Well, yesterday was an interesting day. The stone had not passed like I had thought because the pain came screaming back during the afternoon when, ironically enough, we were leaving a Ford dealership.
I had taken a sick day and slept in, then scheduled my follow-up doctor appointment. Since I was starting to feel ok we decided to leave for the appointment a little early so we could look at a car or two beforehand. I ended up test driving a Ford Fusion and Ford Focus Hatchback (no worries – I hadn’t taken any pain medication (not supposed to drive when on the pain killers) since the night before since I wanted to tell if the issue had truly resolved itself). I really liked the handling of both cars but if I had to choose one I’d side with the Focus Hatchback because the Fusion is a bit too large for me. They still don’t match the power and handling of my Jetta but I’m starting to realize nothing will in the price range I’m looking at, so I’m just going to have to accept that or spend more money and I really don’t want to spend any more than I have to.
In any case, my kidney starting hurting as we were wrapping things up so clearly the stupid stone had been hiding out for a day and a half. Luckily I brought my pain meds with me so I quickly took a pill and the pain went away, but how weird is it that both times my kidney started hurting we were at car dealerships? Is the universe trying to tell me something?
At my appointment my doctor wrote me out a note excusing me from work through Wednesday and told me if the stone didn’t pass by noon Tuesday I would have to see a urologist or risk permanent damage to my kidney. I made an appointment with the urologist as soon as I got home and started drinking lots of water in hopes it didn’t come to that. My doctor also clarified that the stone would be visible when it passed (unlike what I was told in the emergency room). I wish I had known that instead of assuming that because the pain had backed off for awhile that the stone had passed without detection.
In any event, I’m happy to report the stone has since passed, in two pieces, no less. Yay! It didn’t hurt when they came out, thank goodness, most likely thanks to the painkillers. I wonder if the stone was moving and breaking apart when the pain came back yesterday. Both pieces are dark brown which indicates an excess of calcium but I won’t know for sure until I see my urologist tomorrow. I think I twisted my right shoulder holding the strainer to catch the stone because it’s been hurting since last night (thank goodness for the voice dictate feature on my iPad so I can “write” this entry). I have a huge headache right now too which I hope goes away soon. I think I’ve had enough excitement for this month already, thank you, universe!