We previously went over how to place a ureteral stent. In today’s post, we go over the steps of removing a stent. Ureteral stents are removed using two basic methods:
1) By pulling on a stent string, if the string was left in place.
2) Placing a camera into the bladder (cystoscopy) to directly see and grab the stent with a small grasping device.
Removing a stent with a string left in place:
In some cases, your urologist will leave a string attached to one end of a ureteral stent. The stent string is a long piece of thread that will start from the stent and drape out the urethra, where it is visible at the urethral meatus (where urine comes out). A diagram and photos of a stent with a string attached are shown below.
To remove the stent, the visible string is firmly held and steady continuous pulling is applied until the entire stent comes out. The curls at the end of ureteral stent are flexible, so the stent should uncurl and come out easily.
What’s the advantage of leaving a string?
- The stent can be removed without performing cystoscopy.
- Patients can remove their own stent without waiting for an appointment or having to come to the office.
- Stents can’t be “forgotten” when a string is attached. When no string is left attached, a patient may forget or not realize that a stent was left in place. Over time, these forgotten stents can form large stones on them, making removal very difficult.
What’s the disadvantage of a string?
- The string can get snagged on clothing or be pulled on accidentally, resulting in a ureteral stent being removed earlier than it was supposed to. This seems to more commonly occur with female patients.
- The string can be a minor annoyance.
- Some patients prefer not to have to remove their stents themselves at home using the string. They however can usually come to the office where the staff can perform this for them.
Removing a stent by performing cystoscopy (with video below):
When no string or only a portion of the string is left attached, your urologist will need to use a camera to enter your bladder through your urethra. He or she can then see the stent and use an instrument to securely grasp it and remove it. The process is usually quick and occurs in the clinic. It takes only a minute or so in most cases.
Steps in removing a ureteral stent with cystoscopy
- Use a cystoscope to enter the bladder. (A cystoscope is a camera that can be placed into the bladder).
- Identify the stent.
- Use a grasper to securely grab the stent.
- Remove the cystoscope, grasper, and the secured stent as one unit.
The video at the bottom of the page demonstrates all these steps.
How uncomfortable is stent removal using a cystoscope?
For the majority of patients, stent removal is not as uncomfortable as they expected. We often have patients react in surprise when they learn that the stent has been already been removed and the procedure is done.
Unfortunately, some patients do experience discomfort with stent removal, more commonly in men because of their longer urethra. This can be due to discomfort from the cystoscope itself or from the sensation of the stent being removed. While most patients do not feel the stent actually sliding when removed from the kidney, some do experience an uncomfortable sensation with this.
Is there anything that can be done to make it more comfortable?
- Lidocaine jelly placed into the urethra at the beginning of the procedure will help to numb the area but will not completely take away sensation.
- In men, and also occasionally in women, increased discomfort is related to tightening of the urethral sphincter as the scope is passed into the bladder. Trying to relax, take a deep breath, and not “clench” down during the cystoscopy process can sometimes make the process less uncomfortable.
- Anticipation and perception also seem to play a role: Researchers have found that patients who watch their own cystoscopy procedure on a video screen experienced less discomfort than those that did not.
Video of ureteral stent removal in a male patient.
Pain after stent removal:
In most patients, stent removal is a relief as their stent discomfort goes away. However, in some patients, severe pain may occur for several hours. This is thought to be due to spasms of the ureter or swelling and temporary blockage developing after the stent comes out.
Not enough is known about this phenomenon but one recent study suggests it may occur in as many as half of patients. In the study, patients given a single dose of rofecoxib did not experience this pain while those given placebo developed it in 55% of cases. Rofecoxib went by the brand name Vioxx and is no longer available in the U.S. as it was withdrawn by the manufacturer. The authors of the study report they now use naproxen as an alternative. You can read more about the study in our post “Severe pain after stent removal: How often does it occur and can anything prevent it?”
If you are thinking about trying naproxen, be sure to read the manufacturer’s warnings as some patients should not take the medication and check with your doctor first to make sure it’s okay in your situation.
