Well, I'm back from surgery, and back from our trip to the Dude Ranch, but I'm not quite back to myself yet. The pain has greatly reduced, in fact, I'm back to merely my "pre-surgery" pain...in other words, we didn't find the problem....sigh. I still have the stent and that is uncomfortable, but not so bad that I'm wanting to rip it out. It was really bad at first, but I'm starting to get used to it...as much as you can get used to a rubber tube in your kidney...
So, for those who asked...because I was having pain in my kidneys, swelling in my feet, and numbness in my hands, it was suspected that I had a stone or some other kind of blockage in the tubes coming out of my kidneys. Although the only stones that showed up on the CT scan were actually still inside the kidneys, it was still suspected that there must be some sort of blockage: a small stone, scar tissue, swelling....something. So, the surgery was to look inside both of the tubes and clear out or repair whatever was causing the trouble. Both tubes, however, looked fine. So, Mr. Doctor-man went on up and looked into the kidneys themselves. He found a pretty good sized stone, and broke it up and removed it. He also said there were several imbedded in the kidneys that he couldn't get out. So, he left the stent in the kidney to allow any missed pieces of that broken stone to come out easily, and to keep the tube open in case there was any post-surgery swelling, etc.
Now, in the past when I have had a stent, aside from the discomfort of the stent itself, I felt immediate relief. This time I actually felt worse. The pain in my kidneys was incredible and the stent was sooooo uncomfortable. I am assuming that because we were actually digging around in the kidneys perhaps there was some post-op swelling that I didn't have before when they stayed in the tubes themselves and didn't go into the actual kidneys. That's my guess anyway...I have no medical knowledge or explanation for it.
So, now we will need to find out why my kidneys are hurting if they aren't, in fact, blocked. I have a kidney function test scheduled toward the end of the month, so that will tell us if I've lost any function in the past 6 months. That would be another explanation for the symptoms I'm afraid. It could also be from the calcifications that have essentially caused my kidneys to harden. The doctor said he really couldn't tell if the hardening had changed at all, or not, but the medicine I'm on should be keeping it from any worse. So, now it's just wait and see I guess, on if the pain continues to subside as I recover from the surgery, or if it remains the way it was pre-op.
I truly appreciate all the prayers on my behalf. And yes, I had to fork out the $1236.98 when I got there, but they promised to keep trying to run the insurance card and then cancel my other payment if it went through. So far, that first payment hasn't been cancelled, so I guess I have to contact the insurance company...again, and find out what's going on....sigh.
So, I'm off to insurance land now, and then a little rest before my little man comes back from his exile at grandma's house. I just wasn't able to take care of him at the Dude Ranch, so he's been spoiled at grandma's for 5 days now, and I don't care how I feel, I WANT HIM BACK!!! I need those chubby little arms squeezing tight around my neck, 'cause really, that is the best medicine in the whole world!
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