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Zalida's thread on her pain being on one side, but having an ovarian cyst on another reminded me of this story.
A few years ago, I was having horrible dysuria: burning, painful urination that made me think I was having another UTI. As it happened, I was on campus at the hospital where I worked taking an all day CPR and first responder class. The pain was making me miserable, so when we broke for lunch, I went over to the ER (where I worked) hoping the docs would just dip my urine and give me a quick script so I could get back to class.
The doctor, who knew me rather well, said, "Panacea, I know you've had a lot of kidney stones. If the urine is negative for WBCs (white blood cells), then I want to get a CT to rule out stones."
I agree, and ended up getting the scan as my urine was completely normal (most people will have blood in the urine with stones, but I rarely do). Turned out I did indeed have several stones: in my left kidney, whereas I usually get them in my right kidney. They were very small and would probably pass on their own, in fact probably were passing because that's what was probably causing my pain.
It saved me from an unnecessary prescription for antibiotics. And this, folks, is why it is important to have a good relationship with a primary doctor. Since this ER doc knew me so well, he thought to check for kidney stones. Had I used the ER in the town where I actually lived, he might not have, he might just have written the script based on my symptoms to get me out the door.
A few years ago, I was having horrible dysuria: burning, painful urination that made me think I was having another UTI. As it happened, I was on campus at the hospital where I worked taking an all day CPR and first responder class. The pain was making me miserable, so when we broke for lunch, I went over to the ER (where I worked) hoping the docs would just dip my urine and give me a quick script so I could get back to class.
The doctor, who knew me rather well, said, "Panacea, I know you've had a lot of kidney stones. If the urine is negative for WBCs (white blood cells), then I want to get a CT to rule out stones."
I agree, and ended up getting the scan as my urine was completely normal (most people will have blood in the urine with stones, but I rarely do). Turned out I did indeed have several stones: in my left kidney, whereas I usually get them in my right kidney. They were very small and would probably pass on their own, in fact probably were passing because that's what was probably causing my pain.
It saved me from an unnecessary prescription for antibiotics. And this, folks, is why it is important to have a good relationship with a primary doctor. Since this ER doc knew me so well, he thought to check for kidney stones. Had I used the ER in the town where I actually lived, he might not have, he might just have written the script based on my symptoms to get me out the door.
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