I had 2.5 cm (25 mm) stone in my left kidney. A full day I waited without drinking water. They removed the stone through laparoscopy. Had a hole in hip and left a stent without a string. Removed the stent after 20 days. Everyday we should take 3 litre water and hard to urinate with pain. Removal of stent is another big pain.
Is it common after the laser surgery to destroy the stone to have fragments that are forced into the kidney? I knew that I would be passing debris but causing a stone to retrograde into the kidney causing bleeding and edema is surprising. I also would have thought with the procedure and the potential complications that a stent would have been put in place. Thoughts? Similar situations?
First of all i would have 10 babies compared to this pain with a 8mm Kidney Stone , just sayin!!!!
I have a stent in and i thought after my surgery i would feel fine, NOT the case! The stent bothers me all the time. It gives me pressure and for the last three days i have felt like crap!! I get my stent out in the morning at 9am. I have a black string, yea! I’m going to take a percaset before i leave the house and ALL my meds ,flomax,Uribel, etc and pray for a good outcome!! I feel for each one of you, we are unfortunately in this together :(Bless You all!Prayers
I’m in the same boat. I had a10mm stone blasted on Saturday and a Stent was put in. I’ve been miserable and bleeding ever since. They were initially going to wait until 12 days post surgery to remove Stent but I called and told them I couldn’t make it that long. I get it out at 9am tomorrow and can’t wait! I’ve also told people I would rather birth 10 – 10 pound babies than go through this again.
My husband had surgery on 3/28/18 when he had a ct scan done and an 8mm kidney stone was found. The first surgery was done to put in a stent to flush his kidney because the urine wasn’t coming all out. They said if he would have waited he
would have become septic. After surgery he had some discomfort, the first time he used the bathroom it hurt but was tolerable. Second surgery was yesterday, what a big difference. They lazered the stone and basketed the pieces, then they did a stent exchange. He was in so much pain from the moment he woke up. The first time using the bathroom after the second surgery was extremely painful. He cried and his knees almost gave out from the pain. He was given more pain meds and another med to relax the bladder so it would lessen the cramping. That pain went away but he still has pain in the back where the kidney is. This Sunday his stent comes out which he takes out himself, lucky me! I’ve been given the job to remove it. I’m so nervous, I’ve been told don’t break the string (that’s like telling someone on a bridge don’t look down lol). Anyway I found this site and reading the posts on here have helped. I’m just hoping it goes well. I hope everyone on here is feeling better and has a speedy recovery.
Update* I removed my husband’s stent last night. I gave him pain meds 1/2 hr before i started. I had him stand in the shower, washed my hands really well and grabbed the string. I kept pulling in a steady movement until I saw the stent. Once part of the stent was out I pulled that instead of the string. He did have a few drops of blood and some mild cramping but otherwise no pain. He said what he felt was a small pinch when I started and the stent sliding down but that was it. We’re just glad it’s over.
I am a female, i got ureteroscopy surgery last march 27, and had the stent on me for 6days and tomorrow is the schedule appointment for my stent removal. And im so scared and worried about the pain associated with it. Pls tell me how bad it is for those female had experience to remove the stent at dr office using cystoscope. Thank u
Don’t worry Diana Iam a female I have had two stents taken out in the office it’s really not that bad it was out before I even knew it the only discomfort was a little pressure hope everything goes well for you
After 12 hours of non stop pain on February 28th, ended up in ER with 8mm stone. Had stent put in on March 2nd and surgery scheduled on March 9th for Lithotripsy. Received a call the day before that my Urologist would be going out of the country for spring break so my surgery would have to wait until 22nd. I requested a referral to another Urologist because i thought that was unprofessional and did not want to wait! I was told no other Urologist in my area accepted my insurance… really? I have good insurance. So i endured this painful stent until the 22nd. Im a hair stylist so working on my feet 12 hours a day with the burning, pain and pressure has been a nightmare! My urologist with his great bedside manner called me when i wanted a referral and asked me why i had a problem waiting until the 22nd? I just laughed at him. If he had the nerve to ask that question… he didnt deserve a answer. Anyway i had the surgery on the 22nd and all went well im guessing. Ive passed alot of dust and extremely small stones. I called today to FINALLY schedule this stent removal after having it in for 25 days and i was told to call back tomorrow because the removal can not be done in office, and i have to schedule it with someone else due to not having a string. So here i go again… wonder how long this is gonna take. I cant wait to have this thing removed! It cant happen soon enough! If your stent has caused you as much pain and discomfort as mine has caused me… dont let the fear burden you as much as the joy of having it gone! And be sure you choose your Urologist wisely! I will be looking into a new one after this my first experience with kidney stone. Its sad when you have a older dr who you see shouldnt be in the business anymore… they are just going through the motions in a heartless manner. I always wonder what made them go into the business if they dislike it so much. Good luck to all! I have one step left with mine. Hopefully i will have this stent removed soon! I wish i had the string!!
