Nothing But Trouble- Part 4

Whoever said "mild pain" as a result from Lithotripsy must have lied. I was on pain killers for a few days, unable to do much of anything. I had to drink water and lemonade constantly in order to flush the stone fragments out. That meant I was going to the bathroom constantly. I was passing fragments and THAT was REALLY uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is not quite the word for this experience...however, I'll use it here.


I mean, seriously, I have heard story after story in and out of the hospital about the kidney stone experience. I can relate all too well. It's funny that it is described as having pain worse than labor and delivery. Since I haven't had the searing pain that produces a small human to come out of my body, I am unable to truly say which is worse. I have, however, had searing pain that produces small stones to come out of my body...through the tiny urethra...which is only meant to allow a stream of urine to pass. We're talking unnatural. Not meant to be. Inhumane. Is this too much? Don't get me started on the amount of blood involved from my kidney being Ka-Powed for over an hour.

I moved slowly. Sitting ached. Laying down ached. Sleeping was hard, especially since I had to stay on my right side. I had to do special inclines after drinking 16 ounces of lemonade, in which my body was at a 45 degree angle on a certain side and stay there for a half hour until I inched my way to another incline position. It was comical, but I'm not sure if A took a picture or not. I don't think I let him. I looked like death warmed over....in a really weird position. The inclines were to help flush fragments out. They were working, which was a good and bad thing. A did take a picture of my wounds from Lithotripsy. On the backside of my kidney, I was bruised and had slash marks, long cuts across my kidney. One mark being pretty deep and left a scar. I hesitate to show that one.

Going back to Dr. I Can't Understand A Word You're Saying was frustrating. I informed him of my condition, gave fragment samples and he then told me to come back in two weeks with another x-ray. Good to see you too, doc. Surprisingly, he did answer ONE question of mine. He said I could return to normal activity. If you remember my brilliant doctor from past posts, you'll know this is foreshadowing for doom.

Well, to wrap this up, I saw my doctor one more time and when he said nothing to me besides come back in two weeks with another x-ray, I decided to find another doctor. I needed to have a conversation with a doctor and get answers to questions. After looking online, I made an appointment in another county with a reputable office.

Six weeks later and still in pain, I saw my new doctor who actually sat down with me to talk. We went through my records, looked at past x-rays and he listened to everything I said. It was so refreshing. I had another x-ray and an ultrasound done for side by side comparison. They revealed that although I still have a few fragments in my bladder, I do not have any more fragments in my kidney. So, why am I still in pain? Maybe my kidney is still recovering from the last time I passed stones, which was a couple weeks prior. FIVE stones people. FIVE jagged and sharp stones that thrash the inside of your body at once. I was so elated to "give birth" to quintuplets that I took pictures and wanted to name each one.

Anyway, another reason could be that I have strained my muscles and never allowed my kidney plenty of rest after Lithotripsy. You hear that? Plenty of rest? Thanks Dr. I Have No Idea What I'm Talking About. So, I have to go back for a CT scan if my pain doesn't go away. Ugh.

Thanks to everyone for helping us through this crazy adventure. Hopefully, it'll be over soon. After all, we're going on month 6.

I tried to get a good picture of the "quints", but there wasn't enough light...not even outside.
The pictures just don't do them justice.
Don't they look like fun?

Nothing But Trouble -Part 3

A's parents arrived early Wednesday morning to watch the kids for the day. A and I arrived at the hospital and decided to document this momentous occasion.

I wasn't allowed to have any scent on me. No lotion, sprays, make-up, polish, powder, whatever. I also couldn't wear any jewelry. Since I was fasting, my stomach had started to grumble and I was quite thirsty.

The nurses were really nice as we were prepping for the Lithotripsy. After another x-ray, they gave me some magic drugs and said I would drift off to sleep, but I didn't. It was ok though. I wanted to know what was going on around me.

I was so ready for this to be over. Here's a lovely shot of me and my constant pain.

I got my IV, chit chatted with A for almost an hour and began to feel cold.

Into the wheelchair for my procedure, which was in a mobile unit just outside the hospital.

