The last 4 days were the worst so far since Mom...

After the weekend I had, sadly, I had to dump the last serving of Arroz con Gandules from my Dutch oven which I hadn't washed since my last use of it to boil red kidney beans before I used them in a crock pot recipe... I'm not exactly sure what caused 3 weeks of kidney stone suffering suddenly, and while looking over my diary of weight, sleep, & last night's supper doesn't reveal any link, I decided to just wipe it clean & just have a sad food pantry bagged version of Tuna Helper tonight. Added 3/4 diced onion sauteed in canola, added 113 grams of sliced rinsed mushrooms, and later a can of no salt peas. Reserved the tuna juice & peas water for a dashi along with whatever the directions said to do. When it finally congeals overnight, a bit of Duke's mayo might make for a decent sammich. Sprinkled some grated Parmesan & a little Adobo to give it moral support. Even used a clean skillet! The other skillet (I have like 3 - with 1 good one I paid $20 for and is like a wok) has meat grease I want to use for fried rice. Topped off the evening with a cold A&W.

 

Passed yet another kidney stone

2nd time in 3 weeks. Thursday before paying rent saw my doctor, got prescribed a pill. Blood in the urine continued 2 more days, then cleared up. (Sadly, the sample collected at the office was not bloody.) Had that characteristic "dull thump" in my lower right back. Took the pills as carefully as directed until March 5th when suddenly I had low urine output. Extremely concerned, found out the extra pill I was taking can do that, which is why they said take with LOTS of WATER. Out of fear, I refrained from taking the last pill. Urine output returned to normal over Friday & Saturday, dropping nearly 4 pounds as if my body was catching up to what it should be doing. Sunday was fine.

Sort of woke up with that discomfort in my lower right again. Joints hurt, had low motivation & energy. It hurt to walk out to get breakfast which I got late & hurt to walk back. Was going to mop the floor in the other room but my energy reserves said NO. Toilet visit seemed to indicate blood again in the urine. So I got back in bed, bundled up warm, got comfortable.... and slept until 5:48 p.m. Was feeling much better energy & motivation wise. Peed, urine was definitely red hued. This was a Furosemide pee - usually colorless & if any color is there, it's not supposed to be there. Didn't photograph that.

But as far as overall feeling, was much better than this afternoon where I definitely slept. Wrapped up warmly and got a deep nap. Dull thump was gone, but I could tell the area had undergone something traumatic as it was still sore. Going to slam the water, as my doctor has advised in the past.

Like, I didn't have any of the usual signs of a UTI. Kidney stones are a different item. 

The worst nearly full day in a while...

This day started off last night with an inability to get to sleep for paying rent due to an incessant uncomfortable pain in my right side & lower right side in my back. The kind which pain medication can't fully relieve. Maybe it was another kidney stone, maybe it was the medication I had been taking... Somehow I managed to wrangle myself into a position of Least Discomfort and fall asleep.... but not for long. By then the alarm clock went off. I wanted to stay asleep to recharge & I hadn't been able to do much of that. That was evident in the amount of lethargy I carried myself with to get to the toilet. The call was there, but there wasn't much to say. And without any color. Odd. I looked up the thing I was experiencing, then I looked up the medication. As it coincidentally turns out, that medication can cause reduced urine output. If it lasts longer than 12 hours, do something about it.

Well, at that moment, my plan to leave at 11 a.m. was basically pushed back. I had a few things to do before I got in the van & left... taking out trash, for one. But the way I was feeling, without much strength & just dead tired... I had no hope. I wanted to call the building manager & ask if I could pay on the 6th. But life is about small goals. I made it out of my unit, down the evalator, to the bench. Had to refill some spoons of motivation. Deposited trash, got in my van, did a loop around the building, & made it to the credit union. Needed more spoons to get out & go in to collect my money & get back in.

Then I got to DrugFart. I just needed payments & some groceries, but most importantly, the birthday gift for my sister. Somehow I did all that thanks to the electric chariot. Managed to drag myself back to my vehicle, get gas, & return.

I had heard our previous building manager had returned and there she was in the office once again when I got back. Should be interesting to hear the story. However, on my way out there was a box of foodstuffs which I couldn't stop to pick over on my way out. I'm a person who dislikes wasting effort. If the box is not on my way to something else behind it, I let it go. But I needed to drag myself over to mail an envelope & managed to score another free bag of bran cereal, some canned no-salt vegetables, a bag of rice, little red beans, and a Tuna Helper thingy in a bag. Love the dried stuff since I use my crock pot a LOT. Plus I make Spanish Rice & Arroz con Gandules that much more often.

But throughout this whole day, I barely survived. So wiped out & low energy & worried about the low output peeing, I couldn't enjoy anything. Ended up with a headache in bed. Even time I had to get up, I was in pain. I hate living like this. Does it get better?