The Stone Awaketh?

I hate writing posts like this.

I seem to be revisiting a number of symptoms that I had experienced some three years ago, when I had my first bout with a kidney stone. I am too lazy to dig through the archives and link posts, but longtime readers will recall that it took me something like six weeks to um, recover from my ailment.

Late last night, reflected in the residual image of the water in the porcelain reservoir, was an omen of what I should expect in the coming weeks.

Thankfully, I am experiencing no discomfort whatsoever, but I know I will be experiencing a great deal of pain in the near future -- which means I may be missing a great deal of work in the coming weeks.

This is one hell of a way to earn a summer vacation.

The Stone Awakes

There is nothing worse for a musician than to bail-out on a gig. Sadly, I had to do just that last night.

I spent last night in the Emergency... Again.

The pain had returned with a vengeance yesterday, and no volume of cranberry juice could give me any relief. I called SK in the afternoon, apologizing to him profusely that I would not be able to perform with him that night. I had told him of my predicament a few days earlier, so he was quite understanding of my situation.

So I went to the hospital, and was admitted immediately. Once again, I was poked and prodded with all kinds of pointy instruments of torture, and samples of every fluid imaginable was taken from my body. They gave me an IV of some pretty hefty drugs, and in no time, I was feeling no pain.

Speaking with the Emergency Room physician put me at ease a little bit. He said that if I haven't passed the stone within a week, it is likely that they will have to do something about it (i.e. operate). I ended up leaving the hospital four hours later with a few prescriptions of some pretty hefty medication.

I got a 10-day prescription of some antibiotics, which should cure my "infection", which is only aggravating the situation further. On top of that, he gave me some seriously heavy painkillers, which a 10-milligram dose is more powerful than a daily dose of over-the-counter painkillers. I have never seen so many warning labels on a pill bottle in my life.

I was well enough to attend my second Müle Shöe rehearsal today. Things are coming along well. The guys in the band have been very kind to me, and they are patient and supportive. I am already looking forward to our first gig in Redcliff, and we will be ready.

I really hate to use puns, but this is going to be one kick-ass band.

An Answer

After waiting for two weeks, I have managed to see a specialist about my "little" health problem. A review of the test results have shown that there is a stone located between by kidneys and my bladder. It is anyone's guess when the stone will pass, if it has not passed already. All that I have been prescribed is more tests. So, at best, it will be another three weeks before I will know if I have passed the stone, if it has moved, or if surgery will be necessary.

The specialist doesn't seem to think that surgery will be necessary. He seems to think that I won't even feel the stone passing. I have a nagging feeling that I will.

Sovereignty?

I still believe I am suffering from kidney stones. My discomfort has been on and off during this past week, but I still think it's going to be a few more days before I know whether it's "going to be a boy or a girl". I am seeing a specialist this week in order to get some consultation on what it is exactly, that I have. When I made the appointment, the receptionist told me the doctor was booking well into April. I told her my predicament, and she moved me up to the earliest available spot. I really don't think I can wait another six weeks to find out what's wrong with me. This ordeal has been long enough already.

I wanted to comment on Canada's official decision to not participate in Missile Defence. Everything that has been needed to be said, has probably been already, but there were a few things this week that caught my attention. The US Ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci made a statement regarding Canada's decision to not participate in the Missile Defence program. He said:

"We will deploy. We will defend North America," he said. "We simply cannot understand why Canada would in effect give up its sovereignty - its seat at the table - to decide what to do about a missile that might be coming towards Canada." - Globe & Mail

I find this statement preposterous. Giving up our sovereignty by not participating in the missile defence program? It's like saying the most non-aggressive kid in the playground has all the rocks and sticks to intimidate all the rest of the kids in the playground. A non-aggressive kid has no need for rocks and sticks. In this case, the United States is using the Missile Defence program and it's Nuclear arsenal to intimidate and push around the other world powers. If we return to the playground analogy, United States foreign policy (specifically, Iraq and Afghanistan) is demonstrated by the big bully pushing around the weakest runts.

