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I'm freaking out re. FI's kidney stone surgery tomorrow

monarch64

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Aug 12, 2005
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I'm normally not one to post anything about health issues or super personal issues on PS. But, I can't sleep, I can't seem to read, I can't seem to get myself off the computer either...

FI, who as long as I've known him (over a year, ok not long) has never had a medical issue. Last week, he started to complain about some terrible pain in his lower back, and it got worse over the next few days. About the third day, he started describing symptoms that I felt jived with things I had heard about kidney stones. That was last Thursday. We were hosting a party on Saturday evening, to which my parents and siblings and niece were invited. He refused to let me cancel the get together although I begged him several times to let me call people and reschedule. He was in agony all this time.

FFwrd to Monday, he finally sees a doctor, who orders a CT scan. CT scan reveals a mass that is too large to pass. He is referred to a urologist. He sees the urologist this morning and is told he is to have surgery (surgery!) tomorrow at noon. He tells me tonight that after he got out of there he went and sat in his car and bawled like a baby (his words.) He's 37. Neither of us have ever had children. I feel so bad for him and I feel like a baby myself for worrying so much.

the procedure will go like this: he will be put under completely. The surgeon will use a scope to insert a stent in his urethra/ureter? (not sure), and then there will be another procedure that involves blasting the "mass" until it breaks up so it's passable. Does that sound right???

There hasn't been enough time for a second opinion...my own family assures me that he is with the right urology group here in town because 4 of them have dealt with this group numerous times.

I'm just worried. Any kind words would be greatly appreciated. I know we'll get through this. Thanks.
 
Hugs lady!

I think it sounds like a very common and low risk surgery. I am not a doctor (but I play one on TV! nyuck nyuck), but know a couple people who have had similar procedures and it was fine! The worst part will likely be having the instrument threaded up his hoo hoo to blast the mass, but thankfully he will be under for that and they will give him drugs afterwards to help him forget it ever happened! 8)

Maybe he can give you some too? :halo: It is far worse being the caregiver than the patient I think.
 
Haha, yeah, maybe I will need a sedative too, dreamer! Thank you for the kind sentiments. It's been a whirlwind and neither of us have had much sleep the past week and a half with him up every couple of hours in total agony. I wouldn't wish this sort of thing on anyone!
 
Monnie, while I've not had to deal with this in my immediate circle (ie FI or parents), what you've described matches what I've been told in a general sense by friends previously about this sort of procedure.

I hope it isn't too unpleasant for your FI and I wish him all the best in his recovery. You are right to be worried - I would be too!! - but I guess in this sort of situation (ie they wouldn't be operating this quickly if it weren't necessary, right...?!) one just has to trust that the doctors know their stuff.

Good luck to you both!
 
Thanks, Rae~.

Off to bed, and hopefully a peaceful respite. Thanks everyone for your comments. I'll try to keep this thread updated tomorrow.
 
Hey there Monarch,
I'm sorry you and your fiance are going though this but I would like to allay your fears and concerns. My dh went through the same thing last winter and had to have the same procedure as it was too large to pass. He was also put under completely to have this procedure which freaked me out and I was very worried but it all turned out just fine. We went to the hospital in the AM and by late afternoon we were able to leave and he recovered no problem. Sending healing vibes to your fiance!!
 
Monnie, just wanted to know I'm thinking about you and your FI today. Any type of surgical procedure is scary, but I deal with these sort of technologies all day. The stenting procedure he will go through may cause some discomfort (catheterization always will) but at least he should not need an incision, which reduces the chances of infection and other issues, though he will probably be monitored to ensure he does not end up with a bladder or kidney infection. The procedure to blast the stone is actually probably performed with high-intensity ultrasound (like this http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4987800_used-break-down-kidney-stones.html), and should be done without an incision as well. Hope that helped a little! Sending lots of hugs your way!
 
Thinking of you and your FI today. I know it is hard not to worry when our loved one's are going through medical issues, but be assured that he is in good hands with these specialists. They went to school many, many years and have performed this surgery many times. Dust for a speedy recovery for him!
 
I give the anesthetic for this a lot. It's not a major procedure at all, but can take some time if the stone is hard to break up. Here they usually use a little laser fibre to do that. As a healthy young man, he'll be just fine.
 
