitalized for kidney stones the same evening he had completed his sex scenes on that picture. It was just a few days ago that he was finally able to wrap delaying the production by several days. He was still under the weather though as he missed a spontaneous orgy that broke out among the cast and crew at the wrap party.

• it's second only to the pain I felt pushing a 8 lb baby out of my vadge

  Mom

• My ex-girlfriend used to get them. About twice a year. I felt so bad for her during those episodes. But she could pass them and then be OK. She said the pain felt like glass passing through her urethra.

• Ironically, R46 is the least interesting post in this thread. I passed a kidney stone in December last year. The stone started moving in the very early morning before I was to fly home for the holidays. I was in complete agony, alternating between throwing up in the toilet and lying on the bathroom floor sweating profusely. I didn't know what was wrong with me. It finally stopped, I went back to bed, and woke up thinking I could change my flight to the next day. Turns out, there were no flights the next day, or in any of the upcoming days, so I sucked it up and went to the airport because I couldn't bear to call my family and cancel. Two nights after I got to my family's house, the misery started up again. That's when I figured I had a kidney stone. After a couple of hours, I decided to wake my mom up so she could take me to the emergency room. By the time I got there, I was so dehydrated, I could barely speak. After a couple of hours in the ER getting IV fluids, Reglan, Dilaudid,and a CT scan, I was sent home with a sieve and peed out a 2 mm stone right away. Sheer hell.

  And it stoned me

• Haven't experienced kidney stones...but I had a hemorrhoidal vein excised from my ass. That wasn't so bad, but having to take a dump while the damn wound healed was the worst pain I've endured to date. EVERY time I had to go to the bathroom, it would completely re-rip out my ass and cause fresh blood all over again. I never had time to heal until my regularity and wound healing finally had some kind of agreement as to timing about two months after surgery. I remember jumping up and down screaming "FUCK!!!" over and over every time I had to shit, and any time I knew it was about time to go to the bathroom, I would start to have anxiety and sometimes start crying. It didn't help that the doctor had given me Vicodin for the pain. If I have to do this again, which is likely, I will ask for Percoset instead, and eat nothing but apples.

• Well I've had gallstones, 7 broken ribs, migraines, toothache, strep throat and 3 babies without painkillers.... thankfully never kidney stones. For me, the no1 pain was childbirth - no contest. It's another universe of pain - totally shocking.

  Lillith

• R39, some people have kidney stones and if they do not move they do not hurt. It doesn't matter if you have one or several. If you are not sympomatic of kidney stones, they don't need to be treated in the ER. You went to the hospital with complaints of abdominal pain. With kidney stones, there is visible blood in your urine, intense flank pain, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and light-headedness. When the stones are close to being passed, you have scrotal pain. You probably had abdominal pain of unknown etiology and incidentally had kidney stones that would not have given you abdominal pain.

• Try having gallbladder stones. WORST PAIN EVER! You're whole upper body and back is in pain for hours!!! Second worst pain: Cracked tooth.

• worst pain: strangely, it was air trapped in my abdomen after abdominal surgery. Was doubled up and couldn't catch my breath. Literally screaming with agony. second: having teeth drilled without novocaine (by sadistic dentist when I was a kid) third: labor pains

  Anonymous

• Trigeminal neuralgia is the worst.

• Mercifully I've been spared the kidney stone but I've heard it's horrendous, as proven by this thread. The most godawful pain I ever had where I wanted to die was when I had to have my gall bladder removed. The second most godawful pain was when a hernia wrapped itself around my intestines.

• Having a baby is way worse pain. My taint ripped from hole to hole but there was a payoff so I forgot the horribleness. If the kidney stone was a gold nugget or diamond, maybe it wouldn't have been so awful.

• I've been told that while the pain involved in giving childbirth can be excruciating, the memory of the pain starts to disappear within half an hour (unless there are complications and then all bets are off). This thread is beginning to feel like a very strange rewrite of "I'm Still Here"--"I've been through childbirth, I've gone through kidney stones, and I'm here." The worst for me was the week after septum surgery (for a deviated septum)--they drill a hole through the septum, put magnets on either side to hold the septum straight and then plug your nose for a week, so not only are you in pain, but you have to breathe the whole time through your mouth which a) gives you a raw, dry throat and b) can make you feel like you're smothering when you are trying to sleep. They give you an opiate, but that only modified the pain for me (and it didn't help that my doctor had to reschedule the removal of the cotton and the magnets and I had to go the last two days without pain med). And you can bleed like a struck pig. Not fun. On the other hand, bariatric surgery (not the band, but the Roux-en-y), which I thought would have me out of commission, while having some soreness, was comparatively mild in terms of pain--it helped that they keep you in the hospital with a controlled morphine pump you control--but I was home in three days, and the healing took less time than the septum. But my friends who have kidney and gallstones tell me they outstrip anything--especially kidney stones, as gallstones can be handled laproscopically much of the time (I'm not sure about kidney stones). Nothing compares to Yoko Ono's recordings, however.

• I've had a kidney stone and I've had a badly infected molar. The tooth is far more painful

  Chutney%20Austin

• Good lord, this thread is horrifying. I'm lucky that I've never had any of these things. The worst physical suffering I've experienced is muscle soreness from a good workout. I'm a vegan though, so I wouldn't expect to get any of these diet related illnesses brought on by an unhealthy lifestyle.

