Dang kidney stone again . . .

To my disgust and (considerable) pain, my kidney stone troubles have returned.  Last weekend, while moving furniture and hefting boxes of books from one place to another, it felt as if something tore in my right side.  By Sunday morning all the symptoms of kidney stones that I'd first experienced in June were back in full force.  Very fortunately I still had some of the 'good' painkillers the doctor had prescribed for that incident, so I was able to keep going until I saw him again this morning.  He wasn't happy to hear my news, and sent me straight down for a CAT scan.

Turns out that a chunk of the previous kidney stone had not been passed (it was too big), but had concealed itself in a corner of my kidney somewhere.  The heavy exertions over last weekend had pulled it loose, and it was now trying to pass through to the bladder and thence out the usual way;  but it was too big and sharp-edged, so it was sitting at the top of a 'pipe', causing bleeding and pain and generally mucking up the system.

I'll be going in on Monday or Tuesday for a procedure to break it up.  It won't be external lithotripsy like last time;  this will involve an ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy.  Right now, it hurts enough that I don't care what they do, just so long as they deal with it!  I'll be popping painkillers until then.

Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare for yet another surgical procedure.  I've had so many of the damn things in my life (not for kidney stones, but for plenty of other reasons) that I really hate them with a passion.  Still, I don't exactly have much choice in the matter, so I may as well let them get on with it.

Growl . . . snarl . . . grumble . . . etc.

Peter