4mm

I had every intention of catching up here sooner.

I have a good excuse. 

Let me start by saying that I'm OK :-)   And then let me say that I do not recommend kidney stones in any possible way.

I hadn't felt quite well since last Thursday.  On Saturday, the pain started.  Bad pain.  I messaged Linda the Chicken Lady to ask her what it felt like when she would have an attack of diverticulitis.  But it wasn't that.  I lay down for awhile and the pain stopped.  On Sunday I went to a book study at church, and then to the store, and over to the dojo where they were having a vendor market - which was great!  But I left early because it felt like the pain was coming back . . .

It was - and it came back even worse this time.  After a discussion with my primary care doc, I drove myself to the ER with a possible kidney stone.  Level of pain at that time was 7 or 8.  Once I got to the hospital, the pain subsided and I felt like I was wasting everyone's time and my money - but the CT Scan showed a 4mm kidney stone.

This is apparently right on the edge, size-wise.  At 5mm they probably would have admitted me because 5mm is usually too big to pass.  But they sent me home with pain meds and and antibiotic because a 4mm stone should, in theory, pass on its own.  I had some anti-nausea med left over from my shoulder surgery last summer, so I was armed with everything I needed.

I stayed home from work on Monday. Unfortunately my arsenal of drugs were not effective because I was not able to keep anything down.  Who knew that a kidney stone makes you barf.  I couldn't keep the pain meds down and my pain was getting worse and worse.  One of my cousins, S, was on her way over to me because she was going to pick something up for me.  I told her I thought she was going to have to take me back to the ER.

S did drive me back to the ER (second night in a row) on Monday evening and I was - literally - screaming and attempting to throw up (which wasn't really possible since I hadn't been able to keep anything down). I was soaked in sweat and my BP was 187/85 (my normal BP is 110/70).  I have never felt such pain in my life, and I think I was only sicker one time in my life - back in Germany days.

It took them 45 minutes to free up a bed in the ER for me.  In the mean time, they took me out of the waiting room (I'm sure I was scaring everyone) into another interior waiting room where I continued to scream.  It was off the pain chart pain.  Once they got me a bed, I was dosed with another anti-nausea med, and a super strong anti-inflammatory called Toradol.  That worked for awhile and at least I wasn't screaming any longer.  S stayed with me until two of my other cousins, ME and R, came.

The pain returned and it was too soon for another dose of Toradol, so they decided to try morphine.  Apparently I am likely allergic to morphine because I developed a bright rash all over my face.  I'm already allergic to codeine and tramadol, so this wasn't much of a surprise to me.

It became clear that the ER was not going to send me home a second time, so I encouraged ME and R to go home. Rather than admit me where I was, I was transferred to the larger hospital campus of my local hospital around midnight on Monday night because they thought I might have to have surgery, which they couldn't do where I was.

Another rough night, this time in the hospital.  Almost no sleep.  Then, all day Tuesday they tried everything they could to help me pass the stone. Another cousin, K, sat with me all day on Tuesday and conferred with another cousin who is a nurse (her sister, M who is not local, and yes I really do have all these cousins). This was helpful. I really needed K and I was so glad she was there.  The Toradol was no longer working well, and I was apprehensive about trying the morphine again, so they gave me Dilaudid.  It was terrifying and I didn't like how it made me feel, K looked at the nurses and said, "she didn't like the high back in the 70s either."  which is pretty hilarious since I never did anything like that back in the 70s  :-D  Another nurse came in and told me that I could ride out the high or that they could give me Narcan to reverse the effect but then my pain would come back.  I looked at her said, "I'll calm myself down."   It took the pain away.  I made K sit next to me and hold my hand.  That's how bad the drug made me feel. 

Next was a bolus of liquids into me, and then a dose of lasix to make me pee out all the fluid I could in case I could pass it at the last minute.  That didn't work - and it turned out to be quite painful with the fluid pressure on my left kidney and bladder.  I was so dosed with Dilaudid that I couldn't understand how I was feeling any pain again.  The lasix didn't work either.  So, on Tuesday afternoon I had a surgical procedure with a laser that broke up the stone, and then they suctioned out all the bits and put a stent in to help me heal and allow the kidney to drain better after surgery.  They decided to keep me another night in the hospital just in case. 

ME joined K and was there after the surgery, and she picked me up on Wednesday when I got to come home.  You'd think I would have lost weight not being able to eat anything for 2+ days.  Nope.  You'd think I would have stayed the same, though, right?  Nope. I gained like 6 pounds. Seriously, can't a girl get a break?!?  The urologist told me it was all the IV fluids I was given.

Another cousin, J, took me yesterday to my follow up appointment with the urologist where they removed the stent. Later last night, the pain and vomiting came back.  It was controlled this time by the Norco they sent me home with from the ER.  I'm certainly peeing a whole lot, and today I'm not in any pain.  Cross your fingers.

I have to see my primary care doc next week, and then I have another follow up appointment in six weeks with the urologist.  I have to get another renal ultrasound before then.

They should have the results of the stone composition next week - that will help me know what to do/what to avoid/what to eat/what not to eat, etc. going forward. The biggest thing seems to be to drink more water.  According to the urologist, we're supposed to pee out 2-3 liters a day.  ===:-O

I always thought I was a good water drinker - but apparently I have more work to do in that area.

You guys, this has seriously been the No-Fun Plan.  On the positive side, I'm pretty sure that I've met my insurance deductible and blown by my out-of-pocket max for the year again. 

I'm not 100% yet and I'm off the rest of this week. I should be back at work on Monday.

I know that many people all over were keeping me in their thoughts and prayers.  I so appreciate that and I know it helped.  And I continue to be grateful that I have such wonderful family. 

We Are Family indeed.