The kidney stone(s)

Well, I have good news, and I have abso-friggin-wonderful news. The good news is that the kidney stone seems to have passed. The wondertastic news is that there was no pain. I either had a very, very small stone, that didn’t do too much damage, or the stone broke apart before passing. Either way, it’s a better outcome than I ever could have hoped for.

(Especially after all of the horror stories I’ve heard about how painful kidney stones are. And if you want an idea why, take a look around for pictures of the things; they’re nasty looking. I’d be nervous holding one in my hand, for fear of cutting myself, let alone having it wander around in my innards…)

I still have some of the urinary symptoms—the doctor says that it can take a while for them to go away—but everything seems good. I’m going to go back and see him this week, for a checkup, and just to set everyone’s mind at rest that all really is well. While I was there, he even checked my prostate—the “procedure” isn’t as bad as people say (although I wouldn’t recommend it)—and all is well there, too.

There is one potential cloud on the horizon, though: When I was young (about two and a half), I had an operation on my kidneys, and he wants to get more details about that. I talked to my mom, and apparently the urethras weren’t at the right angle, or something, and they had to be reconnected. So I may or may not have to get more tests done, just to be sure that nothing else is wrong. The doctor says that he wants to avoid such tests, if necessary, because they can be “invasive”. (Why do I get the feeling that I might not be out of the woods quite yet? Perhaps the celebrations are a bit premature…)