Severe pain with kidney infection, but no hospital stay and only tylenol for pain - is this right?

goldfish10 · Newbie Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 4

Three days ago, after suffering from back pain and what she thought was a bladder infection, my mother woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain. She was screaming with the pain, and couldn't move out of the bed. An ambulance came and took her to the emergency room of our health care provider, (Kaiser).

They said she had a kidney infection. While she was there, she was still screaming in pain, and a nurse came to ask her to 'keep it down, you're disturbing the other patients.' An hour later, they discharged her with some antibiotics and tylenol.

Now, screaming in pain sounds melodramatic, and some people just have a low threshhold for pain.... but not my mother. She went through an agonizing series of chemo and radiation treatment without making a sound. When the doctor said it'd take her six months to wean herself off the morphine she was taking for it, she quit cold turkey in three days, and never made a sound. She's one of those people that just suffers in silence.

But now she's screaming. Every twenty minutes or so, for the last two days, she's screaming in pain. She can't move out of bed; she can't even sit up. This can't be right. Why didn't they give her a stronger pain medication? They didn't even schedule an appointment for her to see a doctor later. They just told her to stop making noise, and then they made her go home.

I don't know what's going on, and I don't know what to do about it. Did they make a mistake, or is this normal for a kidney infection? How much pain does a person have to be in before the hospital has to do something about it?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance,

Heather

goldfish10 · Newbie Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 4

Thank you for all the helpful advice. Thank you for expressing concern. I'll be sure to let everyone know what a great forum this is.

goldfish10 · Newbie Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 4

Not sure if anyone cares (since I never received a single reply), but I thought I'd add the update after these last nightmarish two months.

My mother could only tolerate the pain for a little less than a week, then - despite her protests - we called 911 again. Back to the emergency room, where they prescribed some more antibiotics (or whatever, at that point I wasn't as concerned as I was going to be) for a UTI. This time she lasted only five days more at home, while the pain started getting worse and she was getting weaker.

She noticed her right leg was getting very numb, and had difficulty moving it. So we called 911 again, and for the third time back to the ER.

This time they finally agreed to give her an MRI, and they found masses of tumors in her spine. Two of her vertebrae were actually fractured by the compression, and her spinal cord was being constricted as well.

Well, at least they finally admitted her to the hospital, now to start radiation treatments. Within a week she was almost completely paralyzed below the waist. The tumors were inoperable (because of their location on the spine) and metastatic, so the primary cancer was somewhere else. They discharged her after five days in the hospital, and we rented a hospital bed at home to take care of her, since they weren't going to let her stay. They gave us morphine, half a dozen other prescriptions, a prognosis of no more than nine months left to live, and no other help whatsoever.

She died on January 2nd. They never discovered where the primary cancer was. They never bothered to. Her oncologist never even gave us his phone number, just gave us the advice nurse number.

The reason I'm even bothering to post this is to hammer the point home to anyone who might have too much trust in doctors or health care providers to never, ever trust them to have your best interests at heart. Be suspicious of any diagnosis that seems too careless, and don't just keep pestering them until they take you seriously. If my parents hadn't been too trusting, if they hadn't been too polite to be the squeaky wheel, they might have gotten better results... or at least more information.

Guest · Guest

No, Goldfish. That is not right AT ALL!

Your mother was not being melodramatic, she was the victim of ignorant, inconsiderate nursing staff.

After all, a kidney infection can be lethal. I know, I just about died from one.

I get them very frequently and the last time I got it, it was so bad that I actually got a bacterial infection in my blood. At first the pain was just gnawing back pain, but then within an evening it persisted into full blown stomach and back cramping to the point where I thought my back was going to break in half. Then it's like you get a full body flu, but multiply that normal flu by about 15 and that's what it feels like. You get hot and cold chills, almost EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY ACHES, INCLUDING YOUR TEETH, YOUR FINGERNAILS AND EVEN YOUR HAIR ACHES! I was literally in so much pain that I actually got a migraine as a secondary result from the infection---to the point that I couldn't even lift my head.