As the nurse elevated me into the unit, we were still cross checking who I was and why I was there. I was placed on a table with half of the middle cut out just under the kidney. The cut out had a water filled bubble type thing in it. They scooted me here, there and here again to place my body in the exact location for the procedure to work effectively. My IV was arranged, got hooked up to several monitors for my heart rate and breathing, legs were propped under a pillow, both arms under pillows, and oxygen was placed in my nose. I was then strapped down with large belts so I couldn't move and the Lithotripsy machine closely loomed overhead like a giant spaceship. It was a tad claustrophobic.

Don't be a hero, the nurse told me. The machine sends out sound waves to break up the kidney stone and it feels like a rubber band smacking you. It may not hurt at first, but after an hour of this, you'll be in a lot of pain. So you need to ask for pain medication before you're in a lot of pain. You can ask for it as often as you like. Ok. So they began.

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!! It was like a rubber band smacking me...really fast though. Not too bad. But within a few minutes, I thought...Maybe I should ask for pain medication...Nooo, I can wait...no, I think I need it. It was at this point that I felt drowsy and I couldn't quite tell how much time passed between each blink. I was pretty out of it from then on. I do remember mumbling for more pain meds again. I also remember waking up when the procedure was over and they told me I did a great job. I have no memory of getting off the mobile unit, coming back into my hospital room, nor A joining me again.

I was waking up at this point. The nurse provided a wet cloth for my face because apparently I kept telling her I was hot. I also got a small bowl for a possible puke. I then got dizzy and they placed me in a recliner. A was talking to my mom when I received ginger ale to drink. I thought I was drinking, but I then woke up to it spilling all down the front of me. A took my drink away laughing as he explained things to my mom, but then hung up quickly as I started to puke. I was extremely hot, dizzy, nauseated, and somewhat out of it still...not to mention in a great deal of pain.

My pics stop here. You're not surprised, are you?

After spending awhile in a hospital bed, I checked out after 2pm. They wheeled me out to the car and I felt every piece of gravel on the ride home. I was successful to not allow myself to throw up in the car, thank goodness. Once home, A helped me inside and straight to bed. My home treatment began that evening when I woke up in pain.

Next up...the recovery...or is it?

Nothing But Trouble- Part 2

Finally, the day arrived when I met with my urologist. It was a Friday. I liked the fact that he was less than 5 minutes from my house. However, I didn't like the hour long wait just to see a nurse whose name happened to be Ms. I Hate My Job So I'm Going To Take It Out On Sick People. I waited another 10 minutes in a tiny cold room. Doctor arrived. A man of very few words and when he did speak, I couldn't understand him very well. His accent was so thick that I had to say Excuse me? or I'm sorry? or What did you say? quite a lot. I even looked to the nurse for an interpretation. Not a good sign.

He whipped out the stethoscope for a few seconds. Mumbled something about my CT scan and left. He came back to say my kidney stone was too big to pass. Anything over 3mm would be difficult to pass. The average was 5mm. Mine was 7.6mm. Yeah! I had to come back on Monday with an x-ray. Our visit lasted no more than 5 minutes.

The next Monday, I went to the Diagnostics Center to get an x-ray and then to the doctor's office. After waiting an hour and a half, I had the pleasure of meeting the oh so friendly nurse and then the doctor I can hardly understand. He viewed my x-ray and seemed confused. Apparently, he couldn't read it very well. He left to make a phone call into radiology to discuss the matter. He mentioned Lithotripsy for Wednesday. What? Did I know what was going on? Barely. He didn't speak much and never answered my questions.

Lithotripsy he said as he returned into the room. He handed me a pamphlet. But it may not happen because of what I think I see in the x-ray. What do you see? I'll call you he said. The visit lasted no more than 7 minutes and I was just as confused and in just as much pain.

Tuesday. The urology receptionist called at 11:30 am and told me I had to pick up my paperwork at the office before I go to my appointment at the hospital. WHAT?! Apparently, I had to go in for pre-op at the hospital that afternoon at 1:30pm. They were prepping me for my scheduled Lithotripsy procedure on Wednesday afternoon....as in tomorrow. I was so happy to be the last one to know what was going on...at the last minute.

