« A diary of hospital life following a diagnosis of acute kidney failure »

Monday, 25th August 2006: After surgery, a blood clot: Owwww!

After surgery…

Taken to surgery in the second slot, 9:30am, which works for me. I'm really miserable when I have to go 'NIL by Mouth' for any amount of time.

Was in theatre for a staggering three and a half hours. In operation terms 3 or 4 hours isn't necessarily a long time, but it is for what should be a routine, 45 minute insertion.

Come to heaving my guts up, with a throat like raw meat. Despite obviously trying very hard they only managed to put a stent in my right ureter as they were unable to locate the opening to the left kidney at all!

So now I need a second ( medical term ) operation where they will have to put the second stent in via my back and left kidney, working down towards the bladder instead of up. Going to be tender, I guess.

Not as tender as another delicate area. I was struggling to piddle after the operation - and after four long hours in extruciating agony 'bursting to go' I was ready to beg the doctor to put a catheter back. I'm sure you'll all have been caught short sometime in your life, wriggling about while you wait for a free bathroom (or quiet bush at a push). Well imagine extending that hour, after hour, the pressure building up all the time as you bladder fills to bursting.

By half past six I was literally crawling to the nurses post and pleading with them to find a doctor.

And boy did I scream when Matthew put the catheter back in. I mean, top of the lungs, bellowing a few choice expletives - and I have good lungs if nothing else. It HURT the first time - I hadn't countered on the added extreme tenderness of my internals after 3 hours of probing in surgery.
And you know something, the profound relief seconds later was worth the agony. I was almost crying as I thanked the doctor! I think the cheeky begger just smiled and said something like, Just doing my job, pleased to help

Some teenager (in for tests) made a comment about the noise I'd made - should have seen his face pale when the other inmates explained the rather personal route the tubing had to take (without no more than a little lubricant) and that yes, it could be needed to be done to him one day!

Anyway, it turns that it really was necessary as the outlet to/from the bladder was blocked by a blood clot. Assumely it was not a life threatening blood clot in the same manner as other blood clots can be, but it was a frightening thought all the same.