So over this weekend I had the displeasure of passing a few kidney stones; the pain was excruciating enough that it prompted me to go to the hospital immediately, especially since the experience was accompanied by spurts of blood in my urine before every time I would pee.
Once I arrived at the hospital, the ED team's emergency response was pretty prompt: I was asked to pee in a cup (clean catch). Thankfully, I had been drinking a ton of water, so quickly providing a midstream sample was not a problem for me. What was a problem was the fact that my sample was apparently "spilled" after I gave it to them and I wasn't asked to provide another one until 30 minutes later. Mind you, no treatment for the pain was offered at this time, and nothing else had been done (and I dare not ask for any pain meds, lest I be perceived as trying to get a 'fix'); I was just sitting on the bed, in pain, wondering why the hell I even went there in the first place. The bedside manner of the doctors and nurses was terrible, btw. You would have thought I was coming in for a routine check-up given how nonchalant and inattentive they were.
Anyway, the urinalysis eventually comes back and shows small amounts of blood in the urine without any signs of infection, which they believed to be consistent with my report about me passing kidney stones instead of something like a UTI. They then ordered a CT scan, which I eventually took. While I waited for the results, a few doctors came in to ask me about the state of my condition. I explained that after peeing so many times, the pain in my right flank had subsided (but still present) and the blood in my urine was no longer visible to me. I also took this time to explain something else I've been experiencing: random chest pain and chest numbness. I'll provide you all with the context I gave them:
I contracted COVID at the beginning of the year and ended up developing a severe case of pneumonia. I distinctly remember a point where it felt like my chest literally caved in and I could hardly breathe. This experience was also accompanied by a feeling of numbness in my chest. During this time, my pulse oximeter readings would frequently dip in the 92 to 94 SpO2 range. Even after "recovering", I've had trouble breathing and chest pain/numbness ever since, which has prevented me from doing any physical labor or even talking for long periods of time, which has significantly impacted my ability to work; for all intents and purposes, I'm physically disabled due to COVID, and I haven't been able to get much help about it.
After explaining the above to the doctors, much to my dismay, they informed me that they just want to focus on the kidney stone situation and that I can talk to my primary doctor about any chest symptoms. **Something else I should add here is that these chest symptoms have been a concern for me all year, but I kind of just adapted to not being able to breathe as effectively as I used to, and even still some days are harder than others, so it's very distressing to see doctors be so dismissive about such a serious concern for me.** I also mentioned that I occasionally have really sharp pains on the upper right part of my abdomen that seem to come and go about 20-30 minutes after eating a big meal, but as with everything else, the doctors seemed unconcerned.
Anyway, the CT results finally come back and they tell me that they couldn't see any kidney stones, and I likely already passed the ones that were there from before. I was honestly a bit relieved since I really didn't want to pass any more, but was still concerned that the pain in my lower back was still present, but the doctors suggested that the pain was likely due to the aftermath of the stones scratching the tubes connected to my kidneys and urethra and it would take some time for that to disappear completely, and I was satisfied with that explanation.
One of the doctors then asked me if I had any other questions, and I asked if they noticed anything else on the CT scan since it seemed like a full body scan and I've had so many complications. It was at this time that the doctor decided to mention that I appeared to have sludge in my gallbladder, but was nothing to worry about. Given their general dismissiveness, I was skeptical but ultimately accepted their explanation, got my discharge papers and went home.