I quickly gathered and fed the kids lunch while searching for someone to watch my kids. Time was ticking by quickly and I had to be at the hospital soon. I brought the kids to the urologist to get my paperwork and then dropped them off at a friend's house. I got every red light in town and had the pleasure of watching construction. I finally made it, although 7 minutes late, and hoping they still took me. My paperwork stated to be on time or else they would cancel the procedure. I was cleared and while I waited, I decided to look at my paperwork..the paperwork I received last minute for a last minute procedure. Of course I come across two pages of all the food/medications I can not ingest within 72 hours of the procedure. Riiiiiight! My urologist...he's awesome.

For the next two hours, I was interviewed, examined, stuck with needles, x-rayed and prepped for the procedure the next afternoon. No...the nurse tells me it's in the morning, not the afternoon like my doctor had informed me. Didn't I tell you my doctor is awesome? So now I panic again because I had arranged afternoon child care, not morning, and A was supposed to be with me at the hospital. Now he has to rearrange his schedule again. But it turned out fine. It was just another example of how I was not informed...and this was the actual time of the procedure!

I told the nurse of my last minute paperwork and how I was unaware of what I couldn't ingest. She wanted exact times of when I last had anything on the list. I had a few things and it was difficult to pinpoint times. But it boiled down to a questionable few hours so we were going ahead with the procedure. She then talked me through the procedure, from the moment I arrive to the recovery process at home.

I was nervous.

Coming up...the hospital procedure performed by non other than Dr. I Gave You The Wrong Time For Your Procedure.

Nothing But Trouble-Part 1

My nightmare started about 4 1/2 months ago. Yes...4 1/2 long months ago. A ginormous stone decided to make his presence known in my kidney. At first, the all round achiness had me believing I was sick. But when I woke the next morning with severe pain on my left side, I knew something was wrong. The nausea kicked in and I had three little ones wanting breakfast.

If I wasn't puking, I was on the computer or the phone trying to diagnose myself. A came home for lunch to help with the kids as my pain progressively got worse. My in laws called to help, but I was determined to stick it out. It couldn't last TOO long, right? That evening I was in agony. There was absolutely no position I could place my body to get one second of relief. Believe me, I was trying. At times, the pain was so sharp, I could barely catch my breath. So I just paced in circles around the house, trying to breathe and keep it somewhat together in front of the kids. I got a hold of the on-call nurse at our doctor's office and together we tried to find a solution. Turns out, my symptoms could be a number of things, so she told me to drink fluids, use a heating pad, etc, etc and call the doctor in the morning if there's no change.

What a night. I spent half the time in the bathroom, puking away. Pain. Unbelievable pain. It was horrendous. So, with no improvement by morning, my in laws came to help with the kids while I headed to the doctor. A felt bad he couldn't help out, but it was an extremely busy week for him with meetings and workshops that he was leading.

Anyway...the doctor pretty much diagnosed me with a kidney stone trying to escape, but wanted a CT scan. A was able to take me to the hospital to get a glorified picture of my bones and organs. It was, in fact, a kidney stone. So the doctor asked if I wanted to go to a urologist. I declined, thinking, I can pass this thing. She said to drink a ton of fluids to get it to pass and then gave me pain killers with anti nausea medication.

I can't believe I went so long in such pain. The pain killers worked, but I was afraid to take a full pill each time. I was constantly aware of my pain. Some days more than others. I then called the doctor back, after having no success with passing the stone. She made the appointment with the urologist...the only one in the county. I did a double take on his name and noticed he got his degree in India. Hmmm. I wondered if I could get an appointment in a neighboring county, but they had a 6 week wait as opposed to my 4 week wait. I waited the 4 weeks. The pain started to subside, but never went away. If I were more active (like pushing the stroller or lifting the kids) it would flare up with intense sharp pain, but usually it was a dull constant pain.

Finally, the day arrived to see the doctor!