If Pandora had kidney stones...

I got home from ER visit #4 at about 4:00am this morning. ER visit #3 was due to pretty bad dehydration, and ER visit #4 was uncontrollable unfathomable pain (again).

So here is what's wrong with me.

- I still have the kidney stone. It's still stuck in the exact same spot it was stuck in last Saturday night. I thought it had passed yesterday because I started feeling so good and so relieved (right around 11:30 am), so I told the urologist yesterday that I thought it had moved into my bladder (a good thing) when in fact, it hadn't. So he pretty much dismissed me and told me to come back next week.
- I have a second kidney stone. On my other kidney. I found that out at the urologist's yesterday, and I can't express how horrible that information was. It's stuck well up on my kidney, and it's the same size (about 4 mg or ml or whatever the measurement is). No one is really worrying about that one right now except for me, which bugs me.
- I am still dehydrated. Anything I consume sits like a fiery stone in my stomach, and drinking is the most painful thing for me to consume. I'm trying a plan b approach, which is real broth-y soups. Not creamy soups, or potato-y soups. Brothy soups. It's fluids that don't make me as sick as straight water or juice, and at least there's some nutritional value, too.
- I haven't had a bowel movement for a week now. So 'constipation' is on my list of afflictions. And it can actually cause just as much pain and trouble as the kidney stone, but the doctor told me that it's not the priority right now, the kidney stone is the most important thing. And if I can get hydrated better, that should help.
- The lower part of my lungs are collapsed/collapsing. Being on all of the pain meds that I have been on, my breathing has been very shallow since Saturday, and also if I inflate my lungs completely, it makes my side ache where the kidney is. Each time I go into the ER, they keep putting me on oxygen because I'm not getting enough, so I have to try to breathe as deeply as possible (even while sleeping - how?) so that I can get them to open back up.
- I have borderline pneumonia. I guess they noticed a small infection starting last night when I went into the ER again, and now I have to take antibiotics for the next week to counterbalance that. I don't really know where this one came from... on top of everything else it's starting to get ridiculous.

One good thing is that my ER doctor last night called the urologist and told him that the stone had in fact not moved at all, and I was in extreme pain. The urologist told him that he could get me in for a procedure on Monday... but we're going to see if we can try to get him to push it to today. In one way, waiting until Monday could be a good thing, because it gives the stone more time to come out on its own, which would be the best thing, but at the same time I'm taking heavy pain meds every two hours, and I really don't want to keep that up for another three days. Plus having a stone stuck there for so long is not good either.

People are being really wonderful trying to help me as they can and offer comfort. I really appreciate it. Talking on the phone is painful and difficult with my lungs they way they are and my brain addled from the pain meds, so I'm sorry if I can't answer each phone call, but I'll do my best to keep you updated. I feel bad for Michael, he is working graveyard shifts, sleeping during the days, and trying to prepare for finals and projects that are due next week. On top of that he has had to add making sure I take my pain meds at the right time, driving me to the ER and doctor's appointments, and trying to keep the house clean for all of the other caregivers coming by. I took a picture of him with my cell phone while we were waiting for the urologist yesterday:

Thanks again to everyone and I'll try to keep you updated as best I can.