Giving Blood, ER Visit and Follow-up - xpost

For those of you following at home... I've been having adventures again!

It started on Wed. I gave blood. No biggie, right? Um, then I went to my Hip Hop class four hours later. It was the first day and I didn't want to miss anything and learning choreography isn't that strenuous. Except I almost passed out doing the warm-up!

Then Thurs. I ended up in the ER. I was having a sharp pain under my left breast. Once I got on the good drugs, it wasn't too bad, but even then a few times I thought I was going to die. It turns out I was passing a kidney stone. At least that's Dr. C's best guess based on my labs and description of what happened.

The bad news is that my labs looked horrible with Ls and Hs all over the place. So now I have to take a potassium supplement and try to get in 100 g of protein minimum a day and not give blood for six months.

If you want the full, snarkier version, I wrote about it in my blog:

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2008/11/giving-blood.html
http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2008/11/back-from-er.html
http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2008/11/er-follow-up.html

Sorry to hear about that.  At least you acted quickly.  100g of protein can be tough, but you can do it.  Tonight I had some grilled atlantic salmon and I have to say there was heaps of protein in it.  I got like 44g in one sitting.  You will have to concentrate on things like that.

Anne

OMG....I hope you are feeling better now.  Kidney stones are horrible.  I've had a few and they hurt!  Get well soon.

yow, sorry you had such a painful time. and thanks for the warning: no giving blood for awhile.

Jackie

I hope you are feeling much better...with or without drugs.  Me?  I would be taking my unfair share with what you've gone through.
This is a reminder to all of us that pain should not be ignored.

Aloha Mac- I read your blog- Brutal! You probably hadn't had blood checked yet post op ( my first labwork wasn't scheduled til 3 months post op). Can I ask what calcium supplement you take? I know we're suppose to take citrate ( I take carbonate, can't handle the citrate) and that one predisposes to calcium oxalate stones. I know your doc doesn't RX B12 unless labs show it's needed, but most likely the ER bloodwork did not include any vitamin levels ( not SOP in the ER) so maybe you should have them pulled sooner rather than later- especially since you donated blood at surgery 6 weeks ago and then again this week! I hope you're feeling better - perhaps the teacher of your hiphop class can incorpirate your swoom onto the new routine....seriously, gladd you''re OK. XOXOLori

I'm due for the PAP and Mam so I was going to have my PCP run some labs while I was in there to compare to the ER labs.

I'm taking Tums for calcium. My Post-op manual says the most important thing about calcium is to find something *you will take* and I cannot swallow the Citrate yet. I found a formula to figure out how much is actually absorbed and I take enough to get 480 g absorbed at a time. My calcium levels were fine. (Though they didn't do PTH or Vit. D.)

I think they did the Bs. I'll have to check.

The thing this shows to me is that when you are early out and not eating much, it's really, really easy to go downhill fast!

Plus, just because you feel good, doesn't mean you are good. I have so much energy now because I've lost 50 lb. from my highest and also because I don't have to tell myself I'm not hungry 100x a day and that fooled me, I think, that I was feeling fine.

Yeah, Mac, I now take calcium carbonate as well ( Viactiv or generic chew).  At 3 months, my Ca and Vit D were normal BUT my PTH was way high because I hadn't taken any Ca since I  could not tolerate the citrate form. So now I take it with something acid ( OJ) to enhance absorption. We need to get tha****er in as well to keep our kidneys happy- if you are forming Ca Ox stones, upping the water ( difficult for me, no room in my sleeve!) will help avoid hypercalciuria. I might keep checking for a Ca Citrate I can tolerate, since increased urine citrate also helps avoid stone formation....which is why I think the citrate is preferred. But I can't handle it either!

Hope you're well- XOLori

what do you mean you had Ls and Hs all over the place?

oh
*having thought*

lows and highs?

I'm having my first labs this week and it is scaring me as my PCP doesn't know much. I know, I need a new one but the others are just as bad. seriously.

I'm afraid something is going really wrong and she won't catch it.

Hope ya' get to feeling better =)

I was told to get 3mo. labs too, but I was thinking about going ahead and getting an appt that way at 3mos I'd have something to compare to...

Good luck to you hun.......Hope ya' get to feeling better REALLLLLLLL soon

(((HUGZ)))