I feel you frustration, I was diagnosed
With a 1.3 cm stone three and a half weeks ago,in which I had stent put in that night. Two weeks ago I had my lithotripsy in which they used the shock waves to break stone. Last Friday I was so happy to go to docs office to get stent remove, which did happen ..that night I stated have severe pain In left kidney again. back at the ER that night did cat scan I have a 7mm stone,wow looks like they only got rid of 1/2 of stone the previous Friday . So today I was lucky enough to have a second surgery in which they laser the stone and remove all fragments. And of course I can home with the stent again, this time I do have the string in which I permission to pull on Monday, but I am so tempted to do it now. This is the third time I have had one and is it one of the worse thing I have had to deal with. Last time I was in the doctors office I mentioned to the staff that they should all have to have one of theses for one week,so that they know what their patients are going through, wow how I heard all the no’s from all of them. Good luck on getting that thing out, I know what you are going through
Had a BIG stone that was not giving me any pain at all. Had it removed (scope and laser) successfully. Mild discomfort for the week or so after, no big deal. Went to office to have stent removed. No string; used the cystoscope and grasper. This was absolutely the WORST physical experience I have ever had–excruciating pain from beginning (a shot in the penis) to end of a maybe 10 minute ordeal. Torture. A few years ago after a stone, I had a stent with a string removed by doctor. Unpleasant, uncomfortable, but quick and no pain. Maybe I get lucky and have no more stones, but I will never have that kind of stent removal unless they knock me out completely.
Had PCNL surgery on Feb. 20. Removed large staghorn stone from my left kidney. The toughest part of this surgery was going to IR and having them put all the tubes/wires in place pre-surgery. The bladder spasms were horrible. Ask for pain meds! The surgery itself was fine (general anesthesia). Had some leakage of urine thru the incision which the nurses flushed every few hours and changed the bandage. Next day I had to go back to Radiology and they took out the nephrostomy tube/bag from my back but inserted a stent inside. Experienced pain when urinating first day. Try to not tense up while pering, and take deep breaths and dont clench! Ask nurse for pain meds! After two days, the pain started to disappear. Still have my stent in place til next week. Doctor giving me a choice of sedation or no sedation to remove it. I took the sedation choice! I had enough pain to last me a while. The worst part of this whole procedure is the bladder spasms, so make sure they give you medication to control it. I have no pain in my back at all. The frequency and urgency to urinate was the most annoying thing. And ask your doctor if he can prep you before surgery with the IR department with sedation. Good luck to all.
I got a 4x8mm stone removed last Monday with Laser and basket. No remaining pieces to be expelled. The ureteral stent for 9 days, will be removed in the morning. I am reading lots of testimonials and getting prepared for the procedure in the clinic by the Urologist and staff. I have scoloisis spine pain and the kidney stone pain was worse that my usual day to day chronic pain. Before removal of the stent, do they numb the area before putting the scope, grasper tools in uretha opening? I am considering taking one of my anxiety meds prior to removal. I also heard that emptying the bladder as much as possible also helps.
