Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you all doing well. Today was the trip to the urologists to have the stint removed that was put in place when I had the laser surgery on January 2. I am not going to go into the details. Well, maybe kind of…
I want to say I have changed my diet somewhat over the past month. I have cooked most of my own food, eating mainly fish and steamed vegetables for dinner. Instead of chips, I have switched to grapes, apples, pineapple, and blueberries (since I have so many in the freezer). I have cut down ice cream to almost none and very little cheese. Even eating before bed was stopped until this past week (I had a bowl or grapes and pineapple a few evenings before bed). I noticed a big difference in the way I slept during the night and with heartburn. No heartburn or indigestion for weeks now.
One of the nurses was in training and as they were preparing to get me ready, I said I bet she is thinking “the things I have seen today.” I was thinking about other things. I have only been in two relationships before and here are two women at once looking at… You know what I mean. The nurse explained what to do with “it” to the other nurse then inserted a syringe or something into my “you know what” to put the stuff in to help numb the urethra. Then she put a clamp on it so the stuff wouldn’t run out. She explained what she was doing and what everything was properly called, but who could remember.
The nurse told me I could watch what the doctor was doing on a screen next to the bed. I first told the nurses I didn’t think I wanted to watch. Once the doctor came in and I saw the size of the “tools”, I knew I didn’t want to watch that either. I opted for the screen…
The doctor ran a probe, or whatever you call it, up through the urethra, the bladder, prostate, ureter, and then inside the kidney. A light and camera were on the probe so I could clearly see what was going on. I was amazed at how fast the doctor was moving through everything. But, I was thankful it was going as fast and smoothly as it was. Then another gizmo was ran inside the tube to grab the stint and pull it out. The nurses in training was the one the doctor selected to open the “grabber.” When the doctor asked her to do it, she said, “You want me to do it?”
While I was watching the screen, she opened it up. I was thinking I hope they don’t grab the wrong thing. They looked around for the stint then finally found it. I thought, “HOLY S–T!” IT LOOKED SO BIG! They grabbed it and pulled out. As far as what it felt like… Let’s just say it was very uncomfortable. Toe-curling uncomfortable…
I asked the doctor if I could have the stint and he said, “sure.” As you can see, it is 12″ long! The loops on the end are to keep one end in the bladder and one end in the kidney.
Then came the doctor’s list titled “Kidney Stone Prevention Diet”.
Avoid milk and milk products at all times other than allowed. Only have 1/2 pint daily.
Avoid cheeses, creams soups (made with milk), ice cream and eggs. Avoid products containing amounts of egg yolks.
Avoid dried legumes of all kinds: lentils, beans, peas, and soybeans.
Avoid dried fruit, figs, prunes, peaches, apricots and raisins.
Avoid the following vegetables: cabbage, dandelions, kale, mustard greens, turnips, turnip greens, watercress, and collards.
Rarely eat: almonds, hazelnuts, molasses, maple syrup, clams, canned salmon, bran cereal, bran bread, custard-filled pies, pastries with whipped cream, dried fish and dried meats or oysters.
Reduce tea, dark colas and salt.
To maintain healthy kidney function, an adequate urine output is important, therefore, it is necessary to drink at least 6to 8 glasses water daily. Add a slice of lemon or lemon juice when possible.
It is important to maintain good vitamin intake, especially vitamin “A” and ”C” but eliminate vitamin ”D” from the diet entirely by not eating cod liver oil and codfish.
On the way out, the doctor said that should take care of me for 10-20 years. I am thinking I have 10-20 years to eat differently. LOL!
Seriously, the diet plan won’t be that hard. I drink very little milk unless I use it in cooking. Not eating eggs won’t be hard because I don’t normally eat eggs unless it is in a recipe. I only use dried beans when I make vegetable soup. Avoiding dried fruit is no problem because I eat fresh fruit.
I do like cabbage, kale, and turnips and I suppose this list should include other brassicas such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc. All contain calcium oxalite but they are not all on the list. I think “moderation” is called for but I can survive without.
I am not particularly fond of almonds and hazelnuts but I often buy cans of mixed nuts and save them for last. You can buy cans without peanuts but not without almonds. I always wondered why they put in so many almonds in the first place. Pecans, pistachios, and cashews are my favorite.
Avoiding cheese and ice cream would be very tough as I love both. I think maybe to cut down would be better than doing without.
I drink one glass of iced green tea at dinner are rarely drink colas. I wonder why coffee isn’t on the list? I drink 1/2-2 cups in the morning.
Now that the stint is gone I can happily drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. It was very uncomfortable emptying my bladder with the stint inside… I knew I needed to drink more water, but the pain involved when urinating made me not want to.
So, now life is back to normal. The ordeal was quite an experience and I hope not to relive it again. I am very thankful for all the staff and doctors at the Golden Valley Memorial Hospital for their care and expertise. I am thankful for medical technology. I am also thankful for everyone’s prayers and the Angels and guides that watched over the entire ordeal. We are never alone.
Until next time, take care, be safe and give thanks always!