• Its scraping the inside of male genitals, due to most not being completely spherical, ts VERY intense and horrible, its not the worst, the worst would be with science, altering all nerves to feel intense pain (say, with a chemical of sorts) which would cause you to KO though, its almost no problem for women because their genitals can streatch, while males can, but will become horrible, males weren't meant to pass ANYTHING solid through their genitals, so, i'd say it is one of themost excruciating things anyone can feel...even smaller ones

• Stretch* and it hurts from when its inside your system to when it pops out, and due to it usually taking a while for men to pop out and due the a mans geitals being one of the most, if not the most sensetive thing on a males body (or any human body, but i'd need to research that) its near literal hell, and not that fake biblical one

• obviously alot of you havent experienced childbirth............that is all

• I had the gall bladder, two childbirth no epidural then kidney stone. For sure its much worse then child birth. I would give birth everyday not to pass kidney stone. Hope it help.

  Anonymour

• I have had 2 kidney stones removed via laser. Thank God I never had to pass them. I had to have them lasered because they were too large to pass.

• You'll get yours, r178. It's God's curse for tempting man, you owe it to man upstairs.

• I have had 6 kidney stones and 2 kids 2 of the stones I had while pregnant. Personally id rather have kidney stones than go thru the birth of another child without pain Meds. Maybe I haven't had large enough stones but the stone moves quicker than a baby sometimes.. I have one now and its bothering me but im ok.....so far. Keep y'all posted!

  Baby%3BStones

• My female doctor told me she's had kidney stones and she's had kids and the kidney stones were worse. I've always been told the worst pain you can have is that from a cluster headache.

• Of the women who have posted here who have actually given birth AND had kidney stones and/or gallstones (as opposed to the anecdotal "Oh my mother/doctor/sister said kidney stones were worse"-type posts), over half have said that childbirth is MUCH, MUCH worse. Think about it and empathize more, people.

• i just had a 6mm kidney stone that took 4 days to pass. the pain was so excruciating i almost went into shock before arriving at the hospital. my blood pressure had dropped to 85 over 51. It took a cocktail of 3 different pain meds, including morphine to make it stop. Was scheduled for surgery on mon. but passed it at home on Sunday..I literally wept with relief to have that horrible thing out of me. A woman at work told me she had 2 kids and 2 kidney stones, and she would choose child birth over the kidney stone any day of the week!

• To r11, scared....do you think you might have some stones ? Stones are formed from excess calcium in our body, and is related to high cholesterol. I was very sick, run down, really depressed, no enervy, REALLY high blood pressure all of a sudden. I also had a substantial weight gain. I am Cherokee, and we get free health care in Oklahoma.YOU EVER HEARD THE SAYING, "you get what you pay for ?" Honey, true in this case...I jacked around with CM for over a year and a half, and they kept giving me antacids. Then, I started throwing up...first a little, and the day I had my surgery I think I heaved about 24 times. By the time a different hospital figured out what was wrong, I had to be sentby ambulance for a 2 hour ride to Tulsa for gallbladder removal, and kidney stones. It was 48 hrs before college classes started, and I still managed to make it to class. I remember the Drsaying, "You better be readu for this ride, or you gonna die tonight."They immediately hooked me up to heavy doses of liquid morphine, so I did not feel much pain. If you have high blood pressure, high chlorestreal, feel week, dizzy vomiting, insist on a ultra-sound. That is the best way to find them. By the way, I have a cat that likes to pretend she is typing on my tablet, and i have been fighting her off the whole time while writing this ! I think she is creating her own Facebook page ! Good luck to you...

  Mecca%2C%20and%20my%20cat%20Sharihara

• I've had two kids, one completely natural. However the pancreatitis attack I had from gallstones was without a doubt the worst pain I ever encountered. The first thing I asked the emt workers was "am I having a coronary?". The pain was so excruciating I couldn't imagine it being anything else. I spent 4 days in the hospital on morphine. Couldn't eat solid food for 3 weeks.

• Not as big a pain as reading this thread.

• Try passing a baby.

• I have had 3 children natural all over 8 lbs and i can tell you it was very painful but I have also had a 5 cm sized kidney stone that was so big that it would not pass through my kidney. I thought I was going to die. I had surgery and a stent put in for 9 days. I can honestly say i would rather have 10 more kids naturally than 1 tiny stone. In my case--the kidney stone is the worst PAIN ever!!!!!! You want to die at one point. I would rather die than go through that again!!!!!!!!!!

• I knew a girl who had a kidney stone, but then she died.

• Reading this thread has unnerved me. I was sick all night Monday night with a searing pain in my lower abdomen. Went to my Primary Care Physician the next morning. They asked a bunch of questions, told me I probably had appendicitis and scheduled me for a CT scan before surgery to remove my appendix. Good thing they did the CT scan. Turns out my appendix is fine, but the scan showed 5 or 6 kidney stones including one blocking my right ureter, between the kidney and bladder. I saw the urologist yesterday. He gave me prescriptions for Flomax and Vicodin, and told me if the pain gets bad and I have a temperature above 101 degrees, to go straight to the ER. Otherwise, he thinks I can pass these on my own. I'm planning to spend the next two days drinking as much water as I can, to see if I can flush a couple of these things out. Wish me luck.

