Aa
Heart-Rate/Blood-Pressure Increase, Post Dilaudid Dose
I went to the emergency-room yesterday with a wicked mother of a kidney-stone. Trying to pass a 9mm spiky, jagged rock through a 2mm orifice, doesn't come without a certain amount of pain.
My vitals were taken when I hit the ER:
Heart-Rate: 62
Blood-Pressure: 133/78
Blood Oxygen Saturation: 99%
I've had this kidney-stone condition for many years now and have learned, with the assistance of my yoga guru, certain biofeedback techniques for keeping my BP & HR in check upon the onset of a kidney-stone (as one's BP & HR tend to run amok when in severe pain).
I was administered 2mg Dilaudid, 60mg Toradol & 10mg Phenergan. Approximately 1.5hrs later, the pain began to return (pain-killing effects of the initial shots began to wear off), so they administered an additional 2mg of Dilaudid.
About 45 minutes later, I passed the stone (9mm bouncing-baby Cystine kidney-stone), and everything looked good for an immediate ER discharge. When the nurse came by to unhook my IV, she decided to take some parting vitals:
HR: 82
BP: 168/110
SaO2: 99%
I wasn't practicing my meditation techniques at the time the vitals were taken, nor had I been using them since the initial shots were administered some 2 to 2.5hrs before (as the pain was dealt with and meditating was no longer necessary). Also, I was in no pain whatsoever when the vitals were taken (quite literally a 0-1 on the pain scale), so the elevated HR & BP can't be attributed to pain.
My question is this... will Dilaudid raise heart-rate & blood-pressure to the levels indicated above, under normal conditions?
The nurse was most alarmed when those vitals popped up, and ran off to talk to the doctor, who subsequently discharged me anyway (he obviously wasn't concerned). I can't say I've made note of my vitals post Dilaudid administration, in the past, but I'm curious if anyone else has had this experience.
My vitals were taken when I hit the ER:
Heart-Rate: 62
Blood-Pressure: 133/78
Blood Oxygen Saturation: 99%
I've had this kidney-stone condition for many years now and have learned, with the assistance of my yoga guru, certain biofeedback techniques for keeping my BP & HR in check upon the onset of a kidney-stone (as one's BP & HR tend to run amok when in severe pain).
I was administered 2mg Dilaudid, 60mg Toradol & 10mg Phenergan. Approximately 1.5hrs later, the pain began to return (pain-killing effects of the initial shots began to wear off), so they administered an additional 2mg of Dilaudid.
About 45 minutes later, I passed the stone (9mm bouncing-baby Cystine kidney-stone), and everything looked good for an immediate ER discharge. When the nurse came by to unhook my IV, she decided to take some parting vitals:
HR: 82
BP: 168/110
SaO2: 99%
I wasn't practicing my meditation techniques at the time the vitals were taken, nor had I been using them since the initial shots were administered some 2 to 2.5hrs before (as the pain was dealt with and meditating was no longer necessary). Also, I was in no pain whatsoever when the vitals were taken (quite literally a 0-1 on the pain scale), so the elevated HR & BP can't be attributed to pain.
My question is this... will Dilaudid raise heart-rate & blood-pressure to the levels indicated above, under normal conditions?
The nurse was most alarmed when those vitals popped up, and ran off to talk to the doctor, who subsequently discharged me anyway (he obviously wasn't concerned). I can't say I've made note of my vitals post Dilaudid administration, in the past, but I'm curious if anyone else has had this experience.
I am experiencing elevated heart rate and blood pressure increase since weaning off oral dilation over the past three weeks.
I am sure you know the reason for the massive amounts of stones your body is producing. As you know that is a tremendous number. It is my hope that you do not have a serious medical condition.
It has been guesstimated that my body manufactures somewhere between 75-100 a year or possibly more. I thought that was significant but certainly not compared to you.
However most of my stones are small, almost sand-like. I make only one, two, sometimes three trips to ER a year. These trips are usually for the small sedans about 5mm but every now and again I do produce a Hummer. I'll have to change the names of my stones now as your 9mm and over certainly are more worthy of the "Hummer" distinction.
Your new B/P monitor sound like a great machine. You can have "fun" and create a colorful easy-to-read graph. Sounds like a plan! :)
It has been guesstimated that my body manufactures somewhere between 75-100 a year or possibly more. I thought that was significant but certainly not compared to you.
However most of my stones are small, almost sand-like. I make only one, two, sometimes three trips to ER a year. These trips are usually for the small sedans about 5mm but every now and again I do produce a Hummer. I'll have to change the names of my stones now as your 9mm and over certainly are more worthy of the "Hummer" distinction.
