(Friday June 9th)
My girlfriend is 10.5 weeks pregnant. At 6 weeks she started getting left flank pain that is in the lower quadrant starting from the back to the front with occasional shooting pains that go into her vagina. This has been a constant pain for nearly a month now. This has been extreme pain for her, 9 or 10 out of a pain scale of 10 (10 being the highest). During peak times (when the nurse takes her time bringing pain meds) the pain brings her to tears and is very unbearable to watch. The only relief she has had is after she gets IV dilaudid. There is no position that is comfortable for her and the pain seams to increase when she is pushed on, coughs, sneezes, vomits, and right after she urinates. She has been very nauseated since week 5 of the pregnancy and vomits on a daily basis (we believe this is just due to 1st trimester pregnancy). She has a hard time keeping food down which has caused her to lose a lot of weight (15lbs in 3 weeks). She has had very irregular bowel movement which we believe is just because of the low amount of food consumption.
She has had numerous ultra sounds which reveal nothing except that the fetus is in the correct position. From an OB standpoint our baby is just fine, her hormone levels are perfect and every other OB tests seam normal.
Heres the kicker... She does have a history of Kidney stones but she only has gotten them once and guess what.... she was pregnant at that time too. She went into the hospital with the same symptoms I outlined above but, like this time, nothing showed up on any tests. Unfortunately her kidney suddenly began to swell up to a point the doctors thought it was going to rupture and they had to do emergency termination the baby to operate on the kidney, It was then when they found a kidney stone the size of a pencil eraser. The stone was analyzed to be a calcium stone (what ever they call it). 2 days later she was discharged and was doing great.
Now here we are 2.5 years later.
Given her past history the DR's decided to put in a stint between the kidney and ureter on the left side in hopes to relieve the pain. They went in by systosscopy (how ever you spell it) and didn't see anything abnormal but still placed the stint. It's been 8 days now and still no change in hew symptoms.
So... Even with past medical records and history we have gone through 5 Urologists, 2 OB's (1 specialty high risk OB), and 100's of residents that all keep telling her they can't see/find anything wrong with her. Then how can we explain the pain she is having?
We are limited to the amount of testing that can be done because of her pregnancy.She is allergic to IVP Dye (she swells up) so we can't do a CT scan. However when they did the systoscopy surgery they did what they call a retograde? and checked her left kidney and they said everything looked normal.
She has no other past medical history other than the very 1st time she had the stone which was 2.5 years ago. Both sides of her family has a history of breast cancer but from the grandmothers (one died at 33 because of it), her mother is in her 50's and has no signs and is very healthy.
We are dying for answers.... Over the past month she has slept in our bed a total of 3 nights. We are very fearful of the baby because she is still in her 1st trimester and has not been able to eat but a very small amount of food and has been on delodid for a month now. We are very desperate for answers or any suggestions that we can bring up to the doctors.
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(Monday June 9th, 11 weeks pregnant)
After the weekend stay with her at the hospital I am back home to do some work. We have had an MRI of the gall bladder and the pancreas and are still waiting for the results on those. However we seen a Urology specialist and from the sounds of it he believes it is not related to kidney stones. He believes she is suffering from Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. He briefly told me a little about it and I will research it some more tonight after I get some work done. I bought a lap top and it comes in through UPS today so I'll have it tonight at the hospital.
Basically he believes the nausea and vomiting is triggering the CPPS and that once she passes her first trimester and stops vomiting then it will all go away. Unfortunately the only way to truly diagnose CPPS is with a lot of radiation which is not an option at this time. Currently they have her on a 25mic fetinal patch (getting upgraded to a 50mic today) and 1mg dillaudid every 2 hours. She is in a lot of pain at the 1:45 mark so we are pressing the call light early every time. If the nurse doesn't make it in by the 2:10 mark she's in tears and has a very difficult time handling the pain. Hopefully the 50mic patch will help her in that last 15 minutes. We have an Anestesia team monitoring her pain and see them every day to try to come up with a solution to keep her comfortable.