The Belmont Rooster 
Poor Lonnie… it’s always worse for men, because the ‘journey’ is longer. My doctor told me way back when I had my stone that it’s not that either calcium or oxalate are the bad guys exactly, it’s just that you have to pair them, eating them together. He also said ‘lemons are your friend’. Sounded weird, but when I’d done the reading, it made sense. Hope you’re feeling fully recovered now.
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Hello Kate! I am feeling perfectly fine now. All is well. Your eye is looking well, too. Thanks for the comment and take care!
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What wonderful news!!!! Sounds like an awful ordeal though. I so glad it’s over and you are doing well!
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Hello Diane! I am glad it is over, too. For sure! Thanks for the comment and take care!
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My goodness that thing looks like an instrument of torture ….. & why is it bright green??
It sounds like you kept your sense of humour during the procedure anyway- with the trainee nurse
it makes me laugh when they ask if you want to watch stuff – I just want to shut my eyes & pretend I’m not there!!!
So glad it’s done anyway & you can relax & not worry any more. 🙂
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Hello Debbie! LOL! I guess it is that color so there will be no mistaking when they find it. Strange I hadn’t looked it up online in the past two weeks, so it was quite a shock. It is always to have a sense of humor and make others laugh and smile along the way. It is better to leave this world with people remembering you as positive and cheerful instead of an old grouch. 🙂 I told them they could put me to sleep during the process but that wasn’t an option. I am glad it is over, too, although I never did have any worries. Thanks for the comment and take care!
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That was a tough thing to read. Much harder to do. Ouch.
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Hello Jim! I agree. Something you have to work into. A diet plan is difficult for those of us who are used to eating anything we want. Thanks for the comment and take care!
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Good luck with keeping to the diet. You will be well motivated though.
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Hello Mr. Hutton! I can still eat the foods I normally do so all is well. Just have to cut down on a few things. I wouldn’t want to quit ice cream altogether. 🙂 Thanks for the comment and take care!
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Sorry to hear about your troubles/
I have had a few problems over the years but never had anything like that inserted. I cannot even begin to think how to spell the sound that is coming into my mind.
We will have to settle for “Ouch!”
Four or five years ago, while my urination and drinking was disturbed by urethral strictures i started getting pains in the back. Being too cowardly to go to the doctor I self-diagnosed on the internet, found a treatment on the internet and, after about six weeks of drinking a lot of lemon juice, I cleared the symptoms and they haven’t come back.
When I finally went into hospital (due to an infection rather than an infusion of courage) they opened up the strictures and told me they would do something about the stones in my bladder when they had me back in. It tok 12 weeks for them to get me back in, during which time I drank a lot of water and a moderate amount of lemon juice (I had a catheter in for that time so urination wasn’t a problem) and in that time the stones disappeared.
Though this only one man’s experience, I can recommend the value of lots of water and lots of lemon juice.
The only problem is that i’m not sure how much lemon juice you should have.
Good luck with it. I hope it all goes well from now on.
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Hello Simon! I have heard a lot of horror stories about kidney stones and some not so bad. The same doctor I went to told one guy to drink a six-pack of beer and not use the restroom until he was finished. He passed the stone. Anyway, regardless of diet, drinking plenty of water is very important and one I seem to have a little difficulty with. I drink more water between dinner and bedtime which then keeps me using the restroom frequently when I am trying to sleep. It is like I should set an alarm every time I should drink a glass of water during the day. I need to bring home a few lemons… Sambong tea is also on my list. I am glad the whole ordeal is over and hopefully, I can learn to make a few adjustments. Well, I am just going to have to do regardless. I hope you are doing well. Take care and thanks for the comment!
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When I had the catheter I slept through the night and woke up much refreshed. The only problem I had in the twelve weeks was a couple of times when I drank a lot and filled the bag overnight. It was a little uncomfortable in the morning.
As soon as the catheter came out I was back to waking in the night. 😦
One of my customers reports a similar experience.
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TWELVE WEEKS! GEEZ!
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It was OK most of the time. The rest of the time it wasn’t so good, but when you have no choice you just have to get on with it. All fixed now. Fingers crossed. 🙂
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Yes, sometimes we just have to do what you have to do. Reminds me of the song “Roll With It, Baby”. I hope this is an experience we neither one has to go through again. 🙂
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Here’s hoping!
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Ouch! Glad you got through that and that you are better.
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Hello Jason! I am perfectly fine now. Thanks for the comment!
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Okay, nice of you to share, but I did not read past the third cringe worthy paragraph.
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Hello Tony! Well, that was on January 16 and all is well now. It was one of those situations we get in that has to be taken care of. Not so fun at the time but we can look back and laugh about it. Even though I can laugh about it, I don’t take my health lightly. It’s hard making the adjustment to avoid certain foods that I enjoy and squeezing in enough water. Thanks for the comment and take care!
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Well, it is good that you can laugh about it. I suppose I could too if it happened to me. It is harder to read about it happening to someone else. . . . like my kidney stones that I mentioned earlier. I can laugh about it because it was embarrassingly comical, but I hate to think of anyone else experiencing that sort of pain.
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Very true.
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