Upcoming Ct Scan, Help! What Would You Do?

Nestito

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Joined
Dec 3, 2016
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60
hello! i am a 28 year old male in a predicament of sorts.

quick background story: back in october of 2018 i was experiencing mild to moderate right flank/abdominal pain. although i've been much better the past few years, i'm of a hypochondriac nature and began to assume the worst. reading online quickly led me to worry about having a case of appendicitis that manifested itself with milder symptoms. i had an out of state trip planned and that caused even more anxiety as i didn't want to potentially have it burst in the midst of it. i tried to ride it out but eventually caved in after several days of having it not subdue and went to the er.

at the er they did a ct scan and found nothing life-threatening. what they did find was that one of my ureters was dilated as if i had just passed a kidney stone. they told me to follow up with my primary care provider in a few days. this news was an immediate relief to me as it shed my trip anxiety away. the pain went away shortly after and i ended up not following up with a doctor's visit as my mind quickly forgot about it without the lacking presence of any symptoms.

fast forward to present day. several days ago the exact same pain returned along with a slight consistent burning of my penis tip and with an intensification of said burning upon urinating. i decide that it would be a good idea to visit my pcp and bring it up with him. at my visit they test my urine and pull up my er ct scan. my urine tests negative for infection but reveals microscopic hematuria (trace amounts of blood found within it). upon looking at my er ct scan my pcp feels it strongly suggests that i'm most likely experiencing kidney stones perhaps caused by insufficient fluid intake/dehydration. he refers me to a urologist and orders another ct scan.

i was desperate at the er back in october and needed to know wtf was happening to me so agreeing to the radiation then seemed worth it to me. i decided that i would hold off on the ct scan until i at least got the urologist's opinion.

*luckily* i was able to see the urologist the very next day where he again takes a look at my urine and finds no blood in it whatsoever. he seemed to be open to the idea of it being a kidney stone, potentially something muscular, or cancer as a worst-case scenario (due to my former ten years of being a smoker). he tells me to disregard the ct scan my pcp ordered and instead orders me another one that is a ct scan urogram with & without contrast so he can be more sure. i agree to it and end up scheduling it two weeks in the future (08/16) so it gives enough time for my insurance to authorize it. i am now experiencing heavy ambivalence. and here's why.

throughout my late teenage years and most of my twenties, i would masturbate daily up to two or three times. at about halfway through my twenties it dawned on me that such a habit could in fact be harmful and i took initiative to drastically reduce my frequency and abstain altogether for periods of time. what i remember is that back in october when the pain ensued it was days after where i experienced a short period of heavy binging on this old habit of mine. the same can be said about this current resurgence. i did have another period of binging a few days before the pain came back.

i strongly feel that there may be a connection between the binges and the flare ups of pain i am experiencing. i'm really thinking of seeing if i can cancel my ct scan appointment and keep my hands off myself to see if the pain ends up going away completely again. the burning has begun to reduce and so has the frequency of the pain (although it is still very much there). i figure if worse comes to worse and i cancel and the pain remains i can always address it then and cave in to a ct scan.

what would you do in my situation? i'm going to see how i end up feeling in a few days before i pull the plug.
 

lampofred

Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
3,244
RP said strong red light exposure within an hour after radiation can greatly mitigate radiation effects.
 

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