All in the course of a day
You may never have wondered just how much you pee in a 24-hour period. I never did, but now I know thanks to a calcium test that required me to “collect” for a full day (and night). It’s a lot more than you might think.
At Quest Diagnostics I was issued the large orange container with explicit instructions about what and when. I found a day when I would be close to home because the instructions said to refrigerate the container.
I started to panic after 5 hours of collection when the container was a third full. I jokingly asked Deborah, who had come to play music with me, what I would do if I exceeded the capacity of the orange container. Without a second thought, she said to sterilize a jar.
When I got up in the morning, with my mind was still on the funny movie I had watched the night before, I thought about the Chevy Chase style movie script that could be written around the new OJ container in the refrigerator. Don’t even go there...
By the end of the 24th hour, I had topped off the bottle and was done with the gross job of collecting. I would like to think this is the last time I will ever have to go through this particular test, which pales in comparison to a colonoscopy, but certainly lasts a lot longer.
I guess the size of the container was no accident. But it surely seemed like more than I could possibly have drunk in a 24-hour period.
posted by Barbara at 2:59 PM
6 Comments:
Wow. That doesn't sound like fun but it's interesting.
Good heavens!! Hope the test was successful and useful, after all that...
Barbara, you crack me up. You'll write about anything. (And I say that with love. :) )
Why on earth do they need so much urine?
Kristin -- Interesting is a very polite word!
Karen -- Since calcium is such an important component for building strong bones, it should prove very useful in determining if I am getting enough of it!
Steve -- Your friend and my ex-friend would probably have suggested I delete this post, finding the subject matter disgusting. But since she is no longer my editor and this is just another chapter of my life, I decided to put it out there so that 3 brave souls could offer up a comment.
Apparently they need 24 hours of urine to get an accurate calcium level reading, which would suggest that the level fluctuates throughout the day.
I for one didn't find it disgusting, Barbara. :-)...Funny in a sort of sympathizing way. Maybe it's because I've worked in the health care field...?? Anyway, I hope you're through w/such trials and tribulations for a while!! Good grief.
F.
Anon -- How could I even begin to complain about something that might have been a nuisance, but was not painful in the least?!
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