Kidney stone... arg!
Well, much to my great distress I had to miss a long planned for craft show - the Ad Astra SF convention - this past weekend. Spent most of the past 10 days or so in various levels of pain. I've got a few friends here on LJ that have had them. I tip my hat to you. I've also spent 3 days writing this.. my concentration this week is crap.
whoo boy, I had no idea what a kidney stone felt like. I thought it would only hurt when it was coming out when you pee. WRONG. It hurts when it starts to move out of your kidneys, packing a bag full of sharp edged weapons and tries to make an incredibly slow exit. And guess what?... . it takes WEEKS to "pass".
As you may have heard it's incredibly painful (on a 1-10 scale 0 = nothing and 10 being Transport Truck, I'd rank it as a 8.7) when it decides to move out of your kidney. It feels like someone has a small knife inside you and is stabbing their way out through your kidney for 2 hours. Its also one of those Wave pains - meaning it gives you a chance to breathe twice and then hits you again. Thus the stabby-stab feeling.
Writers take note! It's like a waltz: Stab -breathe 1-2-3 - Stab - breathe 1-2-3 = repeat for 2 hrs with slowly decreasing stabs.
Of course, being stubborn, stupid and with a high tolerance for pain - I didn't go to the hospital for days. I walked into a clinic - got the expected diagnosis of "looks like a kidney stone" and booked an appt for an ultrasound, walked out with a prescrip for percoset (fyi: useless). One thing, I did promise the clinic doc that if it got bad again I would go to Emerg. On Thursday it got bad enough (8) I headed to Emerg. and spent the requisite 1.75 hrs sitting in the waiting room.
Now you'll hear a lot about Canadian Healthcare.. since I know a few of you all might be curious. Checking into a hospital requires a valid Health card. If you don't have one you pay cash/credit. There's some kind of fee structure for tests/costs, etc. If you are carried in - you usually go straight to the ER. If you are unconcious, bleeding a lot, shot, stabbed etc, brought in by an ambulance - passed out - whooosh... you aren't seen except in passing by those of us in the ER Waiting room.
Personally, I think it is a good system. Sure, while you sit there wishing you would just die - the Triage people (who see you almost immediately unless you come in an ambulance) - will figure out if you really are about to die. I suspect if you are going to die - they won't make you wait 2 hrs to see a doc. SUCK IT UP.
After the hour and 40 min we (TheBigBad came with) were called into a section called RAZ = Rapid Assessment Zone. Big chairs, a few people waiting, a small section of Emergency where they already suspect what's wrong - (I'd told them I'd seen a clinic doc) - and they do an assessment. Saw the doc - 2 min. Got a CAT Scan - within 10 min or less - went back to The Zone. Got an IV and some morphine. Actually waiting for the CAT results took the longest = a few hours - while I sat there and the other people in the room fell asleep. (There was an old lady who'd had a few surgeries and a guy that looked like Hagrid and Mick Foley's Love Child - he was funny when he woke up). Seriously... every one but me fell asleep. It was strange. Sometimes people would come and knock on the door down the hall and I'd pretend the Zombies were attacking. There was a shit TV in the corner with a bad colour cast. If I ever win money I'm buying them better TVs.
Eventually saw the Doc again - I've got a large stone. 5mm. sounds small to me... but they said I'll have to see a specialist this week. They might have to do some kind of sugery. If so - It will be a first for me. I've got a few more effective drugs now. They figure its too big to pee out, so some kind of meddling is required.
How'd i get it? no idea. ... except i eat a LOT of things that are supposed to be good: spinach, beets, sweet potatoes, berries, cranberries. I take Vit. C, and started taking vit D recently.... hmf. I likely don't drink enough water. Well now I'm up to a few liters a day. I'm FLOATING now.
Anyway, I've spent the last few days in a stupor. Drugs / exhaustion / low level of pain / lack of appetite. I've made NO Jewelry. Watched TV! Didn't even want to drink coffee.....
whoo boy, I had no idea what a kidney stone felt like. I thought it would only hurt when it was coming out when you pee. WRONG. It hurts when it starts to move out of your kidneys, packing a bag full of sharp edged weapons and tries to make an incredibly slow exit. And guess what?... . it takes WEEKS to "pass".
As you may have heard it's incredibly painful (on a 1-10 scale 0 = nothing and 10 being Transport Truck, I'd rank it as a 8.7) when it decides to move out of your kidney. It feels like someone has a small knife inside you and is stabbing their way out through your kidney for 2 hours. Its also one of those Wave pains - meaning it gives you a chance to breathe twice and then hits you again. Thus the stabby-stab feeling.
Writers take note! It's like a waltz: Stab -breathe 1-2-3 - Stab - breathe 1-2-3 = repeat for 2 hrs with slowly decreasing stabs.
Of course, being stubborn, stupid and with a high tolerance for pain - I didn't go to the hospital for days. I walked into a clinic - got the expected diagnosis of "looks like a kidney stone" and booked an appt for an ultrasound, walked out with a prescrip for percoset (fyi: useless). One thing, I did promise the clinic doc that if it got bad again I would go to Emerg. On Thursday it got bad enough (8) I headed to Emerg. and spent the requisite 1.75 hrs sitting in the waiting room.
Now you'll hear a lot about Canadian Healthcare.. since I know a few of you all might be curious. Checking into a hospital requires a valid Health card. If you don't have one you pay cash/credit. There's some kind of fee structure for tests/costs, etc. If you are carried in - you usually go straight to the ER. If you are unconcious, bleeding a lot, shot, stabbed etc, brought in by an ambulance - passed out - whooosh... you aren't seen except in passing by those of us in the ER Waiting room.
Personally, I think it is a good system. Sure, while you sit there wishing you would just die - the Triage people (who see you almost immediately unless you come in an ambulance) - will figure out if you really are about to die. I suspect if you are going to die - they won't make you wait 2 hrs to see a doc. SUCK IT UP.
After the hour and 40 min we (TheBigBad came with) were called into a section called RAZ = Rapid Assessment Zone. Big chairs, a few people waiting, a small section of Emergency where they already suspect what's wrong - (I'd told them I'd seen a clinic doc) - and they do an assessment. Saw the doc - 2 min. Got a CAT Scan - within 10 min or less - went back to The Zone. Got an IV and some morphine. Actually waiting for the CAT results took the longest = a few hours - while I sat there and the other people in the room fell asleep. (There was an old lady who'd had a few surgeries and a guy that looked like Hagrid and Mick Foley's Love Child - he was funny when he woke up). Seriously... every one but me fell asleep. It was strange. Sometimes people would come and knock on the door down the hall and I'd pretend the Zombies were attacking. There was a shit TV in the corner with a bad colour cast. If I ever win money I'm buying them better TVs.
Eventually saw the Doc again - I've got a large stone. 5mm. sounds small to me... but they said I'll have to see a specialist this week. They might have to do some kind of sugery. If so - It will be a first for me. I've got a few more effective drugs now. They figure its too big to pee out, so some kind of meddling is required.
How'd i get it? no idea. ... except i eat a LOT of things that are supposed to be good: spinach, beets, sweet potatoes, berries, cranberries. I take Vit. C, and started taking vit D recently.... hmf. I likely don't drink enough water. Well now I'm up to a few liters a day. I'm FLOATING now.
Anyway, I've spent the last few days in a stupor. Drugs / exhaustion / low level of pain / lack of appetite. I've made NO Jewelry. Watched TV! Didn't even want to drink coffee.....