Where shall I begin? Last week, I went out of town for work - Toledo, OH. Yes, so much fun. My week was going well until Thursday morning. i woke up and started getting ready for my day. About 7am, I felt this sharp sudden pain in my left flank (back) that would go away. It was constant and bothering me. My roommate (also my co-worker) asked me if I was okay, I told her I was in pain, but thought it might go away. I told the lady doing the training the pain I was having and what was going on and that my doctors office opened around 9:00 their time and I would call them. She was fine with that. Around 8:15 I got up from the training and stepped outside. I texted Jeremy but he wasn't up yet. So, I broke down and called my mom. It was 6:15 her time. I described my symptoms and she told me to go to the ER that I probably had a kidney stone. She said if I waited I would probably get a fever and start throwing up. Well shortly after talking to her I started throwing up. NOT FUN. Jeremy called me during that time and wanted to make sure we (me and speck) were OK. Told him that I wasn't feeling well. I waited and called the doctor around 9:00 (8:00 OK time) and they nurse said that I may want to go to the ER. So finally around 9:30 I told the instructor that I had to go and she was fine with that. I walked back to the hotel, and requested for the shuttle to take me to the nearest emergency room. I got there pretty quickly, the driver even offered to wait with me. I checked in, ran to the bathroom to throw up again and then went back to the waiting room. By this time there was more people waiting and more people coming in. The nurse called my name, I went back and he asked me symptoms, pain, etc. I rated my pain at a 9/10. I proceeded to ask him how long the wait was going to be and he said, "I'm taking you back right now" I was taken back immediately, the nurse came right in asked for a urine sample, then came back and started and IV and the doc was right behind her. She did a bedside ultrasound of the baby and then of my kidneys. She wanted more ultrasound of my kidneys so they sent me down for a more thorough one. During this time I had received 3 shots of pain medicine and a bag of fluids. The doctor finally came back and said that I did have a kidney stone and that they were sending me back to rest and with some pain medicine. I got my prescriptions filled (Vicodin and Zofran) at the hospital pharmacy and then called for the shuttle to come back and get me. Once back at the hotel, I crawled into bed and proceeded to try to rest. I didn't sleep that great as I was up so often with pain.
Friday morning I slept in a little and headed over to the office around 11:00. Got some toast and cranberry juice and was waiting patiently to be taken to the airport. We were all being taken there around 12. I was still in quite a bit of pain, but was taking the pills and managing. At the airport, I had a few bites of soup and tons of water. Our flight left at 3:20 and we were going to be home around 4:45. Once we landed, I got my baggage and made it to my car. I came home and proceeded to cuddle up in my chair with my blanket, pillow, pills, and water and waited until Jeremy got home. He brought me home some mashed potatoes (per my request) and I had a few bites.
The next day I stayed home to try to relax. Jeremy was working late, I was feeling so much pain, really wondering when this would all go away! Saturday night we were supposed to go to a friends wedding, but I passed due to the massive amounts of pain I was in. Jeremy also stayed home to take care of me.
Sunday, I tired to rest some more. Jeremy went to work while I stayed home. About noon, I called my doctor. The nurse called me back. I explained my pain, everything that was going on and how I was feeling. By this point, I was still in severe pain, I couldn't eat much (it hurt to eat or drink anything) and I couldn't get comfortable at all. She advised me to go to the ER. I called my friend, but she didn't answer. I called Jeremy to tell him he had to take me to the ER. He came home with in the hour, and took me in. Once there, I waited about an hour to go back. The doctor gave me some pain medicine (Morphine), fluids and did a urine culture. She came back and said that I would have to decide if I wanted to be admitted or go home on stronger medicine. I told her I just wanted to be out of pain. She made the decision to admit me for dehydration and uncontrollable pain. A little while later I was taken to a room in the womens and childrens area. The nurse checked me in, got me some orders and said the doctor initiated an pain pump for me (Morphine). She got everything situated and I started to feel a little better. Between the pain medicine and the Zofran, I think it made me tired and I felt ready to pass out at any time. I didn't sleep that great due to the IV being in the bend of my right arm.
The next morning, my OB came by to check on me. She said that they were going to do an ultrasound ASAP and she would contact the urologist about further orders. About noon, I decided to take a shower, and the doc came back by shortly after that. She told me that the doctor and her felt that surgery was the best option. She said they would just go in through my bladder with a scope and then look for the stone and remove it if possible. She also said that they would have to transfer me by ambulance to the other hospital. Finally about 5ish, they sent me over there. I was waiting in the post op waiting room (in a private area). The urologist came by and explained the procedure to me, and that everything should go well and the baby would be fine. The surgery team also came to talk to me and so did the anesthesiologist. They said I would be knocked out, and the surgery would only take about 15 minutes. Aunt Sherry came up to also make sure I was ok. Between her and Jeremy being there, I felt comforted. Time came for me to be taken to surgery, they rolled me back, put one of those surgery caps on me, transferred me to the table. They proceeded to put warn blankets on me, and also some warm bootie things on my legs. The anesthesiologist put a mask on me, told me to take some slow deep breaths, then he said to take a deep breath and have a nice dream. Next thing I remember, I was in recovery, waking up, telling them I had to pee, asking for Jeremy and not having any pain. The nurse asked me to rate my pain and I told her "Zero" she was shocked. I was amazed that after having that simple procedure, I could be pain free. I could actually lay on the table and not feel any pain at all. Jeremy and Aunt Sherry came back, I was up and around in no time. Aunt Sherry left and Jeremy stayed while I completely recovered. I got released and sent home that night.
All I can say is that I am truly amazed that one little stone could cause so much pain. The doctor told Jeremy that I had a stone blocking my ureter and when he got it released, a bunch of yucky urine came following behind it. I had to drink a ton more water than I was already drinking to prevent this in the future. And I really thought I was drinking a lot of water, but I guess not!
All in all the past few days have been eventful and crazy. I am so happy to be pain free!