• Delivering a baby through one's penis must be pretty painful.

• Being in labor (without drug intervention) for 22 hours was the most excruciating pain I had ever been in, in my entire life. Thankfully, getting some rest in between contraction. However, the moment my daughter was laid on my chest, all of the pain disappeared. I was given a tiny blessing. This past months, I have had 5, yes FIVE kidney stones, three of which passed on their own, one which is still working it's way down, and another that was so large, I needed surgical intervention. My kidney was near acute renal failure and I was forced to have a stent put in. I unfortunately am allergic to most pain medications so I suffered through the pain, medication free. I can tell you this, I have never wanted to die as badly as I have through out this ordeal. The amount of pain that comes from kidney stones is without a doubt the most painful experience of my life. (I've had ruptured ovarian cyst, several surgeries, broken bones, babies, gallbladder attacks) Kidney stones are no joke.

  Anonymous%20

• No. Watching Ishtar for the third time tops it.

  D.%20Hoffman

• Everyone handles pain differently but here is my experience with one. I have had four children via natural childbirth (no pain medication). I am small and my largest child was 8lbs. 13 oz. Big! I had one kidney stone that had to be surgically removed and I would have gladly given birth to another child (naturally, of course) than to EVER have another kidney stone. Excruciating pain, vomiting, difficulty breathing while trying to meditate... I don't know if stones are the WORST pain, but it is something I would not wish on my worst enemy. Good luck!

  Debi

• Giving birth was less painful for me. Almost passed out and did vomit several times because of the pain, even with Percocet. Luckily it was only 8 hrs of hell.

• I have delivered a child vaginally after 18 hrs of labor, delivered a child via cesarean after 24 hrs of labor, and am in the process of dealing with my first kidney stone. In my opinion, labor is worse. This may vary with the size of the stone, mine is small, at 3mm. The pain does rank up there with labor and birth, but to me, is not as severe.

  Krysta

• Haven't had kidney stones, but I have given birth twice, and have gall stones from which I've had 2 bad attacks (as I type, having a moderate 3rd and hoping it stays moderate). But I can say from experience, gallbladder attack worse than childbirth. Never had anything as excruciating as gallbladder, and having a gall attack while pregnant, which I'm currently experiencing, is even worse because u can have no pain relief of any use!

  Mel

• i was breaking up wood for a fire and ran a stick through my leg i pulled the stick out put on some alcohol and a bandage on and went back to work i have broken fingers at my job and keept working i got a kidney stone and folded like wet paper it is the most intense pain i have ever felt in my life

• The first time I got fucked was the worst. That's why I am a top now.

  puckeredup

• I would think a cluster fuck would be even worse...but I cannot comment from experience. I don't know anything about "cluster headaches" but I do know about fucking.

  headachedoctor

• I would imagine losing the Oscar 6 times as Glenn has.....would be right up there near Kidney stones

  M

• im 16 and just got my appendix removed.. started 7 months ago when i started feeling intense pain for acouple days (didt go to the hospital cuz my mom didnt think i was in that bad of painand i was over reacting) i had severe diarrhea and vomiting and a week went by and i was in so much pain i couldnt move (hadnt slept either) wen we went in they said i was so dehidraited that i shouldnt have been alive and that thats wut was causing the pain and itll go away eventualy. they sent me home with some antibiotics but the pain never went away, weeks had gone bye and ive been to 4 different hospitals many diff times and i went threw soo many tests i cant count them all and they kept saying i had IBD (my mom has IBD soo i had good chance also) they gave me meds every time and sent me bak home. now i went to the hospital again cuz the pain was still paralyzing and we went in and its a new hospital and they ran the tests and they again thought i had IBD but then b4 they sent me bak a bunch of docters and nurses come into my room and say that i had infact had a burst appendix for 6 months and thats wut was causing my intestines to be inflamed soo they rushed me into emergency surgery and had to clean me up inside they said it was so messy inside that they had to use so much pain stuff or something on my intestines that they wornt working properly soo i was still had to eat out of a tube for more then a week. during this time docters and nures kept coming in and telling me that i shouldnt have been alive for 6 months with a burst appendix and i must have beeen in the most intense pain imaginable! thats my story and its all true.

  JUSTIN%20ZUIDEMA

• Trigeminal Neuralgia.

• I have had trigeminal neuralgia, kidney stones, gall stones/pancreatitis, childbirth, divurticulitis, burst ovarian cysts, and cluster headaches, and they hurt in that order. Having read my list, I think I should be put me down.

• I was visiting my cousin at Berkley during our Spring Break- he woke up in the middle of the night in excrciating pain. Could barely walk, Got him to the car and found the hospital. Doc in the ER came out and told me that his pain was caused by stress over exams some BS-was one of the HMO type places. I knew the doc was wrong. Got cousin back to the car and found another hospital. Turned out he had huge kidney stones.

