The Last Two Weeks, Part II

OK, so where was I in the Kidney Stone Saga? Oh yes . . . .

So Monday I woke up at 6 a.m., having to pee really badly and half starving. While I peed, the nurse informed me that my doc wrote my orders to go NPO after 7 a.m. Breakfast didn't come until 8:30. I got seriously upset because I was HUNGRY dammit, so the nurse told me she'd call the kitchen and ask them to send me up something right away. I fell back to sleep and was awakened by the staff bringing my roommate's breakfast at 8:15. I literally started crying as my stomach growled angrily in protest. The nurse came in shortly after and realized my breakfast never came, so she left to yell at the kitchen and tell them to get me some food NOW.

At that moment, my doctor came in and said that he anticipated some surgical cancellations due to the coming snow, so he was going to TRY to get my surgery moved up. So no food, no drink, no nothing. ::sniff, stomach growls::

Doc left, kitchen woman came in with my breakfast. Do you know she actually had the NERVE to get mad at ME when she had to take it away???? I wanted that food, lady!!

Not long after that, I got to take a BetaSept shower with the assistance of a very cute and rather entertaining male CNA. I can now officially say I have showered with a man.

And that surgery? Didn't happen until 1:30. Would have happened slightly earlier, but my IV decided to infiltrate, and the nice lady from infusion services had to bring her sonogram machine up to find a decent vein into which to place the new IV.

I went home on Tuesday and still spent a lot of time in bed due to the pain. I had the stones blasted on Thursday. Before leaving the house, I took 15 mg of Lortab, but I was still in tears by the time we got to Salina. There used to be a time when 5 mg knocked me flat. The staff tried to rush an IV so they could give me morphine, but one simply cannot rush an IV in these veins. By the time they got it in, I had been lying down long enough that my back no longer hurt, so I passed on the morphine.

I've learned something in all this -- I am not the drug lightweight that I always thought I was. The anesthesiologist told me that he usually gives 15 of whatever to put someone out for the sonic blast, but he had to give me 25 -- and I kept waking up. I know because I remember it. He was surprised, he said, because I am "so small."

Oh yeah -- that IV infiltrated, too. That time it was so bad my entire hand was swollen for three days. The previous time only my wrist was swollen just a little.

The pain has been a lot better since the ultrasonic blast routine -- except for the last couple of days, that is. I actually had to call the doc's office this morning because it hurt so much to pee that I couldn't breathe. The nurse suggested that the stint is probably moving up and down and causing some inflammation. SOOOO, I'm to alternate my Percocet for pain with 600-800 mg of ibuprofen for the inflammation. Seems to be working because I haven't been hurting as much today.

Other than that, I go back on the 10th to see how things are progressing and strain my urine in the meantime.

And that's all the current fun in Dawnville.