So last week I was diagnosed with a symptomless UTI that moved into my kidney.  The pain got better with antibiotics but hit again on Sunday night, adding a fever to the mix.  Monday the fever continued and Tuesday, while the kidney pain was better, the fever ran rampant.  Off to the urgent care Tuesday night, and I was coughing to beat the band.

Another urinalysis showed the bacteria is gone – great news.  They eliminated pneumonia – great news.  They even did a chest CT because my D-Dimer was elevated and I have a history of pulmonary embolism.  No PE – great news.  Influenza.  Okay, go home, go to bed. This afternoon while I was fixing a little something to eat, the pain in my kidney came back with a vengeance – the third occurrence.  Talk to a nurse – they want to see me, trek into the doctor, and the result: they can’t figure out the pain. It’s not in the right place to be my kidney. It probably never was the kidney.  They assumed it was when they found the bacteria.  So let’s wait and see if the pain goes away with the influenza (even though the pain started a week before the flu symptoms).  So I sit here, anticipating the rest of the week off work, with a fever, cough, my skin feeling like it’s peeling off, and a sharp pain in my not-kidney.  Oh, I’m supposed to contact them if the pain persists.  Will I?  No.

Who knows what it is?  It’s just going to go on my list of ignore-it pains.  The doctor was pretty sure it’s not life-threatening, and they’d have to do a CT to see if there’s actually anything physically out of whack.  I’ve gone through my due diligence.  If the fever persists, I’ll think about contacting them again.  Likely the pain will persist for a few months and then fade away.  I’m not going to waste my time or their time and the resources to keep at it.  I’ll just be a little more tired than usual for awhile.

The good thing about it all is treating an unknown, symptomless infection.