Over the past month all kinds of things have happened. Our wedding anniversary came and went with me sick...yet another year. The hockey game we had tickets to (Thrashers v. Devils) for the Friday before was a FAIL after a midnight visit to the ER a few nights before when they diagnosed me with a kidney infection. Now if there's anything I hate, it's kidney infections because I typically end up with a sky-high fever. This time, there was no fever at all but one week later I started to have extreme pain that the painkillers just about curbed.
Fast-forward to St. Patrick's Day and a CT scan that revealed the excruciating pain was being caused by...a kidney stone that was stuck. The following day I saw a urologist near home who tentatively scheduled the stones to be blasted and I began a 3 week endeavor of x-rays, a second CT scan, and a pre-op/pre-admit visit that turned into a debacle of "I’ll do this, but I may try this...or this.... or this could be an option" I grew very wary of him. I'm not keen on any idea of signing papers for a surgeon to do whatever he feels like - especially when they can't adequately explain something to me. So, I did what I tend to do…I called Emory for a second opinion and canceled the lithotripsy that had been scheduled initially.
Today was my appointment with Emory’s urology department now that they have accepted me; and you know what, it was one of the easiest, most painless and most informative doctor visits that I’ve had. They met with me for almost a full hour, looked at all of the pictures that I’ve had taken and then explained what the plan would be, how to treat the stones (for now, just by drinking water) and the specifics in case of emergency. Officially, we’re letting the 1 small stone in my left kidney and the 2 or so still hanging in my right kidney stick with what they’re doing. Most likely, they’ll come out in the next 3 months at some point. But, I now have medication for any uncomfortable feelings, pain and to make things easier. I also have an order for a test that will eventually give us back a profile of the risks that I have which could be making the stones. So, hopefully, we’ll get a better idea of what I need to watch to keep the little buggers from spawning in my kidneys.
And PS – yes, it is more likely to have kidney stones when you’re male. So statistically, I should be at a lower risk of getting them…. except my dad had them and on my mom’s side my grandfather and some other males had them. Which means that I’m the first girl to get them in my family that we know of. I think this just means that now the more negative genetic issues from my dad may be appearing instead of just mom’s side…crossing my fingers that I don’t follow in his footsteps and go bald. ☺
No comments:
Post a Comment