Well, the stent — all 26 cm of it — came out: the doc offered to let me take it out myself, but I opted out. It was, um, profoundly weird, but not so much as last time: I was prone as opposed to upright, and I guess that helps. Still, bleacgh.
The last one I had was only about 6 inches, but this one went from kidney to bladder which explained the odd sensations I was feeling.
The procedure went well: the stone mostly shattered on the first go with the laser, but a chunk of it drifted up into the kidney. They fired sound waves at it and reduced it to sand.
Now I have these anesthesia byproducts to deal with: intense pressure in the lower abdomen, which seems to be slackening, thank goodness. More indescribable weirdness.
I also visited the family practice to see about these ticker issues: nothing to report there. The heart sounds good, the EKG showed no damage or other events, so I’m feeling much relief.
Next up: I get to catch all the my pee for a 24 hours in a jug so they can determine why these things keep forming. That and a 6 month X-ray and we may have seen the last of these horrid things.