On Wednesday morning I woke up with an all-to-familiar, searing pain in my back. I rolled over and hoped I had just slept wrong or something and tried to get back to sleep. The pain increased and I started feeling really nauseous, so I got up and went to the bathroom and that's when I was certain I knew what was going on. I came out, collapsed on the couch, and said, "Eric, I have a kidney stone and I need to go to the hospital." We called Eric's parents for some help while I laid on the couch writhing in pain with my throw up bowl. I couldn't even get up to get dressed. Steve arrived a few minutes later and took me to the Emergency room. The 3 minute drive felt like an hour, but that was nothing compared to the 20 minutes in the waiting room. I was doubled over two different chairs, contemplating laying on the ground, with my puke bowl in absolute agony. I was in tears by the time they took me back to my room. I thought once I got there I would get some relief, but instead they needed me to try to give a urine sample and dressed in a gown. I was vomiting from the pain. FINALLY they got an IV hooked up with some fluids and pain meds, but they didn't touch it. After another hour of pain, they finally brought in the narcotics and I got some of the relief I was desperately needing. I opted out of imaging at that time (because our deductible is high) and was sent home with pain meds, dilators, and instructions to drink like crazy in the hope of passing it without intervention. I wasn't so lucky...
The afternoon I was discharged from the ER, I got a call from the urologist in Wausau, stating they were concerned and would like to see me that week to make sure I didn't have a serious obstruction. Being that I was on pain killers and wasn't feeling that great, Patti drove me down to my appointment - an x-ray first and then a meeting with the urologist. The imaging confirmed that I had an 8mm stone stuck in my left ureter. I had two options: wait and see if it might pass (it could take months!) or have the procedure to get it out. I knew that I didn't feel comfortable waiting indefinitely and she said there was only a 50% chance that it would pass on its own. I opted for the lithotripsy procedure to be performed down in Wausau. However, it was 2 full weeks before there was an opening. I felt like a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the stone to start moving again and for the pain to start up.
I can't say I wasn't nervous the morning of the procedure. Having never had anesthesia before, I didn't really know what to expect. We had to be in Wausau by 6:30 for an x-ray before the lithotrispy so it was an early morning! When we got to the surgery center, they called me back to the prep/recovery room and started to get things rolling. I got gowned up and got my IV in just in time for Dr. Bluestein to pop in and tell me that my kidney stone was no longer visible on the x-ray. He thought that I potentially passed it without knowing and that I now had two options: 1. go home and get a CT scan which would show if the stone moved behind my pelvis or 2. have a ureteroscopy that I may not need if the stone did indeed pass. He strongly recommend option 1. So, after a needless early morning and a needless IV, we headed back home to Rhinelander.
It was another couple of weeks before I was able to get on the schedule for the CT. Thankfully I was able to do that in Rhinelander. And of course, there was that little 8mm bugger, hiding behind my pelvis. There were also several other tiny kidney stones sitting in my kidneys. My doctor decided that it was time for the uretoscopy - a procedure where they thread a scope up my urinary tract and can then grab or blast the stone. Thankfully, there were a surgical opening only a few days later, so I didn't need to wait long this time.
Everything went super smoothly with my prep that morning. My nurse was really friendly and my anesthesiologist made me feel really comfortable about going under. In no time flat, it was time to be wheeled back for my procedure. Within 30 seconds of being in the room, I was out cold. I woke up in the recovery room after the procedure with Eric laughing at how responsible I was being...checking my med doses with the nurses, asking about the details of the procedure...barely groggy in the least. The procedure was successful and Dr. Bluestein was able to blast that nasty stone to smithereens. Because my kidney and ureter were pretty angry and inflammed, he did have to put in a stent that would stay in for two weeks in order to keep the ureter from swelling shut. I sailed through the anesthesia, without even a trace of nausea. Aside from some bleeding and some pretty minimal pain in my kidney (the dr said this was normal due to the stent), I felt very well and was thrilled to be putting this chapter behind me.
Two weeks later, I visited Dr. Bluestein again for a recheck and the removal of my stent. They were able to do that procedure right in the office and without anesthesia. They used a scope to go up into my bladder and grabbed the long skinny tube that was kept inside my ureter. It took about 5 minutes. With the stent gone, the rest of my pain when away and I was feeling back to normal. I still do have a twinge of kidney pain every once in a while, so I'm trying to drink a lot more water and hope that one of those tiny ones still in my kidney doesn't decide to let loose and unleash its havoc. But in the meantime, I am so thankful that this chapter is closing and that life can move away from endless doctor appointments, imaging, and procedures. It has made for a rough fall!
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