When I went to the emergency room a few weeks ago, I had a CT scan done to determine the size and location of the kidney stones. I was back in the doctor’s office this morning having the foot-long stint pulled out of my pee hole. It was… unpleasant.
I found the report from that scan today while browsing my health insurance website and was a little shocked and dismayed at the results. I’m not entirely surprised, but holy shit. I can’t believe nobody told me.
In addition to the kidney stones they found:
- A small hernia I didn’t know about.
- Enlarged liver and spleen
- Blood glucose levels indicating I could be pre-diabetic
- Fatty Liver Disease
NOBODY told me. I can’t believe they would issue a report like that and completely ignore most of the results. I’ve dealt with several doctors and nurses over the course of the last couple years and nobody thought it was important to tell me how bad my insides really are.
I can’t say I’m completely surprised about the fatty liver. I mean, I have been drinking like 2-3 bottles of hard liquor a week. (1 a night) I’ve heard talk of fatty liver before and at 0ver 300 lbs with a big round belly, the idea of liver damage did live at the back of my brain. Luckily, the internet says it’s mostly reversible if I can stay away from the hooch for a while.
The kidney stones were uric acid stones which tend to be more likely to form when a person is dehydrated. I drink tons of water but I’ve also been hungover 2-3 times a week for the last few years. Part of hangover is dehydration. With the stones due to chronic dehydration and fatty liver disease due to overconsumption of alcohol, my health is seriously at risk. This may finally be a substantial enough reason to get me to quit drinking for good. Maybe.