so sorry you had this experience....I would talk to the doctor when her skiing trip is over....letting her know how much these techs worried you with their talking about your left kidney

When I had a late-term miscarriage, the techs wouldn't tell me anything but I was directed to go right back up to my doctor's office where I was told within about 30 minutes of the ultrasound.

When I had a lump in my breast, I also had an ultrasound and the techs noted it. Instead of making me wait, they brought in the radiologist himself who explained what was going on.

In other instances, I've had to wait because nothing was wrong but I was NOT forced to wait when something was wrong. That's just cruel. I would call the place where you had the ultrasound, explain what happened, and ask to speak to the radiologist who will interpret the results. I'd also call the doctor's office to see if there's anyone there who will give the radiologist "permission" to interpret the results to you directly.

That's just cruel and, if I were you, I'd try and find a way to get the results before your doctor returns from vacation. There HAS to be protocol somewhere that dictates what they can do if truly devestating results are found.

I hope you are able to find out asap and not wait. I remember when I had cervical cancer, after the biopsy, I had no choice but to wait until the results came in from the lab. My OB/GYN was also out on vacation but another OB/GYN in the practice called before the office opened the day the results came so I wouldn't have to wait an additional week.

SO sorry you are going through this. Prayers that you find out soon and, whatever it is, it is not something tragic.

(((HUGS)))

Wow, that's just so rude of them to talk around you like you're not there. I agree with Red about finding someone in that office to interpret the tests. If nothing else, the techs should be called out to the doctor or department manager for getting you so stressed, especially about your left kidney. It's ridiculous that you have to wait for your doctor to get back from her "vacay" to read the tests. Doctors are supposed to have backups, right? You shouldn't have to stress about this for the next several days.

They are not suppose to, but they do. If this is a teaching/public hospital, that may explain some of it. It doesn't excuse it, but it may explain it. It all comes down to the level of professionalism and integrity of the tech incharge. In teaching/public hospitals the standards aren't as high as they should be. You need to make a complaint to the administrator or the highest person in charge if it is a clinic.

I am sorry that they were so insensitive. They should have explained that their conversation was part of training. I agree, that you should express your discomfort to their supervisor. It only takes a moment to re-assure the patient, They had no right to stress you out this way.

My last ultrasound included a student. The main person doing the ultrasound did point out many things. This was for the student to learn how to read the ultrasound and to know what to mark. She had the student mark all kinds of things for the experience. The growth that I had been sent in for was benign, but there were plenty of other items for the student to learn about. And no they could not tell me if the growth was cancerous or not, however, they did tell me that their chatter was part of the student's training.

Praying that the doctor gets this stone out of your life as soon as possible. Enough is enough! I can not believe the surgeon did not get the stone the first round.

Healing hugs and prayers my friend. -RJ

The techs are legally not allowed to tell you anything and worst then that, is to talk about it where you can hear! I would report their behavior. Hugs GB

Jen, this probably doesn't help but as a retired RN, if there was something emergent on that ultrasound, you either would have met the radiologist who would give recommendations or you would have received a call from your doc within the first couple of days. I'd be willing to bet that your doc has another doctor on stand by, in case of a problem with a diagnostic test.

Please try to not worry. If it's something abnormal, somebody will contact you. Very tacky techs too BTW. Hugs, Dianna

Jen, I really think the radiologist would have been called in if there was something abnormal on the ultrasound. If they haven't called today, then another 24 hours and you'll know everything turned out ok, hopefully.

Thank you- all of you. It IS a teaching hospital and i really do get that! I just thought the discussion about my left kidney(which I didn't know was even being checked) was over the top.

I did call the doc's office and she will call me when they get the ultrasound. Apparently, they didn't even get it to the office yet! Things have slipped through the cracks so often on this matter (the stuck stone) that I hope and pray that something will be caught IF there's something bad going on.

No one called back today from the clinic and I kept the phone by me all day. Even when I fell asleep, it was right there. I slept with a cell phone on one side and our landline on the other. Nothing.

I'm calling again tomorrow b/c my doc DID say to call and check to see if she'd seen the ultrasound yet. I'm freaked out b/c she hasn't scheduled the litho, and as my tale shows, it takes weeks, months even to get a shockwave litho here. I think she should've scheduled it when she saw the KUB. If she doesn't take this seriously, no matter how much I like her, I may need a new urologist.

I keep remembering how shocked she seemed when I said that waiting for the litho was one of the worst months of my life. She was surprised at that! She knew I'd been in pain and unable to go on with normal life, but she still seemed surprised that it bothered me so. But every other medical personal is telling me how brave I've been. IF i didn't have RSD and wasn't taking pain meds for THAT, the pain from the stone would be unbearable. Maybe my Urologist thinks that since I take pain meds for the RSD, I'm not in bad pain?

