Have a Holly, Jolly Kidney Stone...
Most people who know me know that I love doing my annual Holiday Email. For the last few years, I have been drawing up a non-specific or humorous image, trying in vain to get them out before Christmas (but usually for New Year's). Then I email them out and usually get yelled at by my ISP for "Spamming".
What can I do? I know a lot of people. Well, I was working on this year's image, while also trying to work on a big project over the holiday. Things were going pretty good and I was all set to finish it Christmas Eve morning...when my plans changed.
See, my Christmas present to myself this year was another giant kidney stone (7.5 mm), which delivered lovely, nausea-inducing pain on the morning of December 24th. And when I say nausea, I mean vomit. a lot. and more dry heaves after I had nothing left to spew. ...Which is really rare for me--since I rarely ever engage in such LOVELY activity. The pain subsided, and I was resigned to having to pass this thing over Christmas. When I had pain next, it felt less, and seemed to be closer to my front. So, Lisa and I decided to try heading up to see our families, hers around Akron and mine near Mansfield. I hoped the stone was on the move--but oh no, I am not that lucky.
Lisa and I drove up to see her family and then down to see my father, and Christmas night the pain struck again, this time so much that I there was no position I could lie in to make it stop. So, the next morning, I called the Urologist who helped me last year, and he got me into his office that day and then immediately admitted me into the hospital for an overnight stay of pain medication and prep for the lithotripsy procedure, where they blast your stone with focused ultrasound waves. So, they had me on Duallin and an IV drip, which is very strong --and still the pain was worse than it was before! They pumped me with 2 mg of the stuff, (which is mighty strong) so I could sleep.
The next day, I got blasted and went home, where it felt like I was bruised all over--like I had been in a car wreck. And I had to drink a lot more water than I normally do to pass the stones. Actually, I should be drinking more water ANYWAY, to prevent crystalline buildup in my urine (everyone should drink 2-3 liters of water a day--just an FYI).
So, I passed my stones around New Years, and had to jump back into the massive project I was working on...which is pretty much all I have been doing for the last ten days. It would have been easier without losing a week, but who knows--I might have found something else to fill my time.
Now, we need to figure out what is causing these big stones. I have had two large kidney stones in 14 months. I really don't want to have another one this big--so now we start a battery of tests to figure out what the cause is and to quell the problem. And with that thought, I will take another swig of water out of my one liter sports bottle. One down, two to go for the day.
So, people tell me we had a couple holidays in the last month--but I don't believe them. I also never got to finish my holiday card--but hey, maybe next Christmas.
What can I do? I know a lot of people. Well, I was working on this year's image, while also trying to work on a big project over the holiday. Things were going pretty good and I was all set to finish it Christmas Eve morning...when my plans changed.
See, my Christmas present to myself this year was another giant kidney stone (7.5 mm), which delivered lovely, nausea-inducing pain on the morning of December 24th. And when I say nausea, I mean vomit. a lot. and more dry heaves after I had nothing left to spew. ...Which is really rare for me--since I rarely ever engage in such LOVELY activity. The pain subsided, and I was resigned to having to pass this thing over Christmas. When I had pain next, it felt less, and seemed to be closer to my front. So, Lisa and I decided to try heading up to see our families, hers around Akron and mine near Mansfield. I hoped the stone was on the move--but oh no, I am not that lucky.
Lisa and I drove up to see her family and then down to see my father, and Christmas night the pain struck again, this time so much that I there was no position I could lie in to make it stop. So, the next morning, I called the Urologist who helped me last year, and he got me into his office that day and then immediately admitted me into the hospital for an overnight stay of pain medication and prep for the lithotripsy procedure, where they blast your stone with focused ultrasound waves. So, they had me on Duallin and an IV drip, which is very strong --and still the pain was worse than it was before! They pumped me with 2 mg of the stuff, (which is mighty strong) so I could sleep.
The next day, I got blasted and went home, where it felt like I was bruised all over--like I had been in a car wreck. And I had to drink a lot more water than I normally do to pass the stones. Actually, I should be drinking more water ANYWAY, to prevent crystalline buildup in my urine (everyone should drink 2-3 liters of water a day--just an FYI).
So, I passed my stones around New Years, and had to jump back into the massive project I was working on...which is pretty much all I have been doing for the last ten days. It would have been easier without losing a week, but who knows--I might have found something else to fill my time.
Now, we need to figure out what is causing these big stones. I have had two large kidney stones in 14 months. I really don't want to have another one this big--so now we start a battery of tests to figure out what the cause is and to quell the problem. And with that thought, I will take another swig of water out of my one liter sports bottle. One down, two to go for the day.
So, people tell me we had a couple holidays in the last month--but I don't believe them. I also never got to finish my holiday card--but hey, maybe next Christmas.