Angiomyolipoma

If you Google this word, Wikipedia would tell you it is the most common benign tumour of the kidney and that they are composed of blood vessels, smooth muscle cells and fat cells.  If you read further, it goes on to tell you that they don't normally require surgery.  It says that small ones, and ones without dilated blood vessels (aneurysms) cause few problems, but that they can sometimes grow rapidly and that large ones or ones with aneurysms can sometimes haemorrhage or rupture.

Thursday I found out I have one of these.

This whole story starts way back to November 2009 when I was experiencing basically bladder infection symptoms - minus actually having a bladder infection.  I peed in so many test cups I lost count, but no bladder infection.  Finally on a full urine culture, there was some little lactobacillus bacteria that showed up... now whether this was a contaminated sample or not (there is a chance it could have been), we will never know, but the important part of the story - the CiproXL antibiotic that Dr. Parker prescribed worked and life went back to normal for 10 months.

In late August/early September, the symptoms were back... again, no bladder infection.  Peed in so many cups I lost count.  No lactobascillus this time either but exact same symptoms.  Dr. Parker decides I should have a pelvic and renal ultrasound and referred me to a Urologist since he can't help me any further.  On a whim, he prescribes me the CiproXL after my tears convinced him to give it a try since it worked last time on the same symptoms.  BINGO!  Worked again.  Life back to normal.  All of this, before I went for the ultrasounds or to see the Urologist.  Decided to keep my ultrasound appointment.  Not sure why - I suppose because I knew it was painless and couldn't hurt.

Monday, October 18th
2:40 - just finished drinking the 1500ml of water you are required to drink 1 hour before your pelvic ultrasound - and NO you can't pee - all that water has to be there for the test.
3:10 - Leave work.  Have to pee HORRIBLY badly.
3:20 - Waiting in parking lot to meet up with Joel.  Crying I have to pee so bad.
3:25 - Can't wait any longer for Joel, go in without him.  Strip nekked, put on gown, beg to be seen immediately
3:37 - Joel found me.  Get called in for ultrasounds.  Joel can't come with me.   :(
3:40 - Pelvic Ultrasound
3:45 - Get to go peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Longest and best pee of my life.
3:50 - Renal Ultrasound - Right Kidney... short and sweet, 1 ultrasound wand thingy used
3:52 - Renal Ultrasound - Left Kidney..... much longer... uses 3 different ultrasound wands...
4:00 - Ultrasound Tech informs me images are good and that results will be available to my doctor within 24hrs.

Tuesday - I hear nothing.

Wednesday, 20th
8:45am - The anticipated phone call from the doctors office.  He wants to see me.  Tomorrow.  Appointment for 8:30am.  Spend the day wondering, but not overly stressed to be honest.  One little blip of stressed where I let my imagination get the best of me... and it probably doesn't help that a good friend of my mom's was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, but spent most of the day quite calm.

Thursday, 21st
8:30 - Doctor comes in the room and  has to review my records because he can't remember why he'd wanted to see me... at that moment, my mind tells me it either can't be that bad or he's a total idiot.

Angiomyolipoma.  Caught by fluke basically by my odd reasoning for not deciding to cancel my ultrasounds.  Has nothing to do with my cured infection.  Since the CiproXL worked, Dr, Parker has basically decided that a bacteria that urine cultures don't test for was causing the symptoms.  No biggie, he'll give me some more CiproXL in case it shows up again, end of story, moving on....

Angiomyolipoma. Sounds worse than it is he assures. Angio for blood vessels, myo for muscle, lip for fat... and the part he left out "oma" for tumor... or "mass" as he explained it.  He let me know that the radiologist that reviewed it can't rule out the 'bad' things although highly unlikely (you know, things like cancer), without a CT scan.  Doctor assures me that the radiologist is being overly cautious, covering his butt... but off I will go in 3 - 4 weeks for a radiation filled CT test possibly with a contrast dye that could in worst case scenarios actually damage my kidney - to check to see if there is something wrong in my kidney, or if the tumor can just be left alone until the day I die from old age - which the doctor assures me is the most likely outcome of this whole thing.  That the tumor will remain for the most part unchanged in my kidney for the rest of my life causing me no health concerns - but will be just one more thing to add to Kristie's list of abnormailites.  Geographic Tongue, Heart Murmur, and now Angiomyolipoma. 

Don't get me wrong... there are questions I forgot to ask.  Questions I want to know the answers to and that the internet isn't helping with.  Questions like what might have caused me to get this thing in the first place? How do we know if this thing gets any bigger?  Will I go for annual ultrasounds to monitor it?  How big is this tumor right now and how likely is it to get bigger? To cause what Wikipedia says can be a life threatening haemorrhage...?!

I'll see my doctor again after my CT, which I have yet to hear a specific date for, other than 3-4 weeks.  I'll ask the questions then and if there's anything worth writing about, I'll let ya know.