• I'm R190 on this thread. I went to the doctor about 6 weeks ago, they thought I had appendicitis, but found out it was a kidney stone that was killing me, sent me home, hoping it would pass on its own. It never did. I had a few more milder attacks, but the stone that had sent me to the doctor in the first place would not budge. I had surgery this past Tuesday. Ureteroscopic stone removal. Under general anesthesia, they stuck some sort of scope up my dick, through the urethra and bladder and found the stone stuck in my right ureter. They even gave me a picture they took of it before blasting it away. I was home a couple hours later. Unfortunately, my suffering did not end there. They had to leave a stent in the ureter, to keep the pathway between the kidney and the bladder open. Now I have this discomfort 24x7 and, whenever I go to the bathroom, excruciating pain from the stent! It's supposed to come out this Wednesday, when I visit the urologist for a follow-up. In the mean time, I've discovered the wonder that is Vicodin. I'm hoping, once the stent is out, I get back to normal. There's still the matter of several stones in my kidney, but those might pass on their own. They're smaller than the one that got stuck. As to whose pain is worse, I agree with those folks on here who say you really can't compare. Every individual is different. Dealing with this kidney stone has definitely been the worst pain of my life, but the only thing I have to compare it to is gallstones a couple of years ago. I thought gallstones hurt, but with them, I could usually find a comfortable position to sit or lie down. With the kidney stone, there was no relief. Just unrelenting pain...

• I would imagine various torture methods are more painful. Or being eaten alive by a bear right before you die.

• I had the same situation as you, R206. THey showed me the stone that was stuck in my ureter--it was the size of the tip of my pinky. The stent removal was quick and painless. It only hurt to pee for about half a day after that (burning feeling that you've been experiencing since the stent was in). The oddest sensation was when peeing, the muscles around the ureter contracting around the stent--kind of a sore/tugging feeling--not pain, but uncomfortable. One note--start drinking LOTS of water and fluids. You may feel some stone bits coming out in the next few months, too. But keep drinking!!

  Lois%20Carmen%20DeNominateur

• I have had seven kidney stones, I can tell you that having a surgery cant even compare to the pain of a kidney stone. Some Ive passed and some Ive had removed. Still have two that are inactive, but can start moving at any time. God Please make it go away!

• When I had one of my stones, I actually had to go to work with a cathertor under my pants, this alone was so painful. But to be honest at one point before I had the cathertor, I had to pea so pad I was screaming for hours until they drained the urine. Thank you for cathertors. But also I think it unethical to where them somewhere like word. You should be in a hospital or resting in bed.

• If you can imagine, I always get and infection in my urinary track first and next before i know it my stone is moving and ready to come

• No it's not the worst pain ever a peri-anal ulcer for over 4 years is the worst pain ever, I'd rather have kidney stones whilst giving birth than deal with one of them again

• Just had my first and hopefully only kidney stone pass through last night. It was worse than a broken thigh bone though the quality of the dull unrelenting painful wrongness was similar. It wasn't as mind blindingly painful as a pinched sciatic nerve, but you can avoid that, or at least control it by moving/not moving in particular ways. I think what is particularly oppressive about a kidney stone is that it comes in waves, with a brief respite followed by a wave of increasing pain that starts like colic, and then gets worse and then goes to stupidly painful, with a medieval torture device crushing one side of your abdomen and one of your balls feeling like a vengeful ex has a firm hold of it and is pinching it hard between her thumb and forefinger. You cant speak properly, and from there it goes downhill, just when you think you cant actually deal with it any more, it gets worse, and you wonder if there is a limit to how much pain you can be subjected to. Then it starts to fade, blessed relief until after ten minutes or so you're back to more or less normal and you say, its over thank god, and as you start thinking that maybe you were over-dramatizing things that nagging pain starts again, and you know that you're going through it again and all you can do is hope it wont be as bad this time. That is what made it so bad for me, the fear of the inevitable, unstoppable pain, it was that fear that unmanned me. I never want to go through it again ... ever. I'm sure there are people who have had worse pain than I had from various injuries and life experiences, and for those of you who went through days without pain relief because of a lack of attention or insurance cover, my heart goes out to you. In my case once the under-resourced team in the Casualty Department (ER) at Royal North Shore in Sydney finally had time to see me, they did everything they could to fix me up quickly and I have nothing but good things to say about them. I just wish I hadn't had to make that trip to hell as many times as I did.

  John%20Martin

• My stomach had a rare inflammation disease causing it to swell. This in forth also pushed out my rib cage. I have also had kidney stones and if I had a choice between stomach inflammation and kidney stones I would jump to stones. My mother has had both stones and child birth and she agrees that stones are much worse

• The pain of reading "urinary track" is worse.

  It%27s%20%22tract%22%20goddamit%2C%20%22urinary%20tract.%22

• having your head ripped off is worse

• I just went through my first kidney stone issue. I have torn both my hamstrings and one was torn 3 inches off the bone. I have broken my collarbone and not know it for 4 weeks. I have fallen into a 20 foot ditch in the middle of the Panamian Jungle and stabbed with a bayonet. The kidney stone was by far the worst pain I have ever experienced. I can't speak for childbirth or any other issue. If you can avoid kidney stones then your life will be a better without then with them. Good Luck

  Bulldog

• Hmm let's see. Childbirth V Kidney Stone? I've done both, twice. First kid - unbelievable agony but I soon forgot about it. First kidney stone? Stabby kind of pain but barely tolerable, Kid No 2 - a total breeze but Stone No 2 OMG I would never wish to repeat that experience. Would rather give birth to the engorged spawn of Satan than pass that fucker out again. Now I drink plenty cranberry juice and lots of cold water .. trying to keep those little bleeders at bay.