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(Friday June 13th, 11.5 weeks pregnant)
Well... we are at home now. The doctors gave us a rude awakening the other day. Came in at 4:45pm and told us. "The test results from your MRI (of the gall bladder and pancreas) are negative so we have prepared your paperwork". "Paperwork?", we said. "Yes, your discharge papers" said the doctors. Needless to say we were outraged. I was FUMED and very loud. How the hell could they discharge a patient who is crying her eyes out at the 1:45 mark waiting to get her IV push of dilaudid that comes every 2 hours. They sent her home with oral dilaudid and phenergan.
Needless to say I will badmouth that hospital to who ever I speak to for the rest of my life. The doctors there GAVE UP !!! It was my impression in life that doctors are the ones we turn to for answers. Hell thats why they spend all their lives in school and work, to help heal people like my wife. These doctors have given up on my wife, who are we to turn to now for answers?
3 hours after we got home she was in tears as usual. We went to the ER of a different hospital. This makes our 3rd hospital now. They take her in, give her meds to calm her down and do the usual tests. 3 hours later they come in with discharge papers too! "Sorry, we can't find anything wrong, follow up with the urologist that put the stint in".
We have been home now for 2 days. She is taking dilaudid that is supposed to be 1 every 3 hours but she is taking it 1 every 2 hours. She has only left the bedroom to pee. This is not how a pregnant person should be living through their pregnancy.
We are desperate for answers....
My girlfriend is 10.5 weeks pregnant. At 6 weeks she started getting left flank pain that is in the lower quadrant starting from the back to the front with occasional shooting pains that go into her vagina. This has been a constant pain for nearly a month now. This has been extreme pain for her, 9 or 10 out of a pain scale of 10 (10 being the highest). During peak times (when the nurse takes her time bringing pain meds) the pain brings her to tears and is very unbearable to watch. The only relief she has had is after she gets IV dilaudid. There is no position that is comfortable for her and the pain seams to increase when she is pushed on, coughs, sneezes, vomits, and right after she urinates. She has been very nauseated since week 5 of the pregnancy and vomits on a daily basis (we believe this is just due to 1st trimester pregnancy). She has a hard time keeping food down which has caused her to lose a lot of weight (15lbs in 3 weeks). She has had very irregular bowel movement which we believe is just because of the low amount of food consumption.
She has had numerous ultra sounds which reveal nothing except that the fetus is in the correct position. From an OB standpoint our baby is just fine, her hormone levels are perfect and every other OB tests seam normal.
Heres the kicker... She does have a history of Kidney stones but she only has gotten them once and guess what.... she was pregnant at that time too. She went into the hospital with the same symptoms I outlined above but, like this time, nothing showed up on any tests. Unfortunately her kidney suddenly began to swell up to a point the doctors thought it was going to rupture and they had to do emergency termination the baby to operate on the kidney, It was then when they found a kidney stone the size of a pencil eraser. The stone was analyzed to be a calcium stone (what ever they call it). 2 days later she was discharged and was doing great.
Now here we are 2.5 years later.
Given her past history the DR's decided to put in a stint between the kidney and ureter on the left side in hopes to relieve the pain. They went in by systosscopy (how ever you spell it) and didn't see anything abnormal but still placed the stint. It's been 8 days now and still no change in hew symptoms.
So... Even with past medical records and history we have gone through 5 Urologists, 2 OB's (1 specialty high risk OB), and 100's of residents that all keep telling her they can't see/find anything wrong with her. Then how can we explain the pain she is having?
We are limited to the amount of testing that can be done because of her pregnancy.She is allergic to IVP Dye (she swells up) so we can't do a CT scan. However when they did the systoscopy surgery they did what they call a retograde? and checked her left kidney and they said everything looked normal.
She has no other past medical history other than the very 1st time she had the stone which was 2.5 years ago. Both sides of her family has a history of breast cancer but from the grandmothers (one died at 33 because of it), her mother is in her 50's and has no signs and is very healthy.
We are dying for answers.... Over the past month she has slept in our bed a total of 3 nights. We are very fearful of the baby because she is still in her 1st trimester and has not been able to eat but a very small amount of food and has been on delodid for a month now. We are very desperate for answers or any suggestions that we can bring up to the doctors.