Hey Monnie! Quick healing dust to FI today and calming dust to you! I saw in the random comments thread that you'd mentioned your sense of humor in dealing w/things. JD and I are the same way. When I had my hernia surgery and was walking slow and weird, he would do the cowboy duel whistle and it would always make me laugh but ohh it hurt. Every step I took he would make noises like spurs jangling. One time when I was leaving the room, he said "The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed" and I had to ease myself to the floor b/c it made me laugh/hurt.

Tell him laughter is the best medicine! You'll take good care of him, I know it!
 
Oh, Monnie! I'm glad I found this thread. I didn't know he finally went to the doc. He must've been absolutely miserable. Lots of dust and prayers for a speedy recovery!
 
I am late to the game. Hope he is recovering well. I had kidney stones during my 2nd pregnancy. It was very painful.
 
I missed this earlier but Monnie, but I am sure all will be well and I will be thinking about both of you for the next few days. This is SUCH a guy thing, haha, DH does the same whenever he has something major that he needs to see a doctor for. One of my best friends is a nurse and I asked her about this, and she said it is such a common procedure that even though they say it will take 90 minutes, it often takes less. It depends on how hard it is to break up the mass. Fingers crossed that his is easy!!!
 
Thanks everyone for your support!

We're back home now. Things did not quite go as planned but we are hopeful. Turns out that he was NOT supposed to be given contrast for his CT scan so when the doctor got the stent in first of all it knocked the stone back up into the kidney, and THEN the doctor could not SEE the stone anymore due to the dye still in his organs. So I got the pleasure of making the decision whether to have the doctor continue anyway as he was "90% sure" he knew where the stone was, or to wait another ten days and re-do this whole thing.

Not. Happy.

Told the doc to go ahead and that we'd hope for the best.

FI will be out of town for work next week so will have to have the stent stay in and wait for a follow up x-ray until next Monday. He is not handling this well and dare I say it--he's like every other man I've ever seen go through anything minor or major, a big baby. I am crabby McCrabbington right now. I would also make a terrible nurse because I have zero patience!
 
Oh Monnie, I am sorry I didn't see this before now. I'm sure you made the right call and hope that your FI feels a whole world of better once he has slept tonight. Just remember - he doesn't know what is going on in your head. Just keep saying nice, sympathetic and comforting things - just because you want to strangle the patient doesn't mean he ever has to know.

Still, excluding your wanting to slap him with a dose of 'your not dying so get off your backside and get your own cup of tea, oh and one for me while you are up, dear' I am very glad he is ok. :))
 
Steal said:
Oh Monnie, I am sorry I didn't see this before now. I'm sure you made the right call and hope that your FI feels a whole world of better once he has slept tonight. Just remember - he doesn't know what is going on in your head. Just keep saying nice, sympathetic and comforting things - just because you want to strangle the patient doesn't mean he ever has to know.

Still, excluding your wanting to slap him with a dose of 'your not dying so get off your backside and get your own cup of tea, oh and one for me while you are up, dear' I am very glad he is ok. :))

Hahahahaha! You crack me up, Steal. Here's the fun part--over the next few days I am supposed to help keep the broken bits of stone moving along by sort of forcefully patting his kidney area. I'm thinking that might be kind of enjoyable. :wink2: Until then I will try to be loving although I will internally be rolling my eyes. My very favorite moment so far was actually last night, when he came home from the doctor and rested for a bit, then HAD to head out to a political function for an hour. As he was leaving, he made sure to remind me NOT to forget to make him some Jell-O. I was like, SERIOUSLY???--you can drag yourself to a public gathering, but you cannot boil a cup of water and stir for two minutes? Really??? But Jell-O, I did make, thankyouverymuch. :bigsmile:
 
packrat said:
Hey Monnie! Quick healing dust to FI today and calming dust to you! I saw in the random comments thread that you'd mentioned your sense of humor in dealing w/things. JD and I are the same way. When I had my hernia surgery and was walking slow and weird, he would do the cowboy duel whistle and it would always make me laugh but ohh it hurt. Every step I took he would make noises like spurs jangling. One time when I was leaving the room, he said "The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed" and I had to ease myself to the floor b/c it made me laugh/hurt.

Tell him laughter is the best medicine! You'll take good care of him, I know it!

Laughter is totally the best medicine! Your cowboy scenario is hysterical, I can just picture it!
 