I had my surgery yesterday morning (Friday) to remove a 6mm stone and a 3mm stone that hadn’t passed yet. I have one stone in each side so now I have 2 stents Since it was an outpatient surgery, my husband & I headed home after drinking 2 ginger ales and peeing at hospital. Initially thought I would go back to bed and take a nap, laid down but couldn’t sleep because I was feeling the urge to pee every 10 min or so. I am taking an RX for the pain, one for the spasms, an antibiotic and pyridium for the burning. Since we woke at 5:45 am to go to hospital for the procedure, I have slept close to one hour not counting the hour I was under general anesthesia. What I have learned today is to keep drinking the water because if I have to “go” every 10 minutes, peeing is much easier & more comfortable when I have a lot of urine coming out. Then I take in a few big breaths before I finish and feel any burning. Definitely counting the days until Wednesday at 8 am when I can remove the stents per dr instructions. 1 day done and 4 to go.
That is so me right now .I have been in pain and uncomfortable for ten days now. I have not been able to go back to work. Can’t really go anywhere, I’m so miserable. Have 5 days to go for stent removal. Hopefully, this isn’t a permanent problem.
I’m totally in the same boat as you’ll! I had my stone remakes yesterday via laser and basket retrieval and got a stent put in. Omg I feel like I have to pee ALL the time, I can’t get comfortable in any position. It hurts so bad to pee that I’m scared to pee lol. I’m now starting to feel where the stent goes from my kidney to my bladder. Luckily the pain isn’t too bad. I’m counting down the hours until I can get it removed Monday morning at 9:30 am. I am a little nervous about how painful it will be when the doctor pulls it out though.
I had a ureteral stent in me after kidney stone removal. I could not feel the stent in me at all. Aside from having to pee badly a couple times right after surgery, I urinated at regular intervals. Within a day of having the stent within me, I did have some shooting kidney pain when urinating… but after a day or two I didn’t have it anymore. The stent didn’t bother me for the 5 to 6 days it was in me… by the 5th day, however, the string hanging out of my penis was really getting on my nerves. I pulled the stent out myself – definitely not pleasant at all, but only lasted about 3 seconds to remove. However, 2 hours after removing the stent, I had horrific pain and discomfort in the ureter (almost identical to kidney stone pain) for about 4 hours.
I just had a stent put in yesterday attached to a string I will pull out my self but not supposed to do so until Monday! My prob is the black string is already pretty far out should I just pull it out or what
Today I had my 5th kidney stone removal surgery. #4 was 2 weeks ago. I’ve had a stint for the last two weeks. The plan is to remove the stint on Monday. Having a stint is much better than the doctor having to go through your back to remove kidney stones which had to be done for my 6mm x 12mm and 8mm x 14mm stones
I had a large stone removed 5 weeks ago under general anesthesia while they also repaired some hernias. My utheter was injured so I have had my stint in for 5 weeks. I’ve had pain from both the abdominal surgery and the stint. Once one gets going it seems to get the other one going. Tomorrow I will get the stint removed by the Dr as he did not leave the string. I’m looking forward to loosing the stint pain but dreading the spasms after removal. With luck I’m in the percentage that does not get spasms.
I am A 69 year old male. I had a small tumor removed 2/16/18 from my bladder and when I had awoke after the procedure there was a lot of pressure from the stent that was put in. They say it’s normal. On the way to the pharmacy the pressure and pain was getting worse and since it takes awhile for the drugs to kick in, the first few times a peed I thought I was going to pass out from the pain in my right kidney. I’ve had two hernia surgeries in life and three epidurals for a double pinched nerve in my back and as painful as the back pain was and pain from hernia operation the pain in my kidney was unbearable until the drugs kicked in.It still hurts sometime when I go but not as bad. I could not have made it without the Meds.Stent is suppose to come out Tuesday. Will see how that goes.I don’t care what anybody says this is not a walk in the park. You have to try to remain positive.Just hope there is no more cancer in my bladder There has to be a better way! .As for those who say man up well you know it all anyway.Good luck to everyone else.
Stent out was not as bad as I thought it would be. Low grade Cancer tumor in bladder removed. High grade cells in urine. Now have to go on the search for that.Great ! At least i get a month reprieve.