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(Monday June 9th, 11 weeks pregnant)
After the weekend stay with her at the hospital I am back home to do some work. We have had an MRI of the gall bladder and the pancreas and are still waiting for the results on those. However we seen a Urology specialist and from the sounds of it he believes it is not related to kidney stones. He believes she is suffering from Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. He briefly told me a little about it and I will research it some more tonight after I get some work done. I bought a lap top and it comes in through UPS today so I'll have it tonight at the hospital.
Basically he believes the nausea and vomiting is triggering the CPPS and that once she passes her first trimester and stops vomiting then it will all go away. Unfortunately the only way to truly diagnose CPPS is with a lot of radiation which is not an option at this time. Currently they have her on a 25mic fetinal patch (getting upgraded to a 50mic today) and 1mg dillaudid every 2 hours. She is in a lot of pain at the 1:45 mark so we are pressing the call light early every time. If the nurse doesn't make it in by the 2:10 mark she's in tears and has a very difficult time handling the pain. Hopefully the 50mic patch will help her in that last 15 minutes. We have an Anestesia team monitoring her pain and see them every day to try to come up with a solution to keep her comfortable.
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(Friday June 13th, 11.5 weeks pregnant)
Well... we are at home now. The doctors gave us a rude awakening the other day. Came in at 4:45pm and told us. "The test results from your MRI (of the gall bladder and pancreas) are negative so we have prepared your paperwork". "Paperwork?", we said. "Yes, your discharge papers" said the doctors. Needless to say we were outraged. I was FUMED and very loud. How the hell could they discharge a patient who is crying her eyes out at the 1:45 mark waiting to get her IV push of dilaudid that comes every 2 hours. They sent her home with oral dilaudid and phenergan.
Needless to say I will badmouth that hospital to who ever I speak to for the rest of my life. The doctors there GAVE UP !!! It was my impression in life that doctors are the ones we turn to for answers. Hell thats why they spend all their lives in school and work, to help heal people like my wife. These doctors have given up on my wife, who are we to turn to now for answers?
3 hours after we got home she was in tears as usual. We went to the ER of a different hospital. This makes our 3rd hospital now. They take her in, give her meds to calm her down and do the usual tests. 3 hours later they come in with discharge papers too! "Sorry, we can't find anything wrong, follow up with the urologist that put the stint in".
We have been home now for 2 days. She is taking dilaudid that is supposed to be 1 every 3 hours but she is taking it 1 every 2 hours. She has only left the bedroom to pee. This is not how a pregnant person should be living through their pregnancy.
We are desperate for answers....
My sister-in-law suggested we go see a chiroprachtor. Her chiropractor in fact, because he specializes in child birth. He has some certification about breached pregnancies and I guess deals with alot of patients that have similiar symptoms.
So... we go see this guy today. He claims he can relieve her pain in 10-12 days. A known condition of my wife is that her right leg is shorter than the left. The chiropractor tells us that due to this it has shaped her hips out of alignment which he believes is causing her left flank pain. He also told her she has about 75% of her spine out of alignment which could also be contributing to her pain.
He gives her an adjustment and tells her to put ice on her lower back for 50 minutes on and then an hour off for the remainder of the night.
We get home and my wife is in extreme pain from the previous dose of dilaudid running out along with the added pain from all the adjusting the chiropractor did. 4 hours go by and she is still in extreme pain and she asks me to take her to the hopital ER.
Now, here we are in the ER awaiting for blood and urine results to come back in which we are 100% positive that when they get them back they will tell us there is nothing they can do and send us back home.
After we left the chiropractor I had called some friends and family, they both told me about underlying issues about having a MD and seeing a chiropractor. I guess MD's don't like it for you to see chiropractors because of the liability or something like that.
What are your thoughts on her hip being out of alignment? and could that really be the cause of all her pain? and what exactly are the risks/complications of seeing a chiropractor while she is pregnant?
So... we go see this guy today. He claims he can relieve her pain in 10-12 days. A known condition of my wife is that her right leg is shorter than the left. The chiropractor tells us that due to this it has shaped her hips out of alignment which he believes is causing her left flank pain. He also told her she has about 75% of her spine out of alignment which could also be contributing to her pain.
He gives her an adjustment and tells her to put ice on her lower back for 50 minutes on and then an hour off for the remainder of the night.