The next day, the intensity of my lower flank pain returned, but with no kidney stones passing or blood after urinating. Later that day, I received further/more detailed information about my test results. It was at this time that I learned of three very alarming facts from the radiologist's :
Suffice to say that my distress led me back to the hospital (with great consternation, since I'm now fully distrusting of every single staff member in building at this point), and I tell them about the CT findings. Mind you, I'm even more conscious of my chest problems since I'm now aware of the potential cause, which seems to be making my symptoms worse. Without fail, upon asking me about my concerns, the nurses and doctors seemed to exhibit an astonishing attitude of apathy regarding my situation. The first nurse tried to handwave the finding as me misreading the finding, essentially suggesting that since the sentence preceding it included the word "no", that "no" was a negation of the "Bibasilar atelectasis" impression as well. Frustratingly, I had to explain to her why she was mistaken and clearly misinterpreted the reading herself, due to the grammatical error in assuming a negation in one sentence also automatically applies to the next. She then apologized and said a doctor would speak with me shortly. The first doctor I spoke with flat out said that it was not something they are concerned about since many times such findings are a result of patients not taking deep breaths during the CT scan, and completely disregarded the fact that Bibasilar atelectasis can prevent deep breaths in the first place, making such a problem indistinguishable from a false positive and should probably require further investigation. I also pointed out that a potential false positive shouldn't be viewed in a vacuum when the patient has classic symptoms that perfectly align with a legitimate finding. She said they'd look into it.
Hours later, it wasn't until a black doctor saw me that I felt like I was treated like an actual patient in need of care. She was sympathetic to my concerns and explained that their options were limited in the ER but that she would give me a spirometer so that I could attempt to strengthen my lungs and reopen the part that has closed while I wait for my appointment to see a pulmonologist. She also confirmed that they were able to see kidney stones still in my kidneys and that I will eventually have to pass them, while my gallbladder will likely need to be removed. While I appreciated her sympathy and transparency, I felt utterly devastated and betrayed by this hospital.
Today, I can feel the excruciating pain again so I know I'll have to pass more stones, but more than anything, I'm just fucking tired. It should not have to be like this. My skin color shouldn't disqualify me from getting proper care, and yet that's exactly what's happening. I just feel so defeated.
Sorry for the long rant but I really needed to get this out. It's also important for people to know that medical racism is real and isn't just made up statistical bullshit. This shit is exhausting.
Once I arrived at the hospital, the ED team's emergency response was pretty prompt: I was asked to pee in a cup (clean catch). Thankfully, I had been drinking a ton of water, so quickly providing a midstream sample was not a problem for me. What was a problem was the fact that my sample was apparently "spilled" after I gave it to them and I wasn't asked to provide another one until 30 minutes later. Mind you, no treatment for the pain was offered at this time, and nothing else had been done (and I dare not ask for any pain meds, lest I be perceived as trying to get a 'fix'); I was just sitting on the bed, in pain, wondering why the hell I even went there in the first place. The bedside manner of the doctors and nurses was terrible, btw. You would have thought I was coming in for a routine check-up given how nonchalant and inattentive they were.
Anyway, the urinalysis eventually comes back and shows small amounts of blood in the urine without any signs of infection, which they believed to be consistent with my report about me passing kidney stones instead of something like a UTI. They then ordered a CT scan, which I eventually took. While I waited for the results, a few doctors came in to ask me about the state of my condition. I explained that after peeing so many times, the pain in my right flank had subsided (but still present) and the blood in my urine was no longer visible to me. I also took this time to explain something else I've been experiencing: random chest pain and chest numbness. I'll provide you all with the context I gave them:
I contracted COVID at the beginning of the year and ended up developing a severe case of pneumonia. I distinctly remember a point where it felt like my chest literally caved in and I could hardly breathe. This experience was also accompanied by a feeling of numbness in my chest. During this time, my pulse oximeter readings would frequently dip in the 92 to 94 SpO2 range. Even after "recovering", I've had trouble breathing and chest pain/numbness ever since, which has prevented me from doing any physical labor or even talking for long periods of time, which has significantly impacted my ability to work; for all intents and purposes, I'm physically disabled due to COVID, and I haven't been able to get much help about it.