I had my lithotripsy on a 1 cm kidney stone Thursday morning. The stent caused me tremendous pain. When I woke up from anesthesia I was in a horrible amount of pain. They gave me a dilaudid drip until they “couldn’t give me any more”. It did nothing for the waves of painful cramping. I kept hoping I would pass out, but no such luck. I was told I could remove the stent Monday but don’t know if I can wait that long. I’m still afraid to do it on my own because of the huge amount of pain associated with this thing. I’m torn between leaving it in place and taking it out because I have had CONTINUOUS waves of horrible sharp cramping. The doctor made it sound like this whole thing was no big deal and even told me I could probably go back to work on Saturday. Not even close! I have barely been able to move, walk to the bathroom, or even stand up straight. The Percocet is useless against this pain. I called him yesterday in a panic because of the amount of cramping and he told me it was likely being caused by the stent. The only thing that takes the sharp edge off the pain and interrupts the repeated cramping is 2 fingers of scotch. I’m totally serious! A hot pad on my pelvis helps too. I feel blindsided by this pain and feel the whole thing was down played by my doctor. I am not trying to freak everyone out, but I just think I would have rather known has rough it would be, upfront. I am actually known for having a fairly high pain tolerance so I was complete caught off guard on this one.
**UPDATE** I was experiencing so much pain that I decided the stent had to come out on Monday (a holiday of course!) I couldn’t wait even one more hour as I originally had an appointment for Tuesday to have the doc take it out if I couldn’t get up the nerve to do it myself. There was a bit of pain and burning, but nothing even close to having that horrible stent inside. I felt soooo much better after getting rid of it. All the comments here were very helpful. I took an Aleve, a Xanax, and some Azo about 2 hours before. Ran a hot shower and did my best to relax. The first second and the last second triggered some pain and cramping but it was totally worth it to get it out. Thanks to everyone of the “head’s up” at spasms and cramping that tend to pop up after removal. I used a TENS machine to manage that, and it worked miracles for me. None of my pain meds were very useful or helpful throughout this ordeal. My TENS was from CVS for $25. You might have to experiment with where the electrodes go to help interrupt the pain signals, but try the bigger muscle of your butt cheek and your your upper waist. After the stent was out, I went from barely being able to move, walk or breathe without pain to being up on my feet. I even got dressed and made a run to the grocery store! If that stupid thing is causing pain and your doctor says you can remove it, do it! In my case, the stent was causing me all my suffering.
I have totally experienced the same. I was admitted Sunday evening, discharged very late Wednesday night and have pretty much been bed ridden ever since. This pain and discomfort is horrible. Dr left no string so I will be having them removed from both sides this Wednesday. I have no idea what to expect but anything has to be better than this. I even dread getting up to use the restroom.
Oh my goodness yes I had my surgery on Thursday and was told by Monday I would be up walking around with no pain….hahaha it’s been a week I get it out tomorrow and have been the worst pain. Ever!!! I’ve had a c- section and my gall bladder removed both the pain meds worked wonderfully. Just 12. Hours after being discharged from hospital after having my twins I re arranged my room. Buy with this stent in I’m lucky if I can walk to the bathroom, going hurts so much I’m scared Everytime I walk in there, alive does help a little and I take a muscle relaxer at night that makes the muscle spasm ok so I fell you
I feell all of your pains, but I would like some insight please. This is my first time with a stent. I had no problems passing stone for 8 years. I had this stent because I had a 2.5cm by 1.14cm stone . I. Worries because I don’t think I have the “balls” to pull my own stent. Would you guys consider this pain of removing the stent to be like the pain nd discomfort as when a stent is inside still? I would love to hear all feedback. Than you and hope you all get well.
I hope you’re feeling better. Taking out my stent was the best thing I did. I was kicking myself for waiting so long. You can see my info above (under Heather). Some cramping afterwards but the pain was manageable and preferable to having the stupid torture device in my body.
Go in the shower and pee. Remove the stent as you start urinating. Piece of cake.
Why is it when you tell your doctor how painful stents have been for you do they still insist you have one. Shoe needs to be on the other foot sometimes in order for them to understand.
I agree 100 percent.