We get home and my wife is in extreme pain from the previous dose of dilaudid running out along with the added pain from all the adjusting the chiropractor did. 4 hours go by and she is still in extreme pain and she asks me to take her to the hopital ER.
Now, here we are in the ER awaiting for blood and urine results to come back in which we are 100% positive that when they get them back they will tell us there is nothing they can do and send us back home.
After we left the chiropractor I had called some friends and family, they both told me about underlying issues about having a MD and seeing a chiropractor. I guess MD's don't like it for you to see chiropractors because of the liability or something like that.
What are your thoughts on her hip being out of alignment? and could that really be the cause of all her pain? and what exactly are the risks/complications of seeing a chiropractor while she is pregnant?
I have the same symptoms except I have right flank pain. The pain is unbearable and the shooting pain she feels through her vagina sounds like the same pain I have except it also hurts all the way to my tail bone as well. I have been diagnosed with Interstecial Cystitis which is a bladder disease and I have all the symptoms of this disease. I believe that the right kidney pain is part of the disease and it hurts more with pregnancy because you have a child always growing and always moving which puts a lot of strain on your kidney and bladder. I also had this with my first child and let me tell you the pain is unreal. I have to take dialaudid as well and I still am in lots of pain, however it is better than the alternative which is dealing with the pain and stress without the help of meds. There is no way I could make it. Hope this helps a little I would check into this disease just to see if it is a possibility.
Bless her heart. I had a very similar problem with my last pregnancy but it was on the right side. I thought I was gonna die. They did every possible test in the world and everything came back negative. One of the ob's in my group actually accused me of making it up, using the analogy: "if you keep putting trash out on the street, eventually somebody's going to say you are full of garbage.". I will never forget that. Thank God I was also seeing a hematologist (for ITP of pregnancy) who said that he absolutely believed me and he would take care of me. Thank goodness the pain was gone as soon as she was born, but he was writing me percocets for the last several months of my pregnancy. I would look into what the other person said about intercisial cystitis. That sounds like a good road to explore.
I am currently 17 weeks pregnant and experiencing this pain. This is my third baby and second that I have experienced horrible right sided pain and have no answers, but it's good to know I'm not the only one. I knew as soon as I got this pain that I am pregnant.
Dilaudid is a highly addicted drug. Patients who are in pain getting 1 mg of Dilaudid every two hrs is enough to make the patient addicted. I am a nurse and i saw things like this. Some patients would even cry out loud and act out when they can't get their pain med on time. However, there are exceptions. Maybe your wife's pain does not responds well to a strong pain med like Dilaudid but would respond to a less stronger pain med like Morphone. But since they could not figure out what is wrong and your wife is still having pain and they did the appropriate diagnostic tests for her, there is nothing more a doctor can do. Knowing that your wife is pregnant, their hands are tied up too. The problem might be psychological. There are psychological problems that manifests as pain. As a nurse, I had encountered patients like these with intractable source of pain and after all the interventions needed to do for them, I lead them in prayer for healing. Doctors and hospitals cannot answer all the health issues but God. I was pregnant too few months ago while working on the hospital, having issues myself and eventually losing my pregnancy at 16 weeks. So, the best thing to do with your wife is to ask people for prayers and she herself should believe for healing.
Just another "pain seeker." I believe your partner had some pain, but quickly became addicted to the Dilaudid (synthetic heroin). The amounts she was receiving were more than what most terminal cancer patients receive. I'm a RN...the reason the nurses were slow in bringing her "recreational drug" is b/c they knew she was exaggerating her pain level...and Dilaudid 1 mg every 2 hours???!!! REALLY???!!!