Your new B/P monitor sound like a great machine. You can have "fun" and create a colorful easy-to-read graph. Sounds like a plan! :)
Thanks for the advice... I will for sure monitor my BP over the next few weeks. Just went to Walgreens and picked up this nifty BP/HR monitoring cuff that actually stores the time, date & readings, for up to 30 days, so I don't even have to write anything down or keep track in a spreadsheet (as I'd planned on doing). It comes with software and you can even dump the results onto your computer and look for trends, and do graphs, and stuff like that (I'm a geek... sorry:-).
Regarding the size of the stone, as I've had this for years & years (19 to be exact), and have passed 1000's (literally) of stones over the years, I can pass stones that mere mortals (you guys) would require surgery to remove. Both my ureter & urethra have "stretched", for lack of a better word, over the years, and I can accommodate stones upwards of 9mm. A few months back, I passed a 9.3mm stone (they measured it with a digital micrometer), and my urologist told me that it was the single largest stone he'd ever seen passed without need for a cystoscopy (scope inserted into the urethra, through the bladder, into the ureter, to gain direct access to the stone). The largest stone I've ever made, is 17mm, but that had to be removed via PCNL (Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy) as it was too big to bring out the front way.
I'll for sure be needing Dilaudid again in the near future, as I make stones big and I make stones fast, so Tuck, I'm for sure going to take your advice and not only closely monitor my HR & BP, but let my doctor know what happened. Besides that, I'll just need to remember, through the blinding pain, to inform the ER staff that Dilaudid MAY be a problem for me, and that they'll need to put me on a monitor 'just in case'.
Thanks everyone.
Regarding the size of the stone, as I've had this for years & years (19 to be exact), and have passed 1000's (literally) of stones over the years, I can pass stones that mere mortals (you guys) would require surgery to remove. Both my ureter & urethra have "stretched", for lack of a better word, over the years, and I can accommodate stones upwards of 9mm. A few months back, I passed a 9.3mm stone (they measured it with a digital micrometer), and my urologist told me that it was the single largest stone he'd ever seen passed without need for a cystoscopy (scope inserted into the urethra, through the bladder, into the ureter, to gain direct access to the stone). The largest stone I've ever made, is 17mm, but that had to be removed via PCNL (Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy) as it was too big to bring out the front way.
I'll for sure be needing Dilaudid again in the near future, as I make stones big and I make stones fast, so Tuck, I'm for sure going to take your advice and not only closely monitor my HR & BP, but let my doctor know what happened. Besides that, I'll just need to remember, through the blinding pain, to inform the ER staff that Dilaudid MAY be a problem for me, and that they'll need to put me on a monitor 'just in case'.
Thanks everyone.
Wow! I hope I never get a kidney stone.
I think you should monitor your bp over the next few weeks as well, just to be on the safe side.
I think you should monitor your bp over the next few weeks as well, just to be on the safe side.
I understand, I passed a 6mm and they gave me the same lecture, not normal to pass those big stones, but thankfully after three days I got it. I'm sorry you were in so much pain! Hope the blood pressure stabalizes.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Pain Management Community
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
Could it be something you ate? Lack of sleep? Here are 11 migraine triggers to look out for.
Find out if PRP therapy right for you.
Tips for preventing one of the most common types of knee injury.
Here are 10 ways to stop headaches before they start.
Tips and moves to ease backaches
Now for your questions on your blood pressure and heart rate. In rare instances tachycardia,(elevated heart rate) bradycardia,(low heart rate) hypotension (low B/P) or hypertension (elevated B/P) can be a side effects of Dilaudid. It is not usual and I would be concerned it you ever need this opiate again. Be sure the physician knows your history. It is much more common to experience hypotension or bradycardia when given opiates. It may have been the combination of medications you were given rather than a single medication. It's any one's guess.
However I would not simply write this off as a reaction to the medication. Your systolic (upper number) is certainly above normal but not extreme. In my opinion, of more concern is your diastolic (bottom number). This number represents the amount of force on your blood vessels when you heart is at rest. The upper number indicates the amount of force when your heart beats.
Please have your B/P monitored for a while. I suggest that you monitor it over the next few weeks. Check it at different times in a day and in different positions. This will give you a better idea of your true B/P reading. Anything over near or over 100 diastolic should be of concern. The desired diastolic is 80 or below but often a physician will not prescribe medications unless it is near 100 or above.
Best of luck to yu. I am very glad that you were able to pass that stone. I wish you the best and hope that you can avoid the Hummer sized stones in the future.
Take Care,
~Tuck