It definitely can be sudden and debilitating but for most of my teenage years I had mistaken the pain for ‘sleeping wrong’. Sometimes when I would bend over and then stand it would feel like someone had stapled my back together at the bend and I had to rip it out. It hurt, but not anything like what I expected. A couple of years later I wound up having a few stones that had grown to larger than an inch.
If you have unusual and unexpected pain it’s definitely worth getting checked out. I didn’t have health insurance at the time and since the pain was intermittent I never suspected anything serious and just chalked it up to sleeping in a poor posture or maybe not getting enough exercise to be limber. It almost killed me!
After I passed stones I noticed something odd - no usual anxiety during takeoff and landing.
It was the stones all this time.
For a long time any significant g-forces would cause pain in the abdomen, which I unwittingly started ignoring at one point. But the fear of that pain stayed and I couldn't identify where it came from.
When I the plane started its ascent and I felt nothing, I connected the dots - especially that the passing and flying were just a few months apart.
I've unfortunately had several of them. Some passed with only mild discomfort. Others were excruciating... worst pain I've ever had.
Somewhere around here I have a glass bottle with my collection of stones.