After explaining the above to the doctors, much to my dismay, they informed me that they just want to focus on the kidney stone situation and that I can talk to my primary doctor about any chest symptoms. **Something else I should add here is that these chest symptoms have been a concern for me all year, but I kind of just adapted to not being able to breathe as effectively as I used to, and even still some days are harder than others, so it's very distressing to see doctors be so dismissive about such a serious concern for me.** I also mentioned that I occasionally have really sharp pains on the upper right part of my abdomen that seem to come and go about 20-30 minutes after eating a big meal, but as with everything else, the doctors seemed unconcerned.
Anyway, the CT results finally come back and they tell me that they couldn't see any kidney stones, and I likely already passed the ones that were there from before. I was honestly a bit relieved since I really didn't want to pass any more, but was still concerned that the pain in my lower back was still present, but the doctors suggested that the pain was likely due to the aftermath of the stones scratching the tubes connected to my kidneys and urethra and it would take some time for that to disappear completely, and I was satisfied with that explanation.
One of the doctors then asked me if I had any other questions, and I asked if they noticed anything else on the CT scan since it seemed like a full body scan and I've had so many complications. It was at this time that the doctor decided to mention that I appeared to have sludge in my gallbladder, but was nothing to worry about. Given their general dismissiveness, I was skeptical but ultimately accepted their explanation, got my discharge papers and went home.
The next day, the intensity of my lower flank pain returned, but with no kidney stones passing or blood after urinating. Later that day, I received further/more detailed information about my test results. It was at this time that I learned of three very alarming facts from the radiologist's :
- Bibasilar atelectasis
- Cholelithiasis
- Punctate cortical calcification in the right kidney midpole.
- Partially collapsed lung (lower part)
- Gallstone formation
- The accumulation of calcium salts (precursor to kidney stones) have made small depressions in the midportion area of my right kidney (ripe for kidney stone formation)
Suffice to say that my distress led me back to the hospital (with great consternation, since I'm now fully distrusting of every single staff member in building at this point), and I tell them about the CT findings. Mind you, I'm even more conscious of my chest problems since I'm now aware of the potential cause, which seems to be making my symptoms worse. Without fail, upon asking me about my concerns, the nurses and doctors seemed to exhibit an astonishing attitude of apathy regarding my situation. The first nurse tried to handwave the finding as me misreading the finding, essentially suggesting that since the sentence preceding it included the word "no", that "no" was a negation of the "Bibasilar atelectasis" impression as well. Frustratingly, I had to explain to her why she was mistaken and clearly misinterpreted the reading herself, due to the grammatical error in assuming a negation in one sentence also automatically applies to the next. She then apologized and said a doctor would speak with me shortly. The first doctor I spoke with flat out said that it was not something they are concerned about since many times such findings are a result of patients not taking deep breaths during the CT scan, and completely disregarded the fact that Bibasilar atelectasis can prevent deep breaths in the first place, making such a problem indistinguishable from a false positive and should probably require further investigation. I also pointed out that a potential false positive shouldn't be viewed in a vacuum when the patient has classic symptoms that perfectly align with a legitimate finding. She said they'd look into it.
Hours later, it wasn't until a black doctor saw me that I felt like I was treated like an actual patient in need of care. She was sympathetic to my concerns and explained that their options were limited in the ER but that she would give me a spirometer so that I could attempt to strengthen my lungs and reopen the part that has closed while I wait for my appointment to see a pulmonologist. She also confirmed that they were able to see kidney stones still in my kidneys and that I will eventually have to pass them, while my gallbladder will likely need to be removed. While I appreciated her sympathy and transparency, I felt utterly devastated and betrayed by this hospital.
Today, I can feel the excruciating pain again so I know I'll have to pass more stones, but more than anything, I'm just fucking tired. It should not have to be like this. My skin color shouldn't disqualify me from getting proper care, and yet that's exactly what's happening. I just feel so defeated.
Sorry for the long rant but I really needed to get this out. It's also important for people to know that medical racism is real and isn't just made up statistical bullshit. This shit is exhausting.
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