  Anonymous

• I have had 12 surgeries (too big to pass) and passed over 20 and I am a woman, started when I was 17 and now I am 57 with 3 still in my kidneys, and YES the pain is excruciating, unbearable, and the only things that satisfies that pain is morphine.....You cannot find a comfortable place to sit, relieve the pain, and vomiting is the sign of the horrible pain. I have made this my cross to bear in life and I HATE it! God helps me through the process, and I am saved!

  Laurie

• Maybe it's the best thing for you But it's the worst that could happen, Worst that could happen, when I pee....

• Yes, it's the worst. I strongly encourage anyone who gets one to have it analyzed, along with a 24-hour urine analysis, and a blood analysis. Find out WHY you're creating stones.. And EVERYONE should drink at least two liters of water a day, spread throughout the day. WATER. No caffine or artificial sweeteners. And never let yourself get dehydrated for any reason. For different people, and different kinds of stones, you need to make different dietary adjustments. For me, I had to cut out dark-green leafy vegetables (like kale and spinach), cut down on chocolate, and dramatically increase my intake of lemon juice and citrus foods. I haven't had a recurrence since making those changes. But don't take my advice here without analysis... for some kinds of stones, that would be exactly the WRONG thing to do. Everyone is different. See your doctor.

• Clarification: The water thing is NEVER the wrong thing to do for ANYONE. But the dietary changes are different depending on blood and urine chemistry and stone make-up.

• on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst I would rate a kidney stone as a 25.

• No Obama's waterboarding is worse

• anal pap smear

• If giving birth was that bad we'd all be only children.

• Stone Gall bladder attack - worst pain ever! After 4 hours of intense pain your whole body and mind is complete drained of energy.

• I would rather go thru labor again versus enduring the pain of a kidney stone.. Labor is waaaaaah quicker, and tho it hurts, it doesn't quite compare to the pain of a stone.... Goin on 3wks and still haven't passed the stone. (also 6mos pregnant with my second child) SHOOT ME NOW!

• it's like being stabbed in you abdominal area and at the same time you can't stay still and EVERYTHING makes you throw up hearing someone talk made me vomit and red blood in the urine

• My primary care doctor thinks I may have stones. Have had blood in my urine and pain on my left side. Had an IVP last week--series of x-rays with contrast dye. Nothing showed up. No infection. Still having blood in my urine. So he tell me he thinks I may have cancer. Was referred to a urologist. I was supposed to have a CT scan this morning, but yesterday I got a call from my insurance company telling me that I needed to be prepared to pay almost 4k when I got the scan--yearly deductible and yearly out of pocket for the crappy insurance I have. I don't have 4k for this. Was out of work for 14 months. Depleted my savings. This all happened the day after I got insurance. The urologist seems to think the other test was a waste of time and that I do have stones, but the cancer possibility it could be cancer. It's unreal.

• R230, call the hospital or facility and ask what the bottom line cash price is for the scan. It will likely be much less. Ask if they will change you that price and try for a loan. Alternately, ask about a payment plan. FWIW, my urologist said bladder cancer rarely makes blood in the urine.

• Unless you've been through it why even respond! I've given birth to two babies over nine pounds and one eight pounds naturally. The pain of passing a 1cm stone down my ureter just to the top of my bladder IS by far worse than childbirth. I'd rather deliver my first baby (9# 3oz) with whom I was in labor for 36 hours and pushed for 2.5hrs and finally delivered via forceps five times over than go through the misery of a kidney stone again. Might I mention that I'm 22 weeks pregnant with this kidney stone so I have to live with a ureteral stent until I deliver so they can do lithotripsy. Hands down WORSE.PAIN.EVER!

  Threewastooeasy

• I totally disagree. I gave birth naturally to my last, no drugs but was induced, making it much worse. The kidney stone was a very close second, but childbirth was much worse in my case. At least with a kidney stone you don't tear unmentionable parts of your body so that you can't sit for two weeks. I had a csection with my first and had sharp stabbing pain in my shoulder afterward. They called it deferred pain or something. That was bad, too

• Trigeminal neuralgia is known as suicide pain. Google it.

• I have had children and kidney stones. Never during labor did i feel like i was dying or want to die.Kidney stones will do that. I begged the doctors in the emergency room to make it stop while they ignored my pain for hours. I was shaking and violently throwing up. when the catscan came back they rushed in with all kinds of pain meds,because as soon as they saw the size of the stone i was no longer a patient with just a stomach ache. when it was all over i didnt have a baby to take home. not that i wanted one point is you endure pain for hours,far worse than labor and get nothing out of it. Kidney stones are way worse than labor.