My appot with her was a week ago tomorrow (Thursday) and she was leaving Friday for her trip. If I give her the weekend, that means she is back in the office on Monday. I think I should also book an appt for Monday, so she can't pass the buck. I don't begrudge her the trip, but leaving a patient like this w/o another doc to call is odd.

We'll see what i hear tomorrow, and I WILL tell her about the ultrasound techs. Not to get them in trouble, because I don't need more bad karma AND I get that I had an interesting case. But I want to know WTH is going on in the left kidney. I've had pain there since I got the right kidney stone stuck, and I've wondered if it is like RSD where sometimes my right foot hurts for no reason. My Physical Medicine doc had a name for it way back when I was diagnosed but I've forgotten it.

Thanks for all your kind comments and suggestions. I'll let you know what happens. I'm awake tonight with pink eye burning and dripping (lovely, eh?) and a foot on fire. The pain from the right seems to happen soon after I drink fluids. It's just an observation and hopefully it's normal for this situation.

Please send some prayers my way that my doc sees the ultrasound and they get the litho done soon. I haven't been sick for this long since I had mono at age 18!

So.. have you heard anything yet?
Hugs
jc

Jen I am sorry that you have these issues on top of being in pain. No -the techs are not allowed to tell you anything and even if it were a teaching hospital a certain level of protocol should have been followed, especially not scaring the patient. A doc should also have a doctor on call if they are needed. I hope by now you have gotten some information.
Gentle hugggss Jasmine

I hope you get some answers soon. I'll keep you in my prayers. Hugs!

what is going on come on let us know.....

I'm sorry- I've been offline most of the last few days. So the doc did call, and said that the US showed my kidney was less swollen. She asked about my pain and I said it felt like I was passing smaller stones and there was some blood but not a lot. So she said the kidney being less swollen tells us that at least part of the stone had to have broken up, which is a far cry from her telling me it was still there a week earlier!

I mean, she scared me to death. But since she can't see enough on the ultrasound that I waited forever for, I now need a CT scan! I swear, I feel like this is an elaborate joke! She said if I wasn't having pain/blood then they'd assume that it just took longer for my kidney to un-swell & they'd consider the stone gone. But b/c I had passed blood and had ureter pain, there's still fragments or pieces of that stone trying to pass.

My guess is that by the time of my CT which is Wednesday at 8am, I will have passed all the fragments. I'm exhausted and sore but nothing severe in the kidney area today or last night. Urine is clear from my POV.

I GET that she wants to save me radiation b/c of all the cancer in my family, but with the waiting games going on and her being out of town, she should've just ordered a CT from the get-go. She's had me scared to death and unable to work, unable to do much of anything. If I'd known that the ultrasound wouldn't show her what she needed, I wouldn't have wasted my time. But now we know that the only way to know for sure is to have a CT scan. Ugh!

As soon as this is cleared I see the renal doc. Well, I get referred to one and see how long it'll take to get in. Meanwhile, I'm not liking what I'm reading about this disease. I'm hoping they find a treatment for me. I have a 5 year old son, I don't want to be more sick than the RSD already makes me.

Speaking of, we have a Snowstorm headed our way. Supposed to hit at 1am and snow through Monday am. My foot was on fire yesterday so I could tell even before it was on the news.

As for the stone, I am guessing that something went wrong and it didn't break up correctly at 1st. But the Ultrasound said my kidney was less swollen so I think what was left of the stone started moving and now I'm passing the last of it. I hope so b/c I don't want another litho. So in a way- good news b/c THAT pain has stopped for the most part. I'm just tired of being jerked around. It should not take so long to get tests run when you have a stone blocking your ureter.

I'm going to talk to the doctor when I see her to explain that the procedure people said if she'd write "immediate" on the form, I wouldn't have to wait so long. If my kidney is damaged in any way from waiting all that time for the litho and then for the rest of it, I'm not going to be nice about it. Being nice has bitten me in the butt too often during this stone. When it's this important, I have to speak up. That's the lesson I learned.

Thanks all, for caring! I think my family is tired of the whole thing, though they've been nice. It's different though, when you need to talk about it and they don't. I'm glad I was already here for my RSD. I mean it- thanks to everyone!

That's good news. I figured that there probably wasn't anything too abnormal about your ultrasound. I don't think you will have any kidney damage unless urine was backed up in the ureters and into your kidney for long periods of time. I hope the rest of that nasty stone passes through and you feel better. Don't worry too much about the CT scan. I have had a few of them for my lungs due to the blood clots and I'm still here. I'm so glad that your pain had diminished. You need a break from it all. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this whole ordeal will be over with for you. Hugs!