kidney stone

what a fun thing to inherit

Tuesday of last week kicked of another fun kidney stone attack for me to live through. Usually I have pains before they spike to a level I need to visit an ER for help, but not this time... I woke up early Tuesday morning in a cold sweat and intense pain. I knew immediately what was happening and tried to get some food and water into me so I could work on flooding the little dagger out of my body, but I was in so much pain everything I ate/drank came back up within a minute or two.

When a spike of pain forced me to hit the floor because my legs gave out and I almost fainted, I knew there was no time to waste; this was goign to be a big deal.

I hobbled around the house filling water and food bowls, grabbing all my daily meds, and loading up my shoulder bag with the essentials in case it was a multi-day stay. My partner was in Mexico still, so it was just me and the cats. If I had to be admitted, the cats needed to at least last a day or so before I could definitely get a friend to swing by and check in.

Anyway, with all that done and gathered, I locked up and slowly made my way down the block to the hospital we live close to.

It was only about 2 blocks but took much longer than I'd like to admit... once there, I checked in at the desk and was told to collect a urine sample while waiting to be admitted. This is where everything gets a bit fuzzy. I remember going to the restroom and trying to pee, but nothing would come out. All that happened was another pain spike, and then darkness, and then waking up on the tile floor drenched in sweat with a sore spot on my head.

Someone heard me yell for help, then I remember being in a wheelchair, then a hospital bed, and the next thing I knew, there was a medical gown half covering me and an IV drip going. The fluid was probably as beneficial as the meds due to the amount of sweat I'd been generating. And throwing up repeatedly couldn't have helped anything.

Around this time it should have been the start of my workday, so I got to my phone and let everyone know the situation. I also had several missed messages from Derp because as of getting to the hospital I'd gone silent for an hour or more. I dozed off some, sent chats to folks, and eventually was wheeled back to get a scan of my kidneys and assess what kind of stone this woud be.

We found out it was small enough to pass, so they prescribed meds, booted me from the ER, and once my pills were ready, I waddled back home to rest.

After a couple days of pain, I passed the stone Thursday mid-morning while trying to tough it out at a local convention I was a panelist at (I should have probably canceled, but really wanted to be part of it and didn't want to back out last minute).

By the end of this past weekend, I was feeling mostly back to normal, but have once again pushed up the amount of water I'm drinking every day just in case there's another little dude waiting to break free and cause some chaos.

The end of this journey will begin once I get the bill and find out how long I'll be paying off this ER stint, and whether my insurance viewed it as a necessary visit or not (which will effect h ow much they cover). Apparently, going through enough pain to make someone literally lose consciousness isn't considered a major medical emergency to some people.

To all of them, I'd just like to say this: I hope your future stone is too big to pass without assistance.

06.08.2022 / lukewarm bathtub, upstairs