• I was shot in the face and my eyebal exploded. It hurt a lot

  one%20eyed%20eldergay

• I was told by a nurse who had passed a kidney stone AND had given birth to a baby, that the kidney stone pain was far worse. Even with morphine, it was unbearable for her. And for me too. Terrible pain. And from a nurses mouth "Worse than child birth"

• I have had kidney stones twice, an given birth once. I was in full labour for 53 hours, yet i would pick giving birth over a kidney stone!

• Q. Is passing a kidney stone the worst pain possible? A. Yes.

• Try a small bowel volvolus, then you will know what pain is.

• Thanks to an extremely rare, life-threatening allergy to all 3 opiate groups, I have had to really suffer through two bouts of kidney stones without morphine or anything. Tylenol is basically the only thing I'm not allergic to (lips and neck swell up with morphine, demerol et al) and taking plain, extra-strength Tylenol is a total joke with kidney stones as anyone here who had them will 'get' for sure. For one thing, you vomit the pills up anyway and Tylenol does nothing when you feel so much pressure on your side that you're damn certain several of your organs are bursting. I've read that usually a kidney stone 'attack' happens in the evening or morning or when a person is sitting and relaxing. This was true in my case. The first sign for me is always lower back pain, then it rises to the waist and travels to one side. The urgency to pee without much coming out is there. What I have done to stave off a painful full out kidney stone attack is to begin drinking as much water as I can as soon as I feel the first symptom. Just three days ago I did this and praised the heavens that it worked because it meant I didn't have to suffer again. The problem -- at least for me -- about guzzling water when the attack is severly painful is that my already swollen abdomen, side etc. gets more unbearable and I start vomiting. My chest gets so sore from the heaving when there is nothing in my stomach that it still hurts when I laugh. But water, water, water is the key. Just try to drink it regularly to hopefully avoid even the first pains in the back and/or waist starting.

  Anonymous

• Passing a gallstone is pretty horrible too. I thought I was going to die on the floor of my house alone in agony. Breathing hurt, my back felt like it was imploding on itself while something slowly pushed and ripped into my lower body.

  Val

• I HAVE HAD THREE BABIES IN MY LIFE AND PREGNANT WITH TWIN BOYS.MY FIRST BABY GIRL WAS BORN BY C-SECTION.I WAS IN MORE PAIN FROM THE FIVE KIDNEY THEN HAVING BABY.MY SECOND BIRTH WAS TWIN BOY AND GIRL AT BIRTH CENTER.I RATHER PUSH A BABY OR BABIES OUT THEN PASS A KIDNEY STONES.

  S.K

• I have a stone in my right kidney and 5 in my left. Like I told the Eric doc GIVING BIRTH WAS A CAKEWALK COMPARED TO THE PAIN I AM HAVING FROM THESE EVIL DEMONIC PEPPLES!! God it hurts more than anything I've ever felt

  AngelMarie

• Then you obviously have never sat through Terence Malick's THE TREE OF LIFE.

• How many of you with kidney stones "started" with kidney infections? I've had 2 kidney infections in the past 2 years. Before that nothing. I'm female and in my late twenties. My mother had a couple of kidney stones and also a gallstone once so I'm terrified that passing a kidney stone lies in my future.

• yes it is very painfull i have multiple and im 13 it eels like a knife in the lower hip side of your belly

• By far, having a kidney stone was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced...and I have 4 kids! I would choose to give birth to a MILLION babies over having a kidney stone again!!!!!!! Never in my life did I want to kill myself to end the pain. So yes, if your stone is at least greater than 3cm, then it will be worse than child birth.

• Oh yeah? Not once but twice, I PUSHED A HUMAN BEING out of my body. Men are such pain pussys.

• I dis agree with the statement above. My stone is 1.9mm and I have been in excruciating pain since Wednesday. I went to the ER and just like a ER doctor would they assumed I was faking it for drugs even though I begged them to just scan me and tell me what to do to get rid of the stone. Never once did I ask for meds. Anyway I've had kidney stones 4 times and it's always the worst pain I've ever had. However, I do enjoy the look on the ER doctors face when they get proof that you have a stone lol I was like "I KNOW I HAVE A FREAKING STONE, I TOLD YOU THAT HOURS AGO" anyway still in pain hopefully the stone decides to move out soon.

  AngelMarie

• OK, so I'm assuming you chose to get pregnant, therefore you chose the pain of childbirth at the end. Pretty difficult to choose to get kidney stones.

• I have affectionately named these pebbles "renal diamonds". Currently, I am in the process of 'renal diamond delivery'. Heavy labor started about a week ago, and lasted about 5 hours. Throughout the week, I experienced lower back pain, but did not deliver the diamond. Today was another 6 hours of hard labor. This time I did not urinate until the pain began to abate. It contained blood this time and was a bronzish color. I drank water most of the morning. When the pain was peaking, I began the nausea. Luckily, all I had ingested was water, so the vomit was just clear water. That was a first! I seriously hope that the diamond is now in the bladder, and tomorrow will be delivery day. Since "renal diamond delivery" is such an intense pain, I put it right up there with child delivery. I have had 3 babies, and numerous "renal diamonds". I have also had spinal pain. No gall stones nor diverticulitis. I can only imagine that those are right up there with "renal diamonds" as far as pain goes. I sympathize with anyone going through any pain.

