Local Emergency Care Quickly Manages Kidney Stone Pain [Tobias Leisenring]

My name is Tobias Leisenring. I was born in Southeast Iowa, a little town called West Point. I now live in Flandreau, South Dakota. I'm a maintenance manager at a local manufacturing facility.

What brought you to the emergency room?

I woke up and I was in severe pain and I, you know, had a kidney stone in the past, but this didn't feel anything like that. So, because I thought it could be a kidney stone, I also thought maybe I had some kind of infection I did not know. After having a really rough morning, and it was a very short morning at that point, I decided that I should probably come to the ER just to make sure that it wasn't anything more serious.

What happened when you arrived at the ER?

Of course, I went right into the emergency department. I was greeted. I gave them my ID and the only thing I remember after that is that I was immediately taken back to the triage area to be, you know, triaged. So, it was very quick, very...I don't wanna say painless, because I was in a lot of pain, but, you know, the administration process or the admin process was very good. So, you know, they ran a CT scan, took a bunch of tests, you know, urine, blood, and all that other stuff, and it was just...I don't wanna say just a kidney stone, but it was a kidney stone.

How did the ER staff make you feel comfortable?

You know, they were very good at saying, "Hey, you know, everything's gonna be okay." They gave me some pain meds, of course, to bring that pain level down. And then, you know, they were just in really good communication with me about what was going on the entire process. There was no surprises with what was going on.

How was your experience with the ER staff?

Knowledgeable, friendly, you know, they came in and said, "Hey, this is what we're doing. This is what it is, you know, everything else checked out fine. This is how we're gonna treat it, and then this is what you need to do for follow-up. You know, drink lots of water, the pain medication," stuff like that.

How was your recovery?

I don't wanna say painless, but it was quick. I feel that I passed the kidney stone before I went and seen the urologist. With the treatment that they gave me or the medication that they gave me, of course, you know, it's like adding heat to a hose, it loosens it up, makes it more flexible, which allows it to pass a lot easier. So, you know, that was probably a big help for the passing of the stone.

What did you appreciate most?

How quick it was. I mean, when you're in that much pain, really, you just want to get the care quick. You're spiking close to a 9 or 10, and being about the worst pain you can have. You know, when you're on the verge of passing out and it's making you physically ill, you know, it's, it's a high pain. I would say the only time that I've been in any more pain would've been when I broke my femur. So, that gives you an indication. When you're in pain, it feels like an eternity, but in reality, they probably had pain medication in me within probably 10 minutes I would say. It was really quick, I mean, really quick.

What advice would you give someone experiencing the symptoms of a kidney stone?

Of course, if you feel it coming on, you don't wanna be driving because it can cause you to pass out. And I've actually known people that have passed out due to them when they were driving. They were lucky enough not to get injured or into an any kind of accident. I think the biggest thing is prevention. So, I had a history of drinking sodas, and those are huge with kidney stones, along with other kinds of like leaf drinks such as teas and stuff like that. So, you know, you wanna make sure that if you do drink sodas and stuff like that, that you do flush that out with plenty of water to make sure that those kind of things are not building up in your system. I would say that'd probably be the biggest thing. It's just, you know, make sure if you're gonna have those kinds of diets I like, make sure you flush that out with plenty of water.

Why do you recommend Brookings Health System?

Their staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They take care of you. And I think that's probably the most important thing is that they're friendly and knowledgeable. I mean, you know, you're already in enough pain or sick or whatever, you already got something going on, you don't need to be treated like a number, you need to be treated like a person. And I felt that they did.

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