I quit drinking in May of 1990. July 4 I had my first attack of kidney stones. (Serves me right.) I passed 5-6 in rapid succession without fanfare and had no idea what was going on. A few hours later I passed another 5-6. Over the years I've had very little real problems with them. One caused me to have a catheter for a week. A couple of others might have made me catch my breath a little as they exited the kidney. But I've never been on the floor in pain, nor have I been hospitalized. I'll tell you something interesting...I moved here in 2010, after at least 10 years of being stone-free. My water was very hard, and I only used it to make coffee and for cooking. That amount of hard water intake caused my stones to come back...not as crystals but as a cat gets stones. Splats of sand, more or less. When I realized what was going on, I stopped using well water for my coffee and cooking, and things got back to normal pretty quickly. I've since installed a softener. Hard water will not cause someone to start forming stones, but if you already form them, hard water will certainly cause more. I have 3 small kidney stones left. They are of no consequence. But maybe Michelle needs to look at them to be sure. Or maybe I need to look at Michelle to be sure. I'm glad things are good for you. I feel better after seeing the doctor today. That damned UVA Urology had me all spun up for months. The thing is when the doctor there heard that the other urologist said I just had "one of those bladders" (regarding retention), she about spat on the ground and implied they were doing me a disservice. But both the other urologists state they have patients who have been living with worse retention for years without the "it's gonna get worse" fears. They are all so resolute in their contradictory positions.
John: I’m on a well also and have had a softener for 15 years. I’ve been happily consuming alcohol since 1967, and so far so good. Agree on doctors, they can drive you nuts. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind having Michelle “examine” you, lol.
@Bruce Andrew Once my regular MD was away, it was time for a prostate exam, and his sit-in turned out to be a lady Dr! She unhesitatingly pulled down my pants, proceeded with the exam, and I gotta say: it was more fun with her doing it! Frank
Lucky. Very few women are urologists as their fingers are not long enough to reach the top of the prostate for a digital exam.
The uro who did my biopsy also had a female assistant who "examined" me. I've yet to have any doctor, male or female, pull my pants down. After the bio, I fire that uro though. He was a jerk. I went with Michelle instead, lol.
Actually you dirty old men can get your wish. (I'm glad I'm not one. ) Check this link, it takes you to my uro's webpage. The home page may or may not scroll through several pictures. If it does and it goes to "Our PAs," then "Michelle . . . my belle" is on the lower left. She is also in a pik of everybody together, way on the left side. Or at the top of the home page, click "Our advanced practice providers." You will see Michelle, second row down on the left. A side note: After prostate surgery in 2012, starting in 2013 I've been seeing her once per year in August. She wore a wedding ring and you can see it in one of the photos. However, last year she did not. Ha, I will certainly check that out (and a few other things) this afternoon. She had a face diaper on a year ago and I'm sure she will today also. What a waste.
Thanks, Beth. It's a roller coaster. I hope these guys know what they're talking about. I won't put myself at risk by opinion-shopping, but the most recent 2 doctors outside of that university setting agree with each other. At least all the retention sonograms I've had show that the amount had been holding steady for the past 18-24 months, so things are not getting worse. But I've has this for well over 12 years...probaby 15 at least. I'm glad you're back on the air.
@Don Alaska Well, as far as I'm concerned, the digital rectal exam is pretty limited in usefulness, no matter whose fingers are stirring the soup. Only one side of the gland is thus accessible, no? Frank
@Marie Mallery While I was still hospitalized as the specialists tried (emphasis on "tried") to figure out WTH was actually the cause of my "minimal change disease" (that's the official diagnosis!), they decided upon a course of tests to which I steadfastly refused: insert catheter probes into my heart ventricles to measure the blood pressure therein. Their reasoning was that pressures from right to left were not EQUAL. I asked how unequal? 35 mm mercury in left, 50 mm in right. I reasoned that difference was meaningless, anyway, since I was troubled by ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, with little consequence to ventricles. They would not discharge me. I resisted, finally telling them I would walk out. They relented. I left. They had placed partial blame on my liver, lungs, and heart. Two years ago. Here I am, still bedeviling the forum with tales of drivel, still breathing, heart still fibrillating, and liver still handling an occasional bit of alcoholic swill. Frank
I got a biopsy done because even though they saw calcium deposits on my prostate's CT scan, they wanted to make certain that the lumps they felt were nothing sinister. This was University of Virginia Urology. When I went to the other guy (because of a mistrust of UVA) to get the bladder stones removed, he said he'd do the biopsy at the same time since I would be under anesthesia. When he saw that my PSA was 0.04 and UVA had still recommended a biopsy, he gave me that "You gotta be kidding me" look and said "Well, you're here anyway. May as well." Regarding only one side being accessible, I think the doctors look for a change over time. But goodness knows how they can recall what each individual patient felt like 12months ago. It defies belief. This sounds like something that should be automated so the metrics (shape, resiliency, irregularities) can be quantified and recorded.
@John Brunner Commonly today, a prostate biopsy is carried out using a device inserted into the rectum which punctures through the wall of the colon and snaps tiny bits of prostate tissue. It sounds like a staple gun. This is usually done without general anesthesia. Frank