Instead, I would say that Canada demonstrated their sovereignty by not participating in missile defence.

It was also stated (sadly, I don't remember who said this) that if Canada wanted to be a ballistic missile target, then participation in the missile defence program would be required. I have stated this before, Canada is the missile shield. Ballistic missiles will likely be fired over the North Pole. If the missiles are shot down, where will they land but on Canadian soil? The Missile Defence program sounded like a sour deal to me from the very beginning.

I am proud that us Canadian citizens, including our representatives in Government, have taken a stand at very serious issue.

Pain (Continued)

My return trip to the hospital was a lot less painful. The test they wanted to administer was actually called a CT; I misunderstood the hospital receptionist while speaking to her on the phone earlier in the morning. I suppose if I wasn't so tired that I would have been able to understand her better.

The CT is, for the most part, just an Electromagnetic Imaging System. I was placed on a table, and my body was then moved into a large circular chamber resembling a large donut (or, as geeks call them, a toroid). Superconductors spin at a high rate of speed within the toroid, generating a huge electromagnetic field, also making a rather eerie sound. The eerieness was also elevated as the generated magnetic field caused the hairs on my body to stand on end. With the aid of computers, doctors are able to generate an image of your innards (but you did know that, right?). It was all over in less than two minutes.

I wish I could have seen the image of my excretory system on the screens. I really would have liked to see the image of what's been causing me grief the last week. I will have to wait until I book an appointment with the Urologist to see my results. Since the earliest that can happen is Tuesday, I may very well pass the stone by then.

That doesn't mean that the rest of my Friday was a walk in the park. The entire day was difficult to endure. I (obviously) took the day off work, and spend the day wandering around the house deciding if I should eat, drink fluids, take a nap, or do something productive like clean the house. Sleep did not come easy and only managed a total of 3 hours' napping in the morning and afternoon. When I finally woke up late in the afternoon, the discomfort in my lower back had risen. For a good four hours, I was clenching my teeth in pain that rose to new heights and would subside, much like a sadistic tease. I took a T3, which did nothing for the pain, and realized that I had better fill my prescription, as I would likely be eating these like candy in order to make the next few days manageable.

Much later in the evening, the pain subsided -- at least for now. I managed to get six hours sleep, which is a lot more than I got in the last 48 hours. The pain could strike again at any time, and I fully expect the next few days are not going to be pleasant.

Pain

This has not been a very good week for me. There have been times that I have been in a considerable amount of pain, which has sent me to the doctor's office for tests. I wasn't surprised when I never heard back from my test results.

I woke up in the middle of last night in a large amount of pain. It was enough that I could not get comfortable, nor could I get back to sleep. 3:00 AM found me on the way to the Emergency. I spent three hours being poked, and prodded, samples of bodily fluids were obtained for testing, and I was intravenously administered some pretty powerful painkillers. I was released from the ER at 6:00 AM being told I would likely be called in the morning to return to the hospital for more tests.

The ER Doctor suspects I have a kidney stone. He also has high hopes that the stone will be removed from my body naturally, (that is to say, the hard way). I should not hesitate to mention that I did not get a wink of sleep last night.

That being said, I am scheduled to return to the hospital at noon for X-rays. They wanted to inject me full of radioactive dye and then X-ray my tissues, but instead, they now want to perform some other test, called a CG. They didn't give me any more details of the test, so I called a friend of mine who is an RN, and asked her what a CG was. She didn't have a very good idea of what it was, but from what she said, that it was likely less invasive than being injected with dye.

What a week. This put the kybosh on my weekend plans, as I expected to visit some out-of-town friends this weekend. Instead, it looks like I am going to be lying on the floor in unpredictable periods of agony until the stone decides to make its' exit.

I suspect I will update this when I return from the Interrogation Chamber, er, I mean the hospital.