I had that happen to me last Oct. I was at carowinds and about 2 hours after being there I got so violently sick. I mean I threw up for one end of the park to the other. I also had right flank plain. I was so uncomfortable. It was absolutely unbearable. Well I lives 4 hours away from carowinds and I threw up all the way there. When I got home I almost didn't go to the er. I thought some cranberry juice and a pain pill would help. My husband made me go. As soon as I got there they could just look at me and tell I was very sick. They triaged me and my blood pressure.was.so low. The nurse asked me.how I even walked in there on my own. They did a EKG and had tachycardia. In was immediately taken back. They gave me pheregan, morphine and did a clean catch UA which is where they insert a catheter into your bladder so the UA is as sterile as they could get it. The UA came back with significant bacteria. They said i had a bad UTI and administered iv antibiotics. I had a fever so they said they were gonna admit me for the night so I could get a few doses of iv antibiotics and then send me.home with antibiotics the next day. I made it to the floor where I was to spend the night. They gave me pain meds in my iv and I fell asleep. I woke up about two hours later shivering so badly but still had a fever. They did some quick blood work and my bacteria level was through the roof. I was so scared. The doctor came in and told me.they were moving me.to the ICU. They would never tell me.more than that tho. They aggressively treated me with several different broad spectrum antibiotics. I didn't get any better. I got worse. They had to call my husband to come back to the hospital (I sent him home bc I thought i was just gonna sleep and he needed rest also and I was under the impression every thing was under control) bc my blood pressure was so low and the infection got in my blood and cause sepsis. Then a few hours.later.I was bumped up to severe sepsis bc my kidney swelled causing hydronephrosis and then failed all together next my heart was giving out. They told my husband I had less than a 20% chance of surviving. I was literally on my death bed. Somehow tho i hung in there. Took about a week of constant critical care. The.moral of this story is her symptoms sound like what mine were to the T. Get several other opinions. Do not play with ur urinary health. The flank pain she's.having sound.like a blocked ureter causing her kidney to swell which causes.immense pain and then backs up and the bacteria has no way out so it absorbs into the circulatory system and will kill u within hours.. Its very dangerous. I hope she feels better. Please.pay very close attention to her.
I'm a Registered Nurse as well, and I am very familiar working in a unit where your wife would have been a typical patient of mine. I don't doubt that your wife's pain was exaggerated or fake at first, however, once your body gets used to the dilaudid, you become a whole different person. Your body becomes addicted to the dilaudid and the euphoria it gives you. I guarantee you, there's nothing else like it, especially when all you have going for you at the time is laying in a hospital bed. Trust me, I know. I've personally only been on 0.5 mg dilaudid IV push and oh wow, at the time I probably would get injured just to get that feeling again. Addicts go to great lengths to get what their body is craving. To get what their mind wants. They're not in their right mind. You think you know your wife, but chances are you don't know your wife on dilaudid. I feel like I can comfortable say this without fear of getting backlashed from you or your wife because trust me, I know from experience. Before having my first born, the docs had me on oxy and hydrocodone like they were candy. They made me feel like supermom...And of course instead of tapering me off, they cut me off cold turkey, which led me to seeking them elsewhere. Was that the type of mom I wanted to be? Was that the type of NURSE I wanted to be?? Of course not!! As a nurse, I talked c**p about ME!!! "Check out this pregnant chick wanting oxy for lower back pain.." I have literally said that about a patient. Few years later, it was me wanting the oxy for the back pain. My point in sharing my experience is that no one knew what I was going through. Not my husband, not my best friend, not a single soul. All my loved ones assumed my pain was legitimate, and to a point it was. But I'm sure I could've dealt with some ibuprofen and hot packs. Even most of my doctors (who I worked for) believed my pain was real..because of course they don't want to think they're RN of 8 years was addicted to pain killers. I eventually gave up the 2 year habit I had, gave in, and got help. I was put on antidepressants for severe Post Partum Depression (which they say I was using the pain killers to mask and avoid the true depression problem.) I'm still an RN to this day. Luckily my issues never made me stumble in my career. But my point is, don't turn your head to the idea of a pregnant woman becoming an addict. Pregnancy and motherhood are not as easy for some women. Some women feel like they lost their independence. For me, the one thing I felt i had control of was taking that next pain pill...and I had control over the relaxation it gave me. I know your post is old, and she's had the baby by now, but I hope my post shed some insight on addiction and motherhood. When I finally opened up to my best friend, she admitted to me that she toyed with the idea of taking the oxy she was prescribed after her c-section for recreational use because of depression. It may be surprising, but back in the day when I hung out with my supposedly old "friends," the majority of their clientele were your typical soccer moms. Some of which would even meet in a parking lot with their kids. It sounds horrible, but until you ASK someone you suspect of being an addict if they need help, the help will never come to them. Take care & be safe. (& God Bless for those who don't take offense.)