[Jor-el]

After finding I had kidney stones due to a pre op physical for a knee replacement, I visited a urologist who told me I needed lithotripsy. Later, after looking at the Mayo study of diabetes online as it related to litho, I wanted to talk to her. Three phone calls and no luck getting her to call me. Then I found she had failed to schedule me for the procdure as promised which is only one once a week. In frustration I sent her a fax thinking that migh reach her. No luck but her nurse said they would reschedule me.

At that point I thought I needed a second opinion. I got my records and was surprised to read in her notes how she had warned me of all the complications etc. which she had NOT done at all. I liked the new doctor so I fired her and went with the new guy.

He required a blood test, EKG and xray, none of which the previous doctor asked for. Wow!

The procedure is Monday so wish me luck and if you are a praying sort, say a prayer for me.

The moral of this story is - You are in charge of your health care, not some doctor. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion.

Joel

[cathrine001]

Three Lithotripsies later, I now have diabetes and high blood pressure. The diabetes comes from damage to the pancreas, which leads to the onset of Type II Diabetes. This information was pubished in 2006, in the Urology Journal (or Journal of Urology - I cannot remember). Type in search engine key words: "diabetes and lithotripsy", or "high blood pressure and lithotripsy" - it may surprise you to see what comes up on Google or MSN.

The high blood pressure comes from the shock to the central nervous system. The shock to the central nervous system comes from shocking the body during the lithotripsy procedure (Electronic Shock Wave Lithotripsy -- ESWL). You may (or may not) know that the procedure requires strapping the patient down to keep them from falling off the surgical table during the lithotripsy procedure. I found this out by asking what the straps were used for during my first procedure, before being put to sleep for the surgery; my impression was that I wasn't supposed to see this, as I never saw the straps again.

Congratulations on firing your first urologist. I fired eight of my urologists in less than one year. I keep records of every lab test, every x-ray, every CT scan, and every ultrasound. I ask lots and lots of questions, disecting everything any doctor tells me. I come across as bold and gutsy, but considering what eight urologists have done to me in the name of medical practice, I couldn't care less what they think of me personally.

[Jor-el]

Catherine et al,

That is why I wrote the post. Not for you Catherine, but for those other poor souls on this site who seem to think that the "doctor is god" and say things like "my doctor told me I must..." Bull! He works for you and Catharine you are the roll model for the assertive female who will not be abused by the system. What system you may ask? The Specialist System. Many of us have a good relationsship with the family doc. But to many (not all) Specialist, we are just a slab of meat on the assembly line. I can see how that could happen but really there is no excuse for it. The proof is, not all allow themselves to become like that.

As to the Mayo study. I read it completely and that is what I wanted to talk to the first doc about and even sent a fax thinking that might reach her. No luck. Did not want to talk to me just "meet me at the procedure site." I lost interest in her quick. But I did talk to the new doc about it. There have been counter studies but even at that it makse sense that the pancrease could be scared. This doc says the stone is nowhere near the pancrease and it would not be affected by the blast in his opinion. In fact, it is partially free of the kidney so the kidney will not receive much of the shock or so I understood. He also mentioned the study was one on 1985 patients using the old HM3 (?) machines and while effective, they work very differently than todays.

Still, you have what you have and I feel for you. You don't sound bitter and I pray to God that root never takes hold in you.

If you have an alternative let me know. I got septic Staph from back surgery due to a physicians gross negligence so I am very sensitive to infection issues so I am not too hip to having a cut into the kidney from outside. The doc said the laser/basket method migth not work in my case because the stone is in a difficult position to reach.

Litho feels like the right course of action for me in this case but still open to ideas. The procedure is Monday. All who read this please utter a short mention to the Lord for this poor soul too.

Jor-el

[cathrine001]

I am praying for you...now if I could just get rid of a lot of bitterness I have in other areas of my life, including eight months of unemployment through no fault of my own (an employment discrimination case that I won in May of this year).

I hope the surgery goes well. I am thinking of you, all the while knowing I awakened in the middle of the night with stabbing pain in the left flank for the second time this week. I suspect I am sill anemic, as we speak, from the blood loss for more than a month prior to ureteroscopy and subsequent debilitating UTI when the kidney was enlarged and toxins backing up in my system.

The Lord be with you,

Catherine

[Jor-el]

I don't know you but I do know the Lord. I became aquainted with him over 30 years ago and He has been my anchor in every storm. Why does he let this stuff happen... especially to the best people? (When I say best people I mean that relatively, the bible says - there are none good, no not one. Of course that is meant to remind us that none of us has sufficinet goodness to come into His presence, except thru the sacrafice of His son Jesus who said, "I am the door.")

Anway, back to the theme, why does He let bad, sometimes very bad, things happen to believer and unbeliever alike? Good and bad alike? That is the universal mystery that mankind has grappled with for eons. OK, maybe He is not in charge after all? He's in charge. I don't know about you but I've seen him show up at just the right moment one too many times to believe that. Anyway the bible says not a sparrow falls from the air without his knowledge.

Maybe he is the "clock maker" who set things in motion but then does not interfer? I know that's not true because He has clearly intervened in our life many, many times.

Maybe there is NO GOD as some recent "experts" postulate. I personally testify that is not true! Just because you don't know someone does not mean they do not exist. Duhhh. I know Him, but then so do tens of millions of thers who, throughout history have suffered the worst terrible tortures yet could NOT be persuaded to lose faith in the One they knew.

Well, maybe He just doesn't care about our little problems? Well, in scripture He is called "Love" and love by defintion cares. He cares alright, because He too suffered terribly. Think about it. Because of what He suffered He is able to deeply care about our suffering too. He hurts with us. Now I believe that.

So what is it? St. Paul, a man not unaquainted with severe hardship, said he counted all he suffered as nothing compared to the glory that would be revealed. Now Paul was a very good man as men go. But he suffered worse than any. Why? Job asked the same question didn't he? And if you read that book and read between the lines I think you'll find the answer. Its subtle, but its love.

Some may scoff at that concept but that does not surprise me at all. I will tell you a quick story: When I was in Army boot camp in the 60's I suffered alot. When I was in Infantry Officer Candidate School, I suffered even more. In Ranger camp I did not think I could make it. I had never experienced anything like that. Pure physical brutality. It was easy to believe those SOBs hated our guts. Later, I found just he opposite to be true. Those tough as nails Tac Officers, many just returned from tours in Vietnam loved us. They knew what lay ahead and wanted to make sure they did not have blood on their hands because they had not done their level best to prepare us for what was to come. And most of us learned and survived because of the lessons they taught us. So in retrospect, I could almost fall on my knees and thank those hard men for their hard approach to training.

The moral of the story is simply this; If God chooses to allow us to suffer we cannot rationally conclude it is because he does not care, or does not love us. Those Tac Officers cared.

The difference is that then, I knew what they were preparing us for. Now I do not comprehend what He is preparing us for. But the good news is, according to St. Paul, He is preparing us for something Wonderful!

Now I firmly believe that "All things work together for good for those who love God...." Knowing that may not make it easier but I do pray to my God that he send His powerful word to relieve you of your suffering and encourage and lighten your load this very day and the in the days ahead.

Jor-el

[cathrine001]

Thank you. Here is my e-mail address, if you wish to contact me: [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed]