Well I just posted a reply to someone who's husband is having a terrible time with flank plank,feeling sweaty and is having ongoing Bi- weekly repeat  E.R visits.His wife said he will go  from feeling o.k. to needing to vomit,like NOW!!! All after having surgical stents removed for kidney stone removal that took place weeks ago..I responded to her with my story and  a big you GO girl!!! She's not only standing by her man through the repeat E.R. visits,driving him back and forth to the many tests and M.D. Appts. ect.. but is  also going above  all of the "expected" duties I'm sure, to take care of their household  kids, job, ect..caregiving is a thankless job for countless wifes,husbands,family members,and good friends of us, the frustrated and sick who are left to seek out the answers to all the medical problems we seem to face sometimes on a minute to minute basics we tend to think we  struggle alone  and from time to time we are alone in our pain, sometimes we can not even control what happens to our bodies try though we might, we need help and struggle for support from the pain and the harsh reality of how cold and sterile the medical world can be.If it wasn't for that friendly hand to hold, that knowing glance as you led off into that cloaked freezing cold room,well let's just say I'm VERY lucky to have those people in my life and wish the same for ANYONE who has to go it alone,next time please take my hand if you don't have one to hold. In the meantime .I thank all of you, the caregivers who help us get through the rough times,the ups and downs on this "Rocky Path".here's to health,Puddles66

This is a new "path" for me.As you can read in my last blogs I was left wondering if I was going to die from a brain tumor, had another T.I.A. or as it always seemed to end up,me stuck in a office across from a  guy who is more concerned about his golf get away, and his missed cell phone calls then my mental "well being" , did I mention he was also twenty minutes late to "our" consultation .twenty minutes later I walked out of his swank offices with a hell of a headache, another script for a another anti-depressant that I knew I wouldn't be taking, and a sick feeling in my gut because I knew after waiting six months to get in to see this A--you know, I was better off with my reg.M.D. and psychologist all along.Now looking back, no one really put two and two together,the first test that showed a problem over two YEARS ago was shrugged off and instead I was told I was being "emotional" SO I didn't know a reg. M.D could find that out through a 24 hour urine catch but he seemed to think so,...so that was the end my visits to him..flash forward two years and countless bladder infections a new Urologist and new M.D., when I went to see my Urologist for what I knew was another really bad bladder infection, little did I know that I was going to start down that "Rocky Road" of kidney stones and damage. That "bad" bladder infection was not a bladder infection at all.It was a kidney infection that was septic and was in my blood, they took me from the office into the E.R and islotation for three days.During my stay, they did a C.T scan,where after years of the Chills,cold hands and feet,night time hiccups,low grade fever, to low base fever, hair loss, itchyness all over,contant bladder infections kidney infections,  swelling of my face and feet, headaches, ect..and it turns out that my left kidney was filled with stones.THANK GOD !!! Finally I found out what has been going on BUT!!! now I had to find out how this "issue" was going to be  taken care of, OUCHHH, your gonna put a laser beam up my tat tat, then up my kidney's pole then blast four stones the biggest of which is 9mm , than leave a stent in for two weeks after the surgery and then all of the bits of the stones will be expelled through my urine 8o]] .And that's if everything goes as planned,and we ALL know that we trust   what our doctor's say , like when they say it will only hurt for a day or two, yeahhhhh right,SOOO when I ended back in the hospital four days after I had the stent removed, ( kids, remember to ask for a valium or two prior to your doctors visit because you will in all likelyhood will NOT be put under for the removal of your stent!! )   #+O... I was  in hospital for two days again mophine pump, I.V. liquids, ect...so "they" reinserted a new stent!! This time I was awake for the whole procedure, It wasn't too bad, and I really mean it, some cramping but not as bad as the removal, so a week into the second stent, back to the E.R. now I'm so backed up from all the pain killers I'm vomiting from THAT!!! We sat in the waiting room for FOUR hours!! and another three getting a x-ray, urine sample , blood draw and two take home enema!!! I'll keep this short and sweet, let's just say, it took four of those bad boys to get "THINGS" right again, enough said about that...8>/ so now my urologist is going to take out my stent,right,,,WRONG!!! I told her that I did not want it out (CRAZY I KNOW) until I had another C.T. scan to make sure that everything the doctors assured my would happen did, you know, all the blasted bits and smaller stones flushed out though now both of the stents, and my kidney would be clear as a bell,yeppy!!! right WRONG!!! it has been six weeks since I have been able to sit in a chair, for more than twenty minutes,without pain,peeing without pain,poohing without pain,I can;t even walk for and amount of time, so when the doctor called and told me that we are going to have to do this again and this time it's going to be more aggressive, I broke down in tears!! and laughed at the same time,because what I haven't let you all in on is that not only did I not move ANY of the original stone fragments, but I've since grown more stones.Oh and one more thing, my urologist did'nt tell me but at my reg. M.D.'s visit she told me that not only did I have many more stones in the left kidney than my urologist told me about and BIGGER, but after we figure out how well my left kidney will work after all of this,but then I get to look forward to doing it ALL OVER AGIAN!!! because they found more huge stones in my RIGHT kidney also!!! I will continue down this "Rocky Road" and  will keep you all informed along the way,cause here we go again,

