On Tuesday night, I got that feeling that we all know too well. I took a Flomax, a few Advil, a muscle relaxer, and I poured three fingers of my strongest Bunker-approved bourbon (Stagg Jr. @ 129 proof). On Wednesday morning, I woke up around 6am with worse pain, so I started drinking bottles of water, took another muscle relaxer and another Flomax, and I poured a hot bath. I called my urologist right when they opened and left a voicemail requesting a prescription for a pain killer. I alternated between heating pad and hot bath for the next couple hours (while still drinking a lot of water). I called back and got voicemail again. I gave them another 15 minutes then I called the receptionist and had them walk back and put a nurse on the phone. She consulted with the nurse practitioner on staff (my urologist was performing robo-surgery) and they wanted me to have a CT scan. Two weeks earlier, they warned against me having a CT scan (during a regular office visit) because I had already had two in the past two years.
Before I forget to mention it, I have passed 10 stones since the beginning of 2017 (and 40+ since I was 18). The recent ones have ranged from 1mm to 8mm, so passing them is not that big of a deal.
I questioned their request as being unnecessary, expensive, and absurd for someone with my history. It turns out that my urologist was unavailable for a consult, they were not allowed to consult with any of the other urologists in the practice (three others were in the office that day), and the NP was not licensed to prescribe more than Tramadol. They said they would call me back after consulting with the urologist, although they could not provide a time.
While in the tub, I passed the stone (it landed on my knee). I cleaned it up, put it in a baggy, and drove up to the doctor's office to give it to them. After all, they weren't answering their phone, returning voicemails, or returning phone calls. This, of course, was not received all that great by the office.
My urologist finally returned to the office after surgery and he and I had a heart to heart. He accused me of wanting the services of a concierge doctor. I said that I simply wanted my urologist to call me back when I'm actively passing a kidney stone and to not make me undergo unnecessary scans (radiation and finances). He made me feel like I was one of the drug-seeking addicts who are regularly in the ER rather than someone who has dealt with chronic kidney stones for two decades.
I ended up getting me a prescription for Percocet to go on my shelf to take when I need them. This is precisely what I've done for the last 20 years and it has NEVER been a problem until now. I also had a CT scan performed today. Sigh.
Any of you been treated similarly?
P.S. - Yes, I'm finding a new urologist soon.
Before I forget to mention it, I have passed 10 stones since the beginning of 2017 (and 40+ since I was 18). The recent ones have ranged from 1mm to 8mm, so passing them is not that big of a deal.
I questioned their request as being unnecessary, expensive, and absurd for someone with my history. It turns out that my urologist was unavailable for a consult, they were not allowed to consult with any of the other urologists in the practice (three others were in the office that day), and the NP was not licensed to prescribe more than Tramadol. They said they would call me back after consulting with the urologist, although they could not provide a time.
While in the tub, I passed the stone (it landed on my knee). I cleaned it up, put it in a baggy, and drove up to the doctor's office to give it to them. After all, they weren't answering their phone, returning voicemails, or returning phone calls. This, of course, was not received all that great by the office.
My urologist finally returned to the office after surgery and he and I had a heart to heart. He accused me of wanting the services of a concierge doctor. I said that I simply wanted my urologist to call me back when I'm actively passing a kidney stone and to not make me undergo unnecessary scans (radiation and finances). He made me feel like I was one of the drug-seeking addicts who are regularly in the ER rather than someone who has dealt with chronic kidney stones for two decades.
I ended up getting me a prescription for Percocet to go on my shelf to take when I need them. This is precisely what I've done for the last 20 years and it has NEVER been a problem until now. I also had a CT scan performed today. Sigh.
Any of you been treated similarly?
P.S. - Yes, I'm finding a new urologist soon.
