Kidney update
Things are going to be okay. We got to the urgent care center at about 8:20 this morning, and for once the doctor listened to me-- that it was an inflamed urinary tract due to an early-stage kidney infection. Kind of sad that I can tell right off the bat. The thing is that I tend to be largely asymptomatic when it comes to these kinds of things, so when I do start to notice symptoms, I have to get to a doc stat.
When I left work yesterday, I was feeling cramp-like pain in my lower back. J and I went to our friend Mark's hockey game, which started at 8. I was starting to feel less-than-great then, and assumed that part of it was because I was cold. I knew if my kidneys were twinging like that, though, it wasn't a good sign, and so I tossed back two bottles of water. More water at the Bill Bateman's after that (drinking water on Cinqo de Mayo... kind of lame). By 10:30, I was ready to tap out, as the pain was starting to spike. These things come on fast.
Unfortunately, the Patient First was closed by then, and I opted to do some fluid flushing instead of going to the emergency room. I really, really dislike emergency rooms. But J made me promise that if it got emergency room-worthy, I'd tell him. Being a type-1 diabetic, he's no stranger to kidney ailments. I took some UTI-clear to ease the urinary inflammation, and chased it down with more water and cranberry pills. Long shower.
When I got out of the shower, I saw that J had basically turned my couch into my bed, since I didn't want to run up and down the stairs all night. We cuddled up and talked for awhile. Specifically about how we're going to form the broken body club. We got to talking about his diabetes, and I have a lot to learn. He's insulin-dependent, and has a pump slowly dripping insulin into his body at almost all times. He's got to test his blood sugar every few hours, and even then, he occasionally has emergencies. His ex-girlfriend essentially saved his life two years ago when he went into full arrest while they were on vacation. So we agreed that very soon, he's going to go over emergency procedures with me, because, as he put it, "if things are going the way I think they are, you're gonna need to be my backup." Which is heartening. And also kind of terrifying, as he said that usually these things happen in his sleep. Kind of a big responsibility to take on. I'm going to get myself a manual and read up.
Anyhow, like I said, we got to Patient First at 8:20, which was good, as I'd started to pass blood. By 9:30, I was out the door with a clutch of meds in hand. On the one hand, yay meds-- and cheap meds, as I didn't need Cipro this time 'cause I caught it early. On the other, no coffee or carbonated drinks for 7 days. Considering I got maybe 3 hours' of sleep last night, this is going to be a long day. The meds are making me kind of slow and a little woozy. I don't think I'll be dancing tonight. I want to go home and faceplant.
I also suppose it's worth noting that now practically everyone at work knows, seeing as J and I came in at exactly the same time, 45 minutes late, both looking a little zombified. I mean, people were already starting to figure it out based on unconscious changes in body language, etc. I guess this just confirmed it for the people who merely suspected. In that case, I think I'll drop the one-letter codename. His name is Jason.
When I left work yesterday, I was feeling cramp-like pain in my lower back. J and I went to our friend Mark's hockey game, which started at 8. I was starting to feel less-than-great then, and assumed that part of it was because I was cold. I knew if my kidneys were twinging like that, though, it wasn't a good sign, and so I tossed back two bottles of water. More water at the Bill Bateman's after that (drinking water on Cinqo de Mayo... kind of lame). By 10:30, I was ready to tap out, as the pain was starting to spike. These things come on fast.
Unfortunately, the Patient First was closed by then, and I opted to do some fluid flushing instead of going to the emergency room. I really, really dislike emergency rooms. But J made me promise that if it got emergency room-worthy, I'd tell him. Being a type-1 diabetic, he's no stranger to kidney ailments. I took some UTI-clear to ease the urinary inflammation, and chased it down with more water and cranberry pills. Long shower.
When I got out of the shower, I saw that J had basically turned my couch into my bed, since I didn't want to run up and down the stairs all night. We cuddled up and talked for awhile. Specifically about how we're going to form the broken body club. We got to talking about his diabetes, and I have a lot to learn. He's insulin-dependent, and has a pump slowly dripping insulin into his body at almost all times. He's got to test his blood sugar every few hours, and even then, he occasionally has emergencies. His ex-girlfriend essentially saved his life two years ago when he went into full arrest while they were on vacation. So we agreed that very soon, he's going to go over emergency procedures with me, because, as he put it, "if things are going the way I think they are, you're gonna need to be my backup." Which is heartening. And also kind of terrifying, as he said that usually these things happen in his sleep. Kind of a big responsibility to take on. I'm going to get myself a manual and read up.
Anyhow, like I said, we got to Patient First at 8:20, which was good, as I'd started to pass blood. By 9:30, I was out the door with a clutch of meds in hand. On the one hand, yay meds-- and cheap meds, as I didn't need Cipro this time 'cause I caught it early. On the other, no coffee or carbonated drinks for 7 days. Considering I got maybe 3 hours' of sleep last night, this is going to be a long day. The meds are making me kind of slow and a little woozy. I don't think I'll be dancing tonight. I want to go home and faceplant.
I also suppose it's worth noting that now practically everyone at work knows, seeing as J and I came in at exactly the same time, 45 minutes late, both looking a little zombified. I mean, people were already starting to figure it out based on unconscious changes in body language, etc. I guess this just confirmed it for the people who merely suspected. In that case, I think I'll drop the one-letter codename. His name is Jason.