They (dr’s) leave a stent in place because the trauma of removing the stones (or whatever exploration or the ureters /kidney you’ve had done) can cause the ureter to swell shut & put you into acute renal failure- which left untreated means you just killed your kidney! You have another one- but it can end up with you on hemodialysis the rest of your life. They aren’t doing it to be a-holes. It’s researched based best practice. Maybe ask for alternate pain meds – my last stent Lortab didn’t touch it- Dilaudid tablets did. This one- Toradol & Norco are doing the job. *a nurse who has taken care of people on dialysis for just such reasons.
Had 7mm stone removed after numerous uti,s not getting any better with antibiotics. Doctor put in a stent at which time I told him the last stent I had was so painful that doctor was giving me morphine for the pain which did not stop therefore having to pull out the stent. Afterwards recovery was fine. This time the severe pain followed the stent, no pain meds helped. After stent was out which was on Thursday the day after it was put in I am still having a lot of pain and nausea and still bleeding . I called the doctor and he said I would have to go to the ER to have another stent put in because he could not give me anymore meds. I took four slivers and this helped the pain but still bleeding. If a stent causes you so much pain why have it How long should this bleeding and pain last?
The stent is to keep your ureter open while you heal. Yes, a couple hours after I removed my stent, I had 4 hours of HELL, very similar to kidney stone pain in the ureter. This is from your ureter being inflamed / readjusting after the stent is removed. However, after the 4 hours, I had no more pain.
I wish I had had time to do some research on having a kidney stone removed. My Dr put in a stent and removed my 8mm by 6mm stone. On Jan 10th. He put a string on the stint for me to remove it 5 days later. I was so uncomfortable and had back spasms almost the whole time. Kind of like back labor or cramping. I couldn’t wait to pull that sucker out. I drank about 4 cups of water, took a pain pill, and took an extra flomax. I decided to do it in the tub with the hottest water I could stand. It took me 30minutes to finally get the nerve to pull it out. Didn’t feel a thing! 2 hours later I felt like I was passing another stone again. I have had this pain off and on the past 2 days. The only thing that helps is a pain pill. Does anyone know how long this lasts? I am so over being in pain!
wow….reading some of these comments……
Two years ago, I had a 9mm kidney stone surgery with a stent put in….NO problems with the surgery OR the stent which I pulled out myself a week later (ladies, it is easier pulling out the stent that it is a tampax…. stent is much narrower)…was fortunate that I never even took any pain pills except for the day of the surgery, thus did not have constipation, so did not need those pills either…
Now, two years later, I have a 17mm stone…. had surgery last Monday, and again, OK with all…. a lil discomfort, but no pain…a lil burning the first 3 days, not nothing to bad….no pain pill usage again ….the stent will be removed next Monday with a cystoscopy (it does not have a string on it this time)…it is done in the office in about 5 minutes….email me for any questions, but no problems……good luck to all…
I just had a stent placed today. It will be removed next week in the office. I do not believe there is a string.
What does the cystocopy entail……was it painful
Thanks
Yes very painful I wasn’t expecting it to be that bad, told the nurse to not lie to patients and tell them it doesn’t hurt… I cried. Hope you have a better experience.
My doctor could not get my stent out for 20 minutes, he had to call in another doctor in his office and she did it in 5 minutes. It was one of the most painful experiences I ever had in my life. Worst than the original kidney stone. They should had given me pain meds. I was screaming in pain. I was so angry with the urologist. I made a formal complaint with the teaching hospital he was connected with.
Having sex or masterbate before stent remove is it permitted??
Dr. Says no.
Or you crazy
Guess we know who isn’t bothered by his stent! 😬
I had my stint put in and have to have it in for 3 months
OMG… I’ve had mine in since January 10th, basically bed ridden. I have surgery scheduled for March 15th. This has been a horrible experience. As of now, I want the kidney removed. I will never have another sent placed, no matter what the circumstances. All the Dr’s tell me, on the multiple trips to the ER, is hang in there. I’d like to have each of these individuals have a stent, and tell them to “hang in there”.
I had a 4 mm kidney stone in the ER, 2 weeks later I had to have surgery with a stent placed on the left side, that was on a Friday, I was told to remove the stent at home the next Monday, so about 3 days after the surgery, I was nervous about taking it out myself but it ended up not being bad at all, I did it while I was in the hot shower and before I had to urinated pretty bad, I just pulled on the string at a slow constant pace and it came out with no pain and very little discomfort, I also did take a couple pain pills about an hour before I pulled it out,
Im Afraid. I have to remove mine today and have been getting more and more Nervous .. Im going to plan to do this latr in the Late vening so i can take my sleeping pills after.. Glad your doing ok..
