Friday, March 7, 2014

Blasting -- Long Version

Barney's comment, "KABOOM" is the twitter version of blasting the kidney stone.

Since I was under an anesthetic, I didn't hear or see any of the operation -- let alone a "KABOOM". Over twelve hours later, the kidney stone appears to be gone. Although there continued to be some kidney pain early in the day, this evening it is more of a minor discomfort.

A week from now, there will be an x-ray to see what remains -- if anything -- after the stone was blasted.

According to WebMD, this quote from the article Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy describes the process.
You lie on a water-filled cushion, and the surgeon uses X-rays or ultrasound tests to precisely locate the stone. High-energy sound waves pass through your body without injuring it and break the stone into small pieces. These small pieces move through the urinary tract and out of the body more easily than a large stone.
As I was being transferred to the operating table, I asked the technician how it ever was found to blast the stones in this fashion. He started to explain about airplane cock pit windows being pitted after driving through a rainstorm. The sedative must have been going into my bloodstream because that was all I heard. I really wonder what was the connection from pitted windows to ESWL. I found nothing when I searched the internet for anything about how the technology came about.

What I did find is that the ESWL procedure does have some risks -- in 5%-20% of the procedures performed. That would be another health risk along with my elevated cholesterol -- for which I take no statins. Actually, I take no drugs. That does seem to surprise the medical community that a 73 year old person can be healthy without taking any drugs.


This past week proved to be another "pot hole in the road of life". Soon I will be back to the every other day hiking habit. 

10 comments:

  1. Congratulations. It is great when things work out well.

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  2. I'm glad that is over for you. Wishing you a continued speedy recovery and back to the hiking trail.

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    1. Hiking is planned. Right now I'm taking it slow just in case there was some peripheral damage after the blast.

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  3. Glad you'll be on the trail soon and that all went well. Amazing the techniques they come up with to deal with our ailments these days. Ever see that episode of "Friends" where Joey had the kidney stone while Phoebe was delivering her babies? It's a good one!

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    1. No doubt 100 years ago, that unmoving stone would have meant a life of continual pain.

      Don't recall seeing that Friends episode. I managed to miss a lot of TV. Guessing that Joey and Phoebe argued about who had the greater pain.

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  4. Way-to-go Lloyd: Thanks for the detail---good to know that medicine has devised so clever a solution to so painful a problem. And I also wonder about its origin---especially the first person to be blasted.

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    1. Perhaps some day I will find some one who can explain how the technology came about. There are occasional episodes of pain. That is probably collateral tissue damage as a result of the blasting. As it heals there should be less pain.

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  5. Less pain is good. How long did you feel discomfort before diagnosis?

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    1. With previous experience, I knew what the problem was before I went to the ER. I was in the ER for three hours before I was given a pain killer.

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  6. I don't take any drugs for my cholesterol either...at 66 I'd rather not mess with my liver and kidneys. I have started using essential oils to see if this will help but won't know the results for a few months.

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