Just seeing this now Monnie. Prayers to you and your FI. What an ordeal. I know you will take great care of him. Men can be such babies, LOL!!! Best of luck, hoping for good news next week.... HUGS!!!!!
 
LOL! Oh, men. The world is ending for every little boo-boo. I like how he went out afterward but is acting all wounded. Here's hoping he heals fast and passes the little pieces asap so he will stop bugging you :tongue:
 
LOL. My DH doesn't know that you can actually MAKE Jell-O anyway. He asks me to make it like it's this big drawn out affair.

I think you def made the right call. Can you imagine him waking up and finding out it was all for naught?
 
Aww Monnie, sorry things didn't go as expected, but I hope your FI is feeling much better, not just for his sake but for yours so he can stop acting the "omg I'm a big tough man but can't deal with the slightest medical malady and can you please go get me soup, tea, a backrub, a feet rub and whatever else I can think of because I'm siiiiiiick, whimper" schtick ;). In the meantime, grit your teeth, smile, and remember that he TOTALLY OWES YOU BIG when he's all better. Hugs girl!
 
I missed this, too! I'm glad things went "alright" but totally understand the frustration. My mom had this done earlier this year, and the doctor got back out and told her he couldn't find it either. To this day, we still don't know how she passed the stone, if she passed it, whatver, but she was up and going shopping with me the night of the surgery :) I really hope they got it!
 
Men :rolleyes: Even since I gave birth I have zero tolerance for any complaints about aches and pains from my husband ;))

Too bad about the mistake, but I am sure it will be all sorted asap.
 
Thanks, everyone. He seems to be getting along ok this evening and has quite an appetite, that's a good sign!

I've realized AGAIN today/tonight, that I am the least empathetic person on earth when it comes to dealing with this sort of thing. I tend to worry, worry, worry prior to the event, but during and after I just shut down emotionally and either make jokes or have no gut reaction. I guess that's a good thing, it does allow me to make very rational decisions. However, I feel so detached when this happens that it makes me think I'm heartless! I've noticed this about myself in many crisis-type situations. I don't think it's anything I should be concerned about, but am I totally weird???

Even happy, joyous events leave me wondering why I wasn't more emotional! For instance, when he proposed, I seriously felt like giggling, and I didn't cry at all, while he was struggling to speak clearly through the lump in his throat. I don't think there is anything wrong with me, but I feel like my reactions to stressful situations are sort of strange. I guess I just have some sort of learned defense mechanism psychologically that makes me unable to emote at crucial times?

On one hand, it's a great thing, especially in emergencies. On the other hand, I find myself wishing that I WAS more emotional during the happy moments. I can't read Hallmark cards in stores without choking up, yet I can share the most intimate and vulnerable moments of life with another human being and I just shut down completely. Can anyone else relate? It's not necessarily an issue I can see being resolved in the near future, I would just like to know a bit more about what goes on with me and have no idea where to begin if I were to research it. Thanks!
 
Monnie - I'm late to this thread, but I'm glad to hear he's feeling better!


Frankly you sound like the perfect person to have around in a crisis: someone who keeps her wits about her. I certainly don't think that makes you apathetic, as that to me implies an inability to feel those emotions - people react and express differently, and though I might be in tears at weddings and funerals I don't for a second believe that the dry-eyed folk somehow care less.. my 2c, anyway!
 
Monnie I just saw this - so glad to hear he is okay - the jelly comment made me laugh LOL

As for the shutting down thing - I do the same thing mind you I am a sap and will cry at sad movies etc but when it comes to stuff like you mentioned I am very detached it not that it doesn't hurt I just don't want others to know it hurts me - personally for I think it came about because I spent years battling depression and as such it is self defense mechanism - the more it hurts me the more I detach myself from the moment.
 
Trust me, you don't want to be a crier! I cry for everything - happiness, sadness, anger. It sucks and it makes me feel like a wuss. DH thinks it's hilarious - when he came home with Cleo and I first saw her, my eyes watered. I watch sad movies and the tears run. It's horrible lol.
 
I am just seeing this now too. Speedy recovery for your FI!
 
How're things going today Monnie?

I gotta second DD about men and the zero tolerance of their aches/pains.
 
I just saw this too Monnie. What an awful thing to have to deal with. I hope he gets sorted out soon. I also cry at everything and its not good. I would much prefer to be like you. :)) You aren't weird.... you just have what we call a British Stiff Upper Lip!
 
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