After the Cystoscopy

I went to the urologist on Friday afternoon. He wanted to do a cystoscopy to make sure that everything was okay with my bladder. A cystoscopy involves having a camera placed inside the urethra and into the bladder. The doctor looks around in the bladder and checks for any problems.

So, they start by giving you some lidocaine gel (a local pain deadener) into the end of the urethra. They waited a few minutes for the numbing to take full effect. Then, they ran the camera, which is on a long tube, up and into the bladder. It was mildly uncomfortable. In fact, I think that passing kidney stones is much worse. The camera and tube are flexible, and there is saline hooked up to the device, so that the doctor can fill the bladder to get a better look.

The doctor looked around for a few minutes and he did not see any problems. He said that he would send off my urine to a special lab to check for any cancer cells. That was his biggest concern. I have a higher likelihood of developing cancer because of the immunosuppressant medications.

It turns out that everything is okay (as far as they can tell). I don't have any problems, and did not have any more blood in my urine or any particulate. And, the doctors didn't really see any other problems (nor have I had any calls from the nephrologist about issues).

The only down-side has been after the test. Having a camera shoved up inside of you is not really so natural. There has been a little bleeding since the procedure (and it was pretty painful the first 24 hours or so). The blood is all gone now, and most of the pain is gone. The pain has lasted a little longer than I would have preferred. And, I noticed today that I was having to go to the bathroom much more often than I did Saturday or Sunday. I imagine that my bladder is still mad at having something inside it rooting around.

That's about it for today. Thanks to everyone that prayed (I know that helped with my anxiety). And, there may be a post later in the week with a conversation I've been having with someone. If not, you can look forward to my Stress Echo Cardiogram which I am having on Friday.

Enjoy your week. Remember, you can follow me on Twitter if you want a more real-time idea of what I do.

Cystoscopy - Coming Soon?

This afternoon, I have to go and see my urologist. I was sent to him with a diagnosis of hematuria (and particulate in the urine). The suggested procedure is to have a cystoscopy to make sure that there is not a kidney stone (or something) in my bladder.

I have to admit to my blog reading community that I am not looking forward to today. This is not a procedure that has me excited in the least. I'm having a difficult time resolving my fear and handing it over to God. I know that I do not need to worry and that He cares for me. It's just tough, sometimes. Part of it might be some type of male cultural problem (who knows?).

I thought I'd compose the rest of my blog as a prayer, written after the format that Jesus gave the disciples when they asked Him how they should pray. As a reader, you get to enjoy a glimpse into my personal relationship with God, and see a bit of my fears handed over. It will sound slightly formal, but that is mostly because I have the time to type it all out (not just praying in my mind, or out loud). Here it goes:

My Father in Heaven,

You are wonderful and awesome. You knit me together in my mother's womb, and You have laid out the plans for my life. I love that You know me so intimately and have that You know all things. I pray today that my life can be a pointer to You and Your kingdom. Today I come to you with fear in my heart. I have a cystoscopy potentially scheduled for this afternoon, and I am not looking forward to it. My hope is that I do not need the procedure at all. I know that You have provided us with doctors to help when we are sick and that I need to trust my doctors in this matter. I just ask that Yyou would take away my fears and worries, and allow me to rest in Your comfort. Thank you for loving me despite my sins. I know that You continue to forgive me even though I continue to fail You. Please help me to follow Your Word more closely in my life. Help me not to allow fear and worry to creep into my heart as I face things I do not understand. Thank you for your Son, Jesus, who died for my sins.

Amen

So, I will go to see my urologist at 2:10 pm this afternoon. I haven't seen him since January of last year when Jenny and I were trying to figure out why she wasn't getting pregnant. It will be nice to give him the good news that she is due in December.

It might be a few days before I post again. I suppose my Facebook Friends or Twitter Followers will probably hear about my appointment before my blog readers do. Enjoy your days, and know that I will be great (and that I am still feeling wonderful).

(246) Monday Misadventures and a Pending Cystoscopy

So, I probably should have tried and blog about this yesterday, but I didn't take the time to do it. I wanted to let everyone know, for starters, that I am still okay and as of yet, nothing has been deemed wrong with me.

Sunday morning, I noticed some blood in my urine and some particulate as well. The particulate was small pieces that seemed fleshy. This was a bit disconcerting, but there was no pain associated with it. I had a lot of water to drink that morning (since church was starting at 10:50 instead of 9:15 that day). Going to the bathroom two more times, I still saw particulate, but the color was less red each time.

When we got home from church, I went to the bathroom again, and saw that the color seemed normal and that there was no particulate. I called the 24-hour doctor's line at the nephrologist's office, and they paged the on call physician. We talked and he said that if there was no pain that I could just go in to the clinic on Monday to be checked.

Monday, I saw the doctors. They ran blood work and everything was normal. My creatinine was at 1.0 (good) and the other results were normal as well. They also ran a sonogram on both of my kidneys (the native and the transplanted). The sonogram showed nothing abnormal on either kidney. The doctors suggested that I should have a cystoscopy done by my urologist.

I called the urologist and set up an appointment for Friday. I'm not sure if he will do the procedure in his office that day or if he will evaluate me and then set up a date for the cystoscopy. My understanding is that it can be performed in the office, depending on the "type" of test they do. The point of the cystoscopy will be to see if there is a kidney stone in my bladder. Those interested can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystoscopy.

Please pray that the test, if needed, goes well and that this was only a burst cyst in my native kidney (or something else that was non-problematic). I'm not worried, but I would prefer if there was nothing wrong (especially with the transplanted kidney).

Thanks for reading and praying! See you next time.