Outpatient Visit at Guimaras Provincial Hospital [Flashback* 07.16.2014]

Kidney stones. I would rather have all my teeth pulled without Novocaine than go through another kidney stone attack like the one I recently endured. My wife and I were on our way for our outpatient visit at Guimaras provincial hospital. We didn’t arrive until 9 am since I was extremely groggy from a sleeping pill I “borrowed” from my father-in-law to help me sleep through the severe pain on my right side, a common kidney stone side effect. Lolo, my father-in-law, has severe dementia and needs medication to help him sleep. (Thanks to Murray the Kiwi for supplying my father-in-law with a year’s supply of medications.)

  The helpful nursing staff at the outpatient department included a foreigner from Ohio

I didn’t think Lolo would miss one pill, but I’m telling you that thing knocked me off my butt! I don’t know how my father-in-law can wake up at night singing and talking to his dead friends while under the influence of that pharmaceutical.

There must have been a horde of at least 50-60 people waiting for outpatient care. The doctor that treated me Sunday night had recommended we go to the Outpatient section after I had my ultrasound results. I knew we would be in for a long wait.

My asawa checking in with the receptionist at the outpatient section

As mentioned at the end of my previous post, the ultrasound, which revealed a cluster of small kidney stones, also exposed an enlarged prostate. This news did not sounded rather ominous to my wife and I, but after a quick Google search, I discovered an enlarged prostate, which is often called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH),  is not cancer, and it does not raise your risk for prostate cancer (Source: Medicine Plus.)

I felt relieved after reading that and discovered BPH is a common problem for many men over the age of 50. I’m a 62-year-old geezer and I don’t have any of the common symptoms associated with BPH such as frequent urination. I relayed that news to my worried spouse who had been worrying about me the minute I gave her that ultrasound report.

It was a long wait to see the doctor, as there were 50-60 people seeking medical attention

My kidney stone attack was a blessing in disguise as it also afforded my poor asawa to also seek treatment at the outpatient department for a stomach ailment she has had for over a week. She kept telling me she was feeling better, but she would have days when her diarrhea was not responding to any medication, so I insisted she visit the doctor along with me.

The Kano and my Asaswa, patiently waiting

I tried to get my wife to go to the doctor before this and if not for my emergency room visit that one Sunday night, I doubt she still would have sought medical attention. Stubbornness runs in her family and she certainly practices that trait from time to time.

The nurse on the left in blue was busy taking blood pressure readings from everyone. When it came my turn, I remarked to her: “You certainly don’t look like a Filipino? Where are you from?”

“The United States,“she replied, “Ohio.”

“Oh, I’m from Illinois, not too far away. What in the world are you doing in Guimaras?” I asked.

She was working for a volunteer organization that I did not get the name of but admired her for her volunteer work and for the excellent blood pressure reading she gave me: 100/77.

Waiting to be called in to see the doctor

After about a two hour wait we were called out of the hallway waiting area and my wife was first directed to a doctor shown in the photograph below.

The physician was very professional and ordered a test for my wife to determine what the cause of her stomach ailment was. I was then asked about my problem and I showed my ultrasound results to the doctor. She wrote up a blood test request for me to test my kidney functions and to determine what kind of medications she would prescribe for my kidney stones.

Since the laboratory was already closed for the day, we would have to return the next morning for our tests and wait for the results. I was disappointed that I still had no medicine to shrink my kidney stones but would have to deal with the occasional severe pain I had with the remaining pain medication I received on my emergency room visit.

I was hoping for a pain free day before we returned to the lab at the hospital the next morning, as I was becoming increasingly frustrated and fatigued with the ongoing kidney stone pain that usually attacked me at bedtime.

But I only had one more day to wait, I prayed, and hoped tomorrow would be a better day.

NEXT POST, FINALLY THE CONCLUSION