I removed one several years ago in the evening. The “removal process” was very simply and relatively painless. However, after I removed the stent I suffered from a blockage with blood clots afterwards; it was extremely painful. I called the on-call urologist when the pain started amping up, after 15 minutes after removal. The urologist was irritated that I removed it in the evening and expressed it should have been removed in the morning. I was told upon discharge from hospital to remove it in 48 hours, which was the early evening. It does make sense to remove it in the morning because you will be more active and drinking more fluids thereafter…..I would wait until tomorrow morning. I am having one removed tomorrow via cystoscopy, that’s what brought me to this sight. Good Luck to you!
I had mostly the same symptoms. The “always” needing to go is the worst for me. after 8days blood is still current, but maybe only 30%.Constipation doesn’t help either( from the Oxy-codone). I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Well maybe some…..Looking forward to gettin’ this thing OUT !!!
I wanted to share my story because I didn’t feel like I experienced enough stories as I looked up information during recovery. A few weeks ago I went under general anesthesia to have my 8mm kidney stone removed. The urologist told me there were still some pieces that needed to come out, so he inserted a stent in my right ureter. This was my experience post surgery: the first pee was 100% blood and 110% painful. The fleeting pain in my back when peeing was the first 10/10 pain I ever had in my life. Absolutely excruciating and unbearable, despite being on Vicodin. This whole week I was plagued with burning, frequency, and urgency, even though I was taking two medications to help with those symptoms. I am a college student and I had to ask for a NG (no grade) on my final exams because I couldn’t get out of bed. I had severe nausea and hypersensitivitythe whole week and returned to the hospital three times. I developed a UTI and complicated kidney infection. This was the most horrible experience of my life… and then for the removal of the stent
I think my brain has blocked out the experience because I truly can’t recall the exact feeling, but I remember the pain. He inserted a camera into my urethra, which hurt, but I was prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared for the unbelievable amount of pressure that came once he had gotten a grip of the stent and started pulling it out. Fun fact: it helps if you push your butt down into the chair you’re sitting on. I don’t know why, but it worked. Unfortunately, I was also expecting immediate relief once the stent came out. I had read about some people having spasms for a few hours, but my experience came with this severe back pain that was all over. I couldn’t walk again. Peeing was also still bloody and just as terrible as the week before. Today is three days after my stent removal and I am still experiencing excruciating back pain that nothing seems to help with. I don’t know what to expect from here, but I will tell you that if you are getting this procedure, expect it to be horrible and don’t assure yourself that you’ll get right back to your daily routine. The entire situation is really awful, but it DOES end so the best thing to do is look forward to the end. It is better to get the procedure than to let a stone sit around. Don’t let the pain scare you, just be prepared for it. This will pass and everything will go back to normal in a few weeks. Overall, if I had another big stone, I would go through this a second time, and I think it would be better knowing what to expect. Everything will be okay- Good luck!!!
How are you feeling now that it’s been a couple of weeks? I have to undergo surgery tomorrow and have a stent put in place for a week. I’m more nervous about that than I am about the surgery… Hope you are well and fully recovered!
Hi
Thanks mate for the detail explanation of your situation. I just had a surgery
Done yesterday and bloody sten is causing me tremendous pain when pee. But apart from going to toilet I’m ok with pain. I can’t wait to get this sucker out and go about my normal work and feeling normal. Thanks
Hi K, I have a 9m stone and am in excruciating pain. First time ever. I went to the hospital and they put a stent in and gave me a doctor to contact. This happened on the 7th of February.
The doctor gave me an appointment on the 22nd and now changed it to March 1st. I was given only 4 days worth of pain Meds. After reading your letter, I’m am now horrified. And cannot figure out what to do. How long it it take you to start back to your routine? And get better. Do you think I’m in a risk. Doctor’s don’t care apparently