• Having had at least 4 PCNL and 8 or so Lithotripsy experiences, it is by far the worse pain I have ever had. Female friends who have given birth and had a kidney stone are really quick to cite that the kidney stone was much worse! One PCNL procedure, ruptured my plural cavity around my lung, left we with thickened layers on my lungs limiting my breathing and even after 3 months on oxygen, now off it, it has affected me for life! People, make sure you find a really good urologist and not just a good hospital! These folks have an ego the size of Manhattan and need gentle stroking most of the time. Piss them off and you're asking for trouble! Take it from someone who is currently in that position!

  Scared%20of%20urologist%20%28even%20the%20competent%20ones%29

• [quote] Thanks to an extremely rare, life-threatening allergy to all 3 opiate groups, I have had to really suffer through two bouts of kidney stones without morphine or anything. Your doctors never heard of Toradol?

• Have had kidney stones on three separate occasions. All about 2 years apart, who knows why.. Worst pain ever!! Each time caught me by surprise. Sometimes starts with sweats, another was lower back pain, last was feeling like I had to go to the bathroom. Always went to emergency room as it would hit me all of a sudden. Patient processing was always extremely nice and got me right in each time and gave me the drugs of a lifetime! Each time was a five day hospital stay, last one surgery and radio waves to break up stones. Scale 1-10 - 8.5 (real bad) as this is the most pain I have ever had and sure there is worse.

• I think it would be cool to wear a necklace made out of kidney stones

• Had a gall bladder attack and natural labor. Gall bladder was labor times 10! Worst pain I've ever felt!!!!!!

• I have given birth, with no pain medicine whatsoever, AND had a kidney stone. I can say for me, the kidney stone was significantly worse than me giving birth was. I was in so much pain my husband had to call 911 in which I just screamed the entire time. I couldn't sit still, I rocked, I thrashed it was horrible. My stone was stuck and required hospitalization, I would rather give birth again.

  Tammy

• YES, without a doubt, the most painful. I've had two children,both were pitocin-induced which makes it even more intense. Pushed for three and a half hrs. and the epidural had long worn off by the time I pushed. Then had to have an episiotomy and since the drugs had worn off, I felt every needle prick when the Dr. sewed me up. My whole body for two weeks after giving birth felt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. I'm not one of those who forgets childbirth pain. It took me almost three yrs. to get enough nerve to have my second child because I didn't want to go through that pain. A couple yrs after having my children, I had my wisdom teeth extracted and Dr. said it was one of the hardest removals he ever had. I had a lot of trauma to my mouth then I developed dry socket,which was no walk in the park. I've also had gallstones and had to have my gallbladder removed, again, no walk in the park. BUT, by far the most excruciating pain I have EVER endured was a kidney stone. I truly wanted to DIE and would have shot myself (if I didn't have children to live for) if someone would have given me a gun. Thank God for Demerol (after waiting in the ER for hrs in excrutiating pain they finally took me in and gave me IV Demerol. The stone I passed was almost 5 mm. I laid in bed the next day taking Percocet, drinking water, and getting up every half hr or so to vomit the WHOLE DAY! I have 5 more stones and am paranoid every day that the pain will hit.

  DLM

• Unrequited love is the worst pain possible. It last forever.

• I passed a kidney stone once. I went to emerg convinced it was a heart attack. And like so many above, the nurse told me: I've had a baby and I've passed a kidney stone - I'd rather have a baby.

• Not even close! I've passed a kin stone, was pretty intense but no where as bad as the cluster head aches I live with daily ( from very heavy cranial trama )... Imagine passing 3 stones at once, but thru your brain and entire side of your head! Naturally 1 - 8 times a day lasting hours... NO pain killer will stop, so to answer your question no, I'd say it's on the 7 ish side of the scale (1-10).

• [quote]Is passing a kidney stone the worst pain possible? You obviously never sat through a viewing of Showgirls.

• I woke up at 4AM from a deep sleep with some minor discomfort below my lower right ribs and my pelvis. I thought I might have bumped into something and got a bruise. I got us to have a pee, the pain amplified over the next 5 minutes with no end in sight. It left me in the fetal position after trying every position possible to stop what felt like a fist size charley horse on my right side. I was throwing up every few minutes which made things even more painful. I was rushed to the hospital where they immediately got me into a hospital bed, started an IV, oxygen in the nose, pain meds and finally a CT scan which showed the kidney stone. This is now 2 days later. I am taking Tamsulosin to help pass the stone but I am wondering if it got passed without noticing it since I have not had any pain for 24 hours. If I have been pain free for this long does that mean it is out?

  Wow...%20The%20PAIN

• If I recall passing mine, there was a popping sensation when the thing blew out of my urethra. I was amazed something so small could cause all that pain, which must mean human ureters are about the size of uncooked spaghetti. Didn't they give you a sieve to pee through? They often will if they want the stone back to analyze. It could be gone now, who can say, but I will say my pain meds were highly effective... I think I could have peed a pea and not notice.

• Ask a man and he will assure you the kidney stone is worst pain known to man. Ask a women who's given birth without medication and has also endured a kidney stone and she will tell you it is childbirth, hands down. What hurts more passing a pea or a watermelon? Case closed.

