Atkins Family News: April 2010

Well, I didn't exactly get the ok, but I went back to work today. She said everything was looking good. She was kinda in a hurry to go do a c-section and I forgot to ask the most important question... Can I go back to work? Oh well, I'm asuming it's all good. I did find out that I lost 18 pounds last week :/ ... not exactly what I should be doing at 29 weeks, but that's what happens when for 3 days you are not allowed to eat, and for 2 more days you are in too much pain to eat. Plus they changed my diet for the new gestational diabetes I have now. Now I have to prick my finger 4 times a day, yay!

She also said that I will pretty much be in pain/discomfort until the stent comes out :( by the end of the work day, I was hurting sooo bad. I really hope this gets better.

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This all started last weekend. Billy, along with my parents, were in Knoxville. Saturday morning at about 2:30 I wake up with a all to familiar horrible pain. I immediately know that I have yet another kidney stone. I knew this was something I would not be able to manage at home, so I called the on call doctor at my OB office. He told me to go ahead to Woman's Hospital. I called Billy (half hoping he didn't answer because I knew he would leave half asleep to drive home in the dark, plus I didn't want to wake him up). Thankfully, I didn't wake him up, but I left him a message to let him know what was going on and then I went on to the hospital.

They finally got my pain and nausea under control. When it got to be around 8:00, I tried Billy again. He's still asleep. I called Daddy. He's awake, so I tell him what's going on and he wakes up Billy. Billy felt horrible for missing my calls, but I was thankful everyone got plenty of sleep to drive home.

My pain continued all of Saturday. Billy made it to the hospital Saturday night. Sunday morning I woke up without pain, so they let me go that afternoon.

Earlier in the pregnancy I had a kidney stone from the other kidney. Usually, the pain stops, and then I pass it a few days later without anymore pain.

Sunday night, my side didn't really hurt, but it was achy which was not usual for me in my history of stones. Monday the aching is worse, but I continue on to work for about 30 minutes before I have to leave for a doctors appointment. As soon as I left the doctors office, the pain came back full force. By the time I made it to my car, I was in tears. I called my boss to let him know I wasn't coming back to the office, go home and call my doctor. They tell me keep taking my pain pills that kidney stones sometimes the pain comes and goes before it passes.

Tuesday I had my regular OB check up. I remind my boss of my appointment and tell him that I'm still in pain but I'm going suck it up and come in after my appointment. Well the doctor decided I should probably get an ultrasound. She sent me to Woman's. They did the ultrasound, and immediately told me that I needed to have another test done (an IV contrast X-Ray). They could tell that my kidney was full and swollen and obviously being blocked my a stone. They needed to know where it was and how big it was. I was scared to get the X-Ray for the safety of Katelyn. I knew pregnant women were not suppose to get x-rays. They reassured me that she would be fine and that this was really important. So I agree to the test. As I am laying on the x-ray table, which is excruciating to lay flat on my back at this point, they are readmitting me to the hospital.

Before the results are ready, they have me in a room. They are trying to manage my pain, but it's not working. My OB later comes by to tell me they did find a stone that was about 7-8mm just outside of my kidney. She said that it is probably too big to pass, but she was going to have a urologist look at it. She has instructions for me to not eat or drink anything incase they need to put in a stent. She said that we don't want to do that unless absolutely necessary because most people experience a lot of discomfort the whole time the stent is in. The urologist finally comes by late that afternoon. He does tell me that it is too big to pass, but the only thing they can do since I pregnant is put a stent in and leave it there until I deliver. Then, he will decide what to do with the stone. He says he will find out when this will happen and let me know. It gets to be about 8:00 p.m. and I am starving. I would even settle for liquid diet at this point. So I ask the nurse to find out what's going on. They find out that I won't have the procedure until the next day and that I won't be able to eat or drink anything after midnight. I'm thinking... Great I can eat now. The nurse says no, they still have you down as no food or drink. Then she calls back to my room and says the doctor will let me eat/drink. Yay! So Billy left to get me some food.

So the next day, Wednesday, I wait forever to find out when I'm going to have this procedure done. Starving again, they didn't do my procedure until about 5:00 p.m. Good news though, I didn't have any kidney pain this day. For the procedure, they gave me a spinal, which was worse than the procedure itself. They had to dig around in my back for a while before they found where they were suppose to be.

They let me go home Thursday afternoon. I was in a good bit of pain, but I didn't want to take anything before I went home because I didn't want to get sick in the car. That was the worst ride ever. I felt like my inside were bouncing all over the place. I also discovered that sitting up straight was very painful. The pain was all in my bladder from the stent. Then, when I sit up, Katelyn puts more pressure on my bladder, and when she's moving around and bouncing up and down on my bladder, it's even worse.

Mom and Dad came to the hospital just in time for my procedure and they stayed here till Saturday morning to help us out. I really don't know what we would have done without them. They did so much for us and we are both so thankful, because I could do absolutely nothing. I have the best parent ever!! I also received many offers from lots of my friends, I appreciate everyone who has offered a lending hand and for all the well wishes.

The pain has gotten a better, but I am still having pain and a lot of discomfort. I see my OB doctor Tuesday. She will let me know if I'm allowed to go back to work then. I will let y'all know how it goes.