Kidney Update – Warning, more gross stuff

I embarrassed myself a bit at work yesterday—namely by showing up. I honestly thought I felt well enough to come in, but after being there a couple hours it soon became clear to me that I was not going to make it. Several coworkers noted my ginger steps and my pale pallor. My co-homeroom teacher happened to come into the bathroom as I was emptying evidence of my surgery into the urinal. Fortunately he’s a guy’s guy and was able to laugh about it rather than run from the bathroom to look for another bathroom to throw up in. 

Somehow I managed to drive myself home. I spent most of the rest of the day reading, sleeping, or listening to NPR on the recliner while wrapped in a blanket. This morning I felt worse than yesterday morning, but I think I’ve found the perfect combination of painkillers, antihistamines (opiates make me itch), and coffee that I may be able to make it to work tomorrow.

It looks like running is out of the question as walking and standing seem to exacerbate the pain of the stent holding open my right ureter. I woke up several times last night with some pretty gnarly pain, but as of right now I’m feeling much better. I am, however, thinking that a run’s probably not the best idea until they pull that plastic piece of tubing out and I can not longer feel sharp jolts of pain coming from my side.

In the meantime I can keep reading and typing blog posts in my more lucid moments. I might even try to do some planning for school. With Laura working there’s no one to proofread my typing or tell me that my writing’s too gross to publish so I apologize to anyone I offend with my tramadol-induced typos and lack of couth.

May, 2015 Update
I didn't make it back to work for several days, and stent inside of me never became more comfortable. The only thing I did for about a week was to read The Hunger Games trilogy. The night before I was finally suppose to have the stent remove, a stomach bug found its way inside me gastrointestinal track. A night spent of vomiting, the subsequent removal of the stent (please Lord, never again), and I have been relatively free from kidney stone issues for the past four years.

 

Paying attention to my sodium and oxalate intakes have helped, and avoiding processed foods, the kind that make Americans the highest consumers of sodium in the word, is a reasonably healthy diet.