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Christian Ministry Blog

A Journey We've All Taken Episode 9: The Sistoscopy (ppscopy)

Well...the final exam on the journey from having blood in my urine 3 months ago. The results of the CT scan were clear, and so was the sistoscopy. If you want to stop here, having the answer, this will spare you the details. For those curious about what this is like, I'll continue writing.
After undressing from the waist down and covering myself, the nurse applied pain killer. It left a burning sensation that lasted a few minutes. I looked at the instrument to be used. It appeared to be a black tube about the diameter of a milk shake straw around 18" long, with what looked like a microscope eyepiece on one end.
The doctor rushed into the room, shook my hand and said, "Let's get a look at things and send you on your way. The whole procedure will take about two minutes." Then he began putting that tube in, um...me. It had to turn a pretty sharp corner to get into my prostate, at which time he said..."this is the hard part." It was! it was extremely uncomfortable and the natural response is to clamp down with every muscle. I got the idea that the way to make this easier is to force my muscles to relax. There was no pain after it was in, but I could feel the scope moving around in my prostate and bladder...very strange. Then the doctor said, "OK, we're done."
He gave me an antibiotic and told me there might be some pain or light bleeding for the next day or so. I said, "I guess so!" There was a little blood and a whole lot of pain during urination for the next 36 hours. Everything is back to normal.
 All in all, the standard price for the blood tests, xrays, medicine, CT scan, four examinations and PPscopy will be somewhere around $ 5-6,000. Our part of the cost will be about $ 2,000 before we hit our deductible ceiling. Given the amount of inconvenience, pain and costs involved, next time I find blood in my urine, I'll wait for a recurrance, fever, extreme pain or blockage before I call the doctor.
You're probably as happy as I am this is the last episode in this journey.


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