Kidney stones are the closest thing to Hell that I can imagine. They literally cause the worst pain you can "never" imagine. They cause you to sweat profusely! They hurt so bad that it makes you puke. They make you feel like you are dying, or at least wish that you were.
On Monday the 21st (my birthday) I had my second episode with stones. I woke up at 1:30 am and as soon as I opened my eyes I knew what was going on. I took tylenol 3 and phenegren which I was prescribed in December, and it didn't touch the pain at all. Nor, did the phenegren not make me puke. I spent the entire day hurting and suffering in the bathtub. Casey was super sweet and totally understood, and didn't make a fuss about it being his birthday too! A big one at that. The big 40!!
Later that night the pain started to let up, and I was hopeful that the worst was over. The worst is when the stone travels from the kidney to the bladder through the ureter. I just knew the stone was almost to the bladder. I again woke up the next morning, and my pain was worse than the day before. Here we go again...another stone was moving. I couldn't take it, and we headed to the hospital. When I got to the hospital they immediately hooked me up to an IV, and put me on monitors to monitor the baby, and contractions. I was having contractions, but as soon as I got hydrated they lessened. They gave me a low dose of percoset which took an hour an a half to take effect, and then it only took the edge off the pain. They sent me for an ultrasound of my kidneys and bladder, and by the time it was over I was in extreme pain again. When I got to my room they set me up with a very low dose of morphine in my IV. Still it barely took the edge off. During the week I bawled and cried out to Jesus so many times. The pain is really unbearable. It also really worries me with all the medication I've had, that it might hurt Mason, but without it the pain would cause me to go into labor, and the doctors say that it is fine for the baby. I hope so.
The results of my ultrasound was that I have 4 kidney stones sitting in my kidneys. The smallest one is 7mm or cm, not sure which, and the largest is 9 mm or cm. The doctors say that hopefully they are too large to try and pass. Evidently I have had these for awhile, but it's easy to get dehydrated while pregnant and they start to act up. The other results were that my left kidney was enlarged and the left ureter was enlarged. It seems that there was a stone still in my ureter (duh) and one at the base of the ureter entering the bladder. The left ureter was also not emptying into my bladder the way it should meaning that this stone is large itself.
After 5 days in the hospital, my pain was finally managed enough for me to go home. I was in a lot of pain an additional two days at home before the second stone entered the bladder. And now... almost 2 weeks later I am still waiting for the stones to exit the body. I know they are coming because that area is very uncomfortable right now. It feels like I have a very unpleasant Urinary tract infection. I'm actually looking forward to see these stones who wasted a week of my life.
During my hospital stay my husband took care of everything!! EVERYTHING!!! He not only took a week off work to take care of the kids, but he made sure they had fun and very little down time to miss me. He cleaned the house, and washed and folded, and put away all of our laundry. He also told me that he now sees where I get all of my excitement and passion for the kids. It is truly a LABOR of LOVE. He just wishes it wasn't at my expense that he realized that. I LOVE him!!!
For some reason I have been really emotional lately. My hormones are out of control, and I can break down at any minute over nothing. Hey, maybe I'm getting this out early so I don't have to deal with those types of hormones after Mr. Mason Stone is here. :)
Here I am in all my kidney stone glory.
The nice leg cuffs I had to wear so that I didn't develop blood clots. These made me even more uncomfortable. They are hot, and constantly squeeze your legs like a blood pressure cuff would.
30 weeks. This was the first day I got ready last week. I lost 5-7 pounds in the hospital.
And...this is today, 31 weeks. I think Mason must have changed positions, because my stomach looks completely different. Let's hope he's head down, and let's hope these remaining stones stay put until after he's born. If not, the doctor said they will definitely cause a blockage and I will need a stent. :(
If you got through that whole post thank you for reading. Love you lots!!
Can you believe that being dehydrated can cause this? A month's worth of pain? Well, since I have been home from the hospital we have all been soda free!!! Not only does the carbonation cause you to be dehydrated, but the urologist said the caramel color does too! So my love affair with coke products has come to an end, and my heart is broken, but my urinary tract is much better. :)
