Just a simple little procedure

So you may have read about my history of problems with kidney stones. I finally got in to see the Dr. this week to check on their progress. Amazingly not only did I get in right away a minute BEFORE my appointment time, but the doctor himself came out into the waiting room to call me back. See how it works Dr. D? I get to see her again next month. Yea! I had a C/T scan last week and apparently the big one is up to about 1 cm by 1/2 cm and growing and needs to be zapped. In the medical world they call it lithotripsy.

So I'm thinking no big deal I'll lay on a table and have this machine slap against my back for a while and voila. I guess I was wrong. So not only is it considered surgery, but I have to get clearance from my primary care physician and have blood work, more x-rays, and an EKG before I can have it. Oh and I'll be put completely under. Then you get to pee out little sand fragments for a couple of weeks and hope none of the pieces are bigger and cause much pain. And yes if you've never had a kidney stone the pain from a good one is far worse then the pain I experienced during childbirth. One of my best ones was during my 1st pregnancy and I thought I really might be dying. Then there's the risk of having to go through it again if the pieces are still too big. Yippee. Thank goodness my insurance is paying at 100% now. To add to the fun the machine they use is so special hospitals don't have one there all the time. It sort of travels around place to place and you have to hope it's visit corresponds with your availability.

So his office said they'd coordinate my appointment with my primary physician who I've never seen by the way. I just kind of picked her and wasn't supposed to have my new patient appointment until September. So of course when they call to tell me when my appointment for my pre-op is it's when I'm set to be in Oklahoma for a little family reunion time with my brother. I explain this and am told that the Dr. is going on vacation (lucky girl) and I can do it the week before but will have to come in separately for lab work closer to the surgery. Just call their office and explain and get it re-scheduled. No problem right? Wrong.

So I call Dr. E's office (the primary Dr.) and explain all this and get transferred back to the nurse. That's never a good sign when the receptionist passes you off because you're too hard to handle. She informs me that Dr. E won't clear me for the surgery unless I have the lab work which can't be done more then a week before the surgery. Uggh. "So can you come in later that afternoon?" "No, I'm going to be out of state. Could I just see a different Dr. for the pre-op?" "No I don't think so." "OK." This goes on until I explain that I can change the surgery date if necessary but I'm not available on that day for the pre-op. She then agrees that the Dr. isn't going to technically be gone until after Wednesday and I could get in that day but if there are any problems with my labs I might have to re-schedule the surgery anyway. "It's just lithotripsy. It's not like I'm going to be cut open," I tell her. I don't think she was amused but I got my way.

So August 3 let's hope for good zapping and surgery that starts on time. Daniel's mom has graciously agreed to watch the kiddos so he can be there with me and of course to take me home. Since apparently it is not possible to have the kids there even in the waiting room. When I asked the nurse about bringing them she said, "Oh No!" What if we lived farther away from family? You don't just leave your 3 month old with anyone. Fun times!