Dries Buytaert

I feel like I was in a street fight and got punched in the stomach.

It started earlier this week with a stitch in my side when I was doing the dishes. By the time I finished, the stitch had turned into stomach cramps. I brushed it off as my stomach being upset due to jet lag. After all, we had just come back from Europe two days prior.

As the pain increased, I wondered if I had pulled a muscle. Maybe I had been sitting with poor posture in my 8 hours of Zoom meetings that day? I tried to stretch it out so I could carry on with my evening. That didn't work.

An hour after that initial stitch in my side, I couldn't explain the pain away any longer. No matter how I sat or laid down, it felt like someone stabbed me in the back with a knife. The next hour I tried to find a less painful position, without luck. I twisted and turned on the bed while my body shivered uncontrollably.

I was scared. This was a pain I didn't recognize and more intense than any pain I had ever experienced. By 9pm I asked Vanessa to drive me to the Emergency Room. Once at the ER, they had me on morphine within 45 minutes.

After 5 and a half hours at the ER, the doctors concluded I had a kidney stone. An X-ray revealed that it was 4mm in size, and I was told it should pass on its own. They sent me home around 3am with some oxycodone (opioids) to help manage the pain throughout the night.

I spent the rest of this week in bed on drugs. Today, a few days later, my kidney feels 'bruised'. The 'sharp pain' is replaced by an 'aching pain' — like I got punched in the stomach rather than stabbed with a knife. While not a great feeling, it's a much better feeling.

Unfortunately, I don't believe the stone has passed. I'm afraid that the pain will come roaring back.

This is my first kidney stone, and hopefully my last. Some close friends recommended I name my stone "Cobblestone", in honor of my Belgian roots. A good laugh helps the healing.

Each year, millions of people suffer from kidney stones and I'm sure mine isn't the worst. I'm not looking for pity. However, I hope my write up will help someone else; either by helping them recognize symptoms, or by providing some comfort while searching the internet from the ER.