I had another kidney stone pass last night (2010-11-04). It really sucked. It was just after work. I had just stopped on the bus for the ride home and noticed the agony on the right side of my body that comes with kidney stones. I went over the symptoms in my head just to make sure it was not my gallbladder or appendix. Not fever, The act of jumping up and down doesn't make it worse. I can push on the area and it is only a tiny bit sensitive. Abdomen is not rigid.

The horror of it being something serious is always warring on your mind as you stand there wrathing while people are trying to get on and off the bus. It hurt to sit. Of course, it hurts just as much to stand, but you feel a bit more like you are doing something. It hurts just as much to push on your stomach. Putting your hands above your head and holding on to the hand rail seems to help for some reason. It probably just relaxes your stomach muscles. My hearing is affected by the pain. It isn't that I cannot hear as well. It is more like my brain stops trying to hear what is around me so much. My hands tingle a bit from the pain as my body reacts by pulling blood in to my torso. There is no point in doubling over, it doesn't help. There is no point in hollering or holding your gut. None of that does any good either.

The thing to do when you are sure it is a kidney stone is to distract yourself. Walk around slowly. Drink a ton of water and pee your brains out. If it goes on for too long get to a doctor. If it starts to burn instead of just hurt get to a doctor. If there is blood get to a doctor. If indeed the pain gets too bad to take get to a doctor. Do NOT take Tylenol. If you have appendicitis, Tylenol or many other pain killers may mask the fever.

A funny thing that seems to help me is to lie on my stomach and gently roll from side to side with my weight really on my chest. This sounds bad, and I'm sure would look even worse if any one had ever seen me do it. This movement seems to help move things along. It still hurts, but it is a new place that the stone is hitting and may very well shorten the over all experience. A good thing.

Bumping along on the bus didn't hurt anything, but sitting at lights was agony. I called Nat and we agreed to meet at Whataburger so she could give me a ride home. I only had to wait a minute or two, but it was long time. It was chilly last night and the breeze seemed to help. I took off my jacket stood there, paced, being cold. It kind of worked. We had the wait the full light at Highway 6. The light took ages for every little movement. I looked around at the other cars and people seemed to get along with their lives. I was sitting crooked in the seat. I wonder if anyone in the other cars noticed.

When I got home, I tried jumping in the shower. This always sounds like a good idea, but the shower just feels claustrophobic and doesn't really help. I tried lying down. Unless it is the stomach thing, it doesn't help. I got up and walked around. I tried to pee every two minutes. I drank a couple glasses of water. ... I waited. I watched TV. Bones and then Fringe were on, but I couldn't tell you what happened. I finished my book "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I didn't like the ending, but it was a good book. I can tell you about that. for some reason. The book kept my attention better than TV. I didn't get on the computer. I didn't eat until much later in the evening. Then I found the Oreo wannabe generic cookies.

I was almost giddy this morning. I was worn out, but in a good mood. Even though your basic kidney stone doesn't do much real damage, thankfully, they do give you that "I survived" vibe afterword. Kidney stones suck. I wish I knew how to avoid them in the future. I've asked doctors and he said they have to analyze the stones to figure out what it is in your diet that you can eliminate in order to stop them. If they only happen once a year or so just count yourself lucky and get on with life. disappointing.