Last fall, I ended up in the hospital because of high fevers with what was presumed to be a UTI. I have a sp catheter, which makes me more prone to developing UTI's. But have done well the past several years and only had a few.
I always test positive for a UTI, because bacteria have colonized in my bladder from the catheter. So diagnosis is made on my symptoms. I was on 4 different iv antibiotics and nothing was helping. The urologist decided to do a CT scan, and that's when it was discovered my right kidney was bigger than the the other. Dxd me with hydronephrosis and put a stent in it. The stent has to removed in 3 months.
At my follow up appt with my urologist after I was released from the hospital, he said he wanted to remove the stent, flush out my kidney and look for a possible cause why it wasn't draining. Went in for a cystoscopy in Dec. This procedure is done in the hospital under general anesthesia.
He said he couldn't see anything, because there was pus around the stent. So replaced the stent and requested another CT scan. He thought I had kidney stones, which is the main cause in adults. I didn't have any symptoms of them, but my family has a history of kidney stones.
I'm signed up for the hospital's patient portal, and the results were there the next day. No kidney stones, but while improved since previous CT scan, still showed some swelling of that kidney.
I had another follow up appt with my urologist last week. He was also supposed to remove the stent. Instead told me thought removing it would be a disservice to me and my health, especially with my history of UTI's and sepsis. Now wants me to have a stent permanently, unless he find the cause and correct it.
That means going into the hospital every 3 months to have the procedure done for the rest of my life. I totally understand his logic, but will be difficult to keep doing this, since no longer mobile. My next procedure is scheduled for March 5. We have a trip planned to see my son in Florida late March, early April, so glad there was an opening on his surgical calendar.
Plan to get a second opinion, but expect to told the same thing. He also mentioned possibly putting a catheter directly into that kidney. Hope not. I've also had a low grade temperature since being released from the hospital last October. So know there's an infection brewing ...
I always test positive for a UTI, because bacteria have colonized in my bladder from the catheter. So diagnosis is made on my symptoms. I was on 4 different iv antibiotics and nothing was helping. The urologist decided to do a CT scan, and that's when it was discovered my right kidney was bigger than the the other. Dxd me with hydronephrosis and put a stent in it. The stent has to removed in 3 months.
At my follow up appt with my urologist after I was released from the hospital, he said he wanted to remove the stent, flush out my kidney and look for a possible cause why it wasn't draining. Went in for a cystoscopy in Dec. This procedure is done in the hospital under general anesthesia.
He said he couldn't see anything, because there was pus around the stent. So replaced the stent and requested another CT scan. He thought I had kidney stones, which is the main cause in adults. I didn't have any symptoms of them, but my family has a history of kidney stones.
I'm signed up for the hospital's patient portal, and the results were there the next day. No kidney stones, but while improved since previous CT scan, still showed some swelling of that kidney.
I had another follow up appt with my urologist last week. He was also supposed to remove the stent. Instead told me thought removing it would be a disservice to me and my health, especially with my history of UTI's and sepsis. Now wants me to have a stent permanently, unless he find the cause and correct it.
That means going into the hospital every 3 months to have the procedure done for the rest of my life. I totally understand his logic, but will be difficult to keep doing this, since no longer mobile. My next procedure is scheduled for March 5. We have a trip planned to see my son in Florida late March, early April, so glad there was an opening on his surgical calendar.
Plan to get a second opinion, but expect to told the same thing. He also mentioned possibly putting a catheter directly into that kidney. Hope not. I've also had a low grade temperature since being released from the hospital last October. So know there's an infection brewing ...
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