• I would rather eat out Cheryl than have another kidney stone. That's how painful it is.

• Kidney stone is one of the most miserable things I've been through. At 18 years old I suffered a kidney stone moving for three months before the doctors could figure out where all my pain was coming from. I've never had a child, but I'm also fearless of the childbirth process since I've survived a kidney stone. I know a good handful of people who told me they would rather have triplets than go through another kidney stone! A mother often experiences hours in labor but kidney stones can go on for months and months.

• I had kidney stones when I was 3 mths preg n I was convienced I was having a miscarriage, in early labour! Trust me it feel like your in labour! To me it's the same pain exspect pain in the lower part lol! But it hurts jus as bad! Well mine was lol. I passed mine after 14hrs of constant put n nuthink helping. Pain relief etc! I finished the whole big tin of gas! Lol that sld tell u how much it hurt!

• R269, are you dumb or just 8 years old? Your writing skills are horrible.

• I have had kidney stones several times in my life, including while almost 9 months pregnant! I have had 3 child births. Let me tell you, I would have 3 more births, rather than one more kidney stone episode! Labor pains come in waves, kidney stone pain is constant and you get NO relief! Only times in my life that death crossed my mind because it would be the only way to get relief! I agree, only way to describe the pain, is a knife piercing you, quickly and repeatedly!

• This was my first time passing a kidney stone and i thought something was trying to get out of my groin and leg. I fucken thought i was gonna die i couldn't even talk just mummer my husband said stop acting like an asshole or i will go home. I hope that fucker gets a stone and i will laugh

  annomous

• Kidney stone is a 9.5 on the shitometer. Been there TWICE. I also have had a scratched cornea THREE times (in 9 mo. Time period). As suck as the eye scratched is. It's more like an 8 to 8.5 but it feels like a red hot poker in your eye for 3-4 days. It won't make you curl up in a ball on the floor barfing and won't force you into rythmic breathing to get through the next minute (kidney stone will do both). I'm wide awake at 1am because I can't close my right eye due to a cornea scratch and Vicodin just not strong enough to mask the pain (even on the third night!) Here's what I have to say about the birthing comparison: my wife had 17 contractions during the birthing portion of having our son. It lasted 40 minutes. Leading up to that: 16 hours of 20 seconds of pain probably about a "7" with 7-10 minutes of 1-2 pain between. Based on some in-depth research I would put the pain scale about the same average peak: 9.0 but birthing drops to 3-5 between the peaks and probably never goes over 9.5. With my kidney stones I was at an 8-9 pain for several straight hours with 10-20 peaks of 9.5 and 2-3 solid 10 (for 10-20 seconds). No five minute break. It literally makes you wonder if its your last hour on earth. There are worse pain experiences. It was probably a 10.00 when they yanked the stent out from my kidney to bladder after my second surgery but it lasted 0.25 seconds! (If it was 10 seconds id have passed out! Not remotely kidding) that was literally my most painful 1/4 second of life (and I have had two kidney stones!). Crushing injuries like "hand smashed by 1000# block" will be higher on the pain scale but you will go into shock and the sum total experience will be less than a kidney stone. You will not survive blunt force trauma that will put you over the pain scale of a kidney stone that also lasts as long. Pill narcodics have 0.0% effect. Morphine does wonders to ease kidney stone pain. Maybe from 8-9 to a 4-5 which may as well be a ZERO after a couple hours of NINE. Fentenyl (sp) which I lovingly refer to as F%#k-it-all worked 5x faster than morphine (darn near instantaneous when IV administered) however it needs constant drip application because it fades so fast it started wearing off before a CT-scan was finished. Pure Fentenyl is 10,000x the strength of morphine: it's dosed in MICROgrams. 15 micro grams of the stuff and you could LITERALLY cut your arm off with a dull knife and not care! The amazing thing is we survive these things to tell the tale! Hell I even drove myself 1/2 way to the ER (stopped at nearest relatives to get the rest of the way there). (Barfing into a bottle along the way simply from the pain). The body just does whatever it can to "do something" and if you hit a ten on pain meter even for a second you just barfed. A minute or two you will be in shock or unconscious. Everybody's personal pain scale gets re calibrated occasionally when they experience something worse than the last time. I laugh when somebody with some bad gas (which can literally be an honest EIGHT) says they are "at ten". To which I say "nope not barfing in he fetal position you are nowhere near a TEN"

  Andrewwynn

• There is all different kinds of excrutiating pain such as kidney stones or childbirth. You cannot say which is worse because they are both just a s painful in different ways. If anyone asks me which was the worse i say they both were worse than each other

  jlk

• "Has anyone given birth and had a kidney stone to compare." Yes I have had both and they are both tied for first as far as the pain goes however I prefer delivering a beautiful baby to passing a kidney stone ;)

• Disclaimer: I can't vouch if this is true or not. But I've occasionally heard from some sources that kidney stones can be caused by a long-term calcium deficiency; because when bone cells don't get enough calcium they die, flake off into the bloodstream, and collect in the urinary system. Like I said, I don't know if that's true or not, I'm just putting the idea out there to see if there's any weight to it.