Kidney stone has left the Rory.

So, Monday I went to the ER and was diagnosed with a small kidney stone.

Tuesday, I went to class and then mailed off a small package to a German friend to help her out (she needed a neck donut for her hybrid doll). It was very cold about 20F, and I was stranded in the cold about 3 hours between buses because I missed one by about a minute (saw it stop, couldn't get across the street to it), and then when I caught the next one, the connecting bus had broken down.

Anyway when I got home, I was FREEZING, so I went straight to bed, curled up under all my blankets, and asked Osaka to please wake me in the evening so that I could eat something and take my evening meds. When I woke, I ate, took my meds, and felt kind of ill, so I went to the restroom and had a fever hit me. I had what I thought was a reaction to the morphine after the fact, but it turned out to be the stone breaking free from my kidney. I ended up stripping out of everything I was wearing and curling up in the fetal position until I felt something pop and I felt a burst of relief and then I got re-dressed, washed my hands and face, described what had happened to Osaka, and realized the pain had moved from my kidney to my lower back. It hurt like hell, and everything was raw.

Over the next several hours I had several "I need to use the bathroom" urges that turned out to be false and the stone progressed further. I continued to drink water, and I took ibuprofen since I was never able to get any actual pain relief medication.

Wednesday I had a short work shift. I went to work, the pain was mostly still in my lower back, and I was very thankful it was a short shift and passed quickly. When I got home it was more of the same. Pain, running back and forth the the restroom, drinking lots of water, ibuprofen as often as I could safely take it.

Thursday I had class. I was up into the wee hours hoping to pass the stone before class but that didn't happen. So I went to Psych class, ran back and forth to the restroom several times, and emailed my afternoon class professor that I would not be able to attend class because I was actively passing a kidney stone. She responded with understanding, and told me to feel better and not to worry about it.

I came home. I went to bed. I woke up. I drank water. I had an incredibly painful urination which is when I think I finally passed the stone. I chalked the pain up to dehydration from having been asleep, or just being raw or something. Two or three hours and trips later I realized I was in somewhat less pain and that it burned, and that there was an abrasion in the urethra. I realize this is rather more information than most might want, but I had a hard time when I was researching finding anyone having actually shared any REAL information on what they went through and so I am sharing because sharing is caring.

Of note, it doesn't stop hurting just because the stone is gone. I can still feel the painful path it took from my kidney down to my bladder and out, all of it, in raw swollen detail. Also while my kidney is less swollen, my back muscles are still hyper protective and clamping down on my left side over it. I also can't PROVE it's gone (without another CT scan) but the original CT scan showed only one stone, and I have tears in sensitive places on the outside where it would have come out, so I'm pretty sure it passed.

So that's it. Kidney stones suck. I have a very high pain tolerance and I would not repeat this experience again voluntarily for any amount of money in the world.