well I just got back from the nerologist she saw my face when she walked into the room and asked what is wrong with you!!! wow what happened to your face,you look so different from the last time I saw you!! you don't look good at all.needless to say she is going to have me do an M.R.I. and a M.R.A of my brain and neck.she wants to make sure that I didn't have another stroke or cancer. so she wants to start the M.R.I without contrast and only use it if there is any questionable areas in my brain or neck.she also took a complete blood panel and checked my blood pressure which was high.I know that I'm in good hands with her I trust her and the tests she is going to run, she told me right now she is looking for stroke or cancer but if she finds anything she will refer the best doctors in those fields to help me, so the M.R.I is going to happen on the 15th and the docot's appt. is on the 30th of July so now I wait and hope that nothing happens in the meantime I just hope that I can finally get some answers, maybe I should have my mom sing to me more often!!! :o love you ma!!!

hi everyone,
I have been missing in action lately.I have been busy with weddings but have had some pretty scary health issues going on in the last three months.As most of you know I had a mild stroke about a year ago and have had problems with my eyes( swelling and redness and flaking the left one is popping out of my head more then the right one by more than a cememter,anxitey and lack sleep is a nightly problem,along with toes that tingle and are numb .I have lost so much weight but cannot gain it back no matter what or how I eat,I am as pale as a ghost,and about three weeks ago my neck started hurting and became stiff and ssooo sore I couldn't move it my hands tremble along with the rest of my body and I can not stand the cold or heat if it is too hot or cold,which is everyday, I wear a sweater in 88 degree weather,it's crazy!! well on the morning of my 42 birthday GO FIGURE!!!! I woke up to my mother singing happy birthday to me on the machine and ( I'm not saying it was her singing,BUT ) I rolled over and vomited into my hand,by the time I got to the bathroom, there was blood gushing out of my nose and down my arm!! I was not heaving the vomit was just coming out and I have never had bloody noses before ever!! I freaked out,my husband took me to the hospital and they did nothing for me!!! I was so disappointed but because I didn't have a primary physian and they didn't have my records they didn't know my past history,so today I'm going to see my neorlogoist since I had the nose bleed the right side of my face is now even more droppy and it feels dead and numb, my mom gave me a hair cut and touch up and a eye brow wax two days ago, remember she works with the local cancer programs and clients from the two local hospitals and fits wigs and shaves their heads to get ready for their wigs,so when she waxed my eyebrows and then cut my hair she made me PROMISE to tell my doctor that my hair was growing longer on one side of my head then the other, same on my face,I have to leave now to see the doctor,but I will let you know what is going on from here,Jacci