I suffered silently but cried in pain for almost 5 hours waiting for a doctor in the hospital--they thought I was being a suck. Then, when I finally saw the doctor she was amazed at how well I was taking it considering that I was at the point where I could have died. She instantly put me on very strong painkillers the moment she found out I had a bacteerial infection in my blood. AFter antibiotics and many painkillers the one nurse came and appologized to me. Shortly after I had that same nurse take off my IV and I left the hospital even after advice not to do so.

I was so disgusted at how they treated people in pain. So called healers.

So, does that answer your question my friend?

I would complain if I were you. She could have died without proper medication!!!!!!!!!!! Evil or Very Mad

Guest · Posted: 02/21/07 - 07:07 Post subject: GOLD FISH

I am knew to the board so i apologize that you didn't rceive an anwser. gold fish iam so sorry for your loss and my husband is in and out of the hospital now with severe kidney pain. aCTUALLY he has been in th er three days in a row. went to urologist yeaterday who seen white blood cells raised and immediatly sent him to ER. They admitted him last night DON'T KNOW WHAT QUEATIONS TO ASK WHAT IS RIGHT WHAT IS WRONG I AM SO UPSET AND CONFUSED.

i hope god bless's you and my husband

petachick93 · Guest

for my kidney infection the just prescribed me an anti-biotic, and told me to take pain-killers and drink a lot. I never even saw an Rn except in tiage. If she didn't have a fever they were most likely okay not admiting her.

silva · Guest

After read your stories, I feel so relieved that I am not alone in this careless health system. Since the beginning of this year, I am in bed with terrible back pain. I saw five doctors by now, and they send me home with ibuprophen. Last saturday, I went to the urgent care, and my urine shows elevated WBC. The doctor gave me Levaquin, and I have to see him in 10 days. I am in bed with horrible pain, and I do not know if I will survive until my next appointment. I don' t believe how horrible our health system is! I feel angry that I can die living five minutes from the hospital, and paying health insurance every month (blue shield-PPO). I feel that doctors don't care about the patients. They do care only about the money. I feel angry, hopelesss and betrayed by the health community.

icare · Guest

I am in severe pain from my lower back have been for over a week now ,cant stand for long cant touch my feet or bend more than slightly. Went to the er they say I have a kidney infection just started antibiotics. This was he greatest emergency room they were very thorough and he staff was friendly
and took time to explain and answer ? i had. this was the first time i have ever been treated this well in the er any where. however i was allergic to the tramodol painkiller and am just going to take the antibiotic. m y back is still in pain can't work i hope this antibiotivc does the job and good luck to all of you suffering out there.

Eccles · Newbie Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Posts: 12 Location: UK

Please accept my condolences for the loss of your mother under such dreadful circumstances. Just for her to have adequate pain relief as she was dying would have made such an enormous difference to her last days onthis earth. You must be absolutely devastated.

When your grief isn't quite so raw, I hope you will make the strongest possible complaint to all the authorities and senior staff involved in this outrageous abuse of your dying mother. Kick up the most enormous fuss you can, so that others are not treated in this callous and cruel way.

Hugs

(I spent two years being told an enormous kidney stone was 'all in my head' & being offered antidepressants for it)

sufferer · Guest

My Mum has been treated so badly by the health trust. She has a prolapsed bowel that is 5 and 1/2 inches out permanently and she bleeds heavily all the time. She was operated on to treat an ulcer which wasn't needed and was told her bowel was fine............................ 3 years down the line she still has a prolapsed bowel now 8 and 1/4 out. She has now been told the only way to repair this is to remove the bowel and give her a stoma bag. She is only 38 and doesn't deserve this and is refusing a bag and will eventually die from a hemorage. Don't know when it's just a case of waiting. I love my Mum to bits and stand by her decision and help her make her last days? Weeks? Months? Years? happy and memorable. Nobody realises the seriousness of this not even our family. God is very cruel and I have lost all faith in him. DON'T TAKE CRAP FROM A DOCTOR THEY READ IT ALL FROM A BOOK THAT IS OUT OF DATE STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELEIVE IN

Severe pain with kidney infection, but no hospital stay and only tylenol for pain - is this right?

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