Well people, I am sorry I havent been commenting on posts the last few days, I have been having a bit of a post-op adventure that landed my back in the hospital and having some emergency (minor) surgery at 230am on Wednesday morning.

So, heres the story ... (kinda long, sorry!)

Monday morning at about 3am I got up and had the HORRIBlE urge to pee. So, I go to the bathroom but the urge DOESNT GO AWAY. For the next two hours I go back and forth to the bathroom to try to pee, but to no avail. I finally get back to sleep. When I get up I decide I might be a little dehydrated and decide to push liquids for the day, which I do. My back hurts a little, but I am not in any major pain and I go out and meet a friend for lunch. By about 7pm that night I have chills and am running a 100.5 fever. I posted about this on the board, was advised by you great people to call my dr's emergency line, which I do. After speaking with my surgeon we decide it sounds like I have an UTI, and he advises me to see my regular doc in the AM.

Now for Tuesday ... I see my regular physician around 10am, she confims I have an UTI, prescribes some antibiotics and I go home. I lay down to take a nap (since Monday evening I was up and down all night with that incessent urge to pee but not actually able to pee) and doze for a bit that afternoon ... I get up at 330 and by 4pm the pain in my back had become searing stabbing horrible pain in the front middle right side of my abdomen.

Here I am thinking that its the stupid UTI - which is 1. not something I am prone to having and 2. something I havent had since I was in highschool. I take a hot bath, get out my heating pad, take my antibiotic and lay on the couch. The pain GETS WORSE. Its horrible. Like nothing I have ever been through in my entire life. I cant even explain to you how bad it was ... it hurt to breathe. SERIOUSLY, at one point, I thought I might take my butcher knife and carve into my belly to pull out the offending part, it would have been better than sitting through that pain ONE MINUTE LONGER. My fever is 101. And at about 530 I start throwing up. Nothing but foam and dry heaving, because I havent eaten since Monday afternoon, but you get the point.

I call the emergency line again. Am told this no longer looks to be just an UTI and I am to go to the emergency room immediately.

Well, I went. Was admitted. Got some good drugs. And a CT Scan. I had a kidney stone stuck at the top of my ureter (spelling), my right kidney was horribly swollen, and I had backed up urine and kidney juice junk ... and had a horrible infection (blood and urine tests for that ...). The ER doc called the urologist on staff, and he comes into the hospital to immediately put stents in my kidney - at 230 in the morning - in order to relieve the pressure and get all the junk out of my body.

I was released from the hospital at about 430 this afternoon... I still have stents and I still have the stone but the pain is mostly gone. And what remains will be taken care of by the vicoden I am about to pop.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY FOR ALL OF YOU ...

Rapid weight loss can contribute to the formation of kidney stones. It can be a side effect of WLS. Mine was, according to the doctor, likely exascerbated by the fact that I take 1500 mgs of calcium citrate a day (as prescribed by my nutritionist), drink approximately 4 cups of skim milk each day, and am a cheese afficionado. Calcium is also a main contributor to the formation of kidney stones. (LU - SO IS BEER, JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW DARLIN'). I will no longer be taking the calcium citrate, per a conversation with my NUT, but will continue to drink my milk.

Just another adventure ... glad to be home. Be happier once this stupid stone is really gone. That might require another surgery - will know in 10 days when I go to get the stents out and the urologist decides what he wants to do. Sigh.

Off to get blitzed ... and get some rest. I havent really slept since Saturday night.