Do You Have The Stones?

I now know why I have been feeling tired on my runs with no energy and just plain feeling lousy lately. I woke up this morning with tell tale signs (I won’t get into the gross details) that I have had a kidney stone brewing over the past few weeks.

I had my first attack soon after I got married (no correlation I am sure) more than 20 years ago. We we down in Florida on one of our Disneyworld trips with another couple that I have been friends with since high school. We were all staying in the same room in the Caribbean Beach resort when at about 3 in the morning I got the most terrible pain I have ever had in my life. My wife drove me to the emergency room which thankfully was only about 30 minutes away, but what an agonizing 30 minutes it was. I was in with the doctor for only about 10 minutes when the pain suddenly stopped and I was able to sit up from the hunched over position I had held since the attack began more than an hour before. I told the doctor the pain had stopped and he just looked at me and said ‘You’ve got a kidney stone and it just dropped into your bladder. Your going to feel bad for a few days but the major pain is gone’. I will again avoid the details but he was right and I was able to confirm the stone bay ‘catching it’ so to speak about 15 minutes later.

We made it into the parks later that day and still had a great time. I just had to keep a bottle of water in my had and sip all day, plus take a bathroom break after every attraction we visited as the increased fluid intake and freaked out urinary tract kept me guessing all day.

I have had 3 other major attacks since then, one requiring surgery and although I can never corroborate the similarity, I have been told that passing a stone is the male equivalent of giving birth. After experiencing the cutting action of those pieces of mineral deposit each time I believe it. The major cause for me has always been lack of hydration and with the heat here this summer and as much as I sweat during training runs, I have not been taking in enough water. Time to put down the coffee cup and pick up the water bottle.