We know that the prospect of needing to have a stent removed is a big source of anxiety for patients. While almost everyone can’t wait to have his or her stent out, not knowing what to expect during the removal procedure can be just as bad. To better prepare you for your procedure and perhaps relieve some of your concerns, we asked visitors to the website who have already gone through the process to share their experiences with you. The results of our stent removal survey follows. Thanks to everyone who replied and let us know what you think in the comments below.
How are people having their stents removed?
575 of you have responded to the survey over the last 3 months that it has been up. The most common method of stent removal was through the use of a flexible camera placed in the urethra (cystoscopy) in the doctor’s office, with almost half of respondents reporting this approach (45%). 17% instead had their stents removed using cystoscopy in the operating room. 12% removed their stents themselves by pulling on a stent string while the last remaining 26% had their stents removed by having their doctor’s office pull on the string. Our post on stent removal describes these techniques in more detail.
How much pain should I expect?
Out of a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst pain ever and 1 being no pain at all, the overall average amount of pain reported was 4.8 or a moderate amount of discomfort. However, it may surprise you to hear that the most common rating given was 1, or no pain at all, chosen by 18%. So while some patients do report a high amount of pain with their stent removal, many had no pain or only mild pain. If we look at pain by method of stent removal, average pain was relatively higher for those who had their stent removed by office cystoscopy (5.4 out of a scale of 1 to 10) followed by doctor’s office string removal (4.9), operating room cystoscopy (3.9), and self string removal which had the lowest reported amount of pain (3.8). However, these differences between method of removal are not dramatic given that the scale goes from 1 to 10.
Will I experience pain afterwards?
Most patients had no pain or only mild pain after their stent removal. Unfortunately, a third of patients (33%) did experience a severe attack of pain after their stent removal, including an unfortunate 9% who required a return trip to the emergency room for their pain. When comparing recurrent pain by method of stent removal, severe pain occurring after stent removal was more common in the self string removal group (43%) and less likely in the doctor’s office string removal group, office cystoscopy, and operating room cystoscopy groups (26%, 33%, and 33%, respectively). It’s not clear why those who pulled out their own stents were more likely to report a severe episode of pain afterwards. There is some evidence that taking a tablet of an NSAID medication (naproxen) before removing your stent can help reduce the chance of experiencing a severe episode of pain.
How did the experience compare to what you expected?
Overall, 35% felt the actual stent removal experience was not as bad or not nearly as bad as they expected. 27% reported that their experience was about what they expected. 15% felt it was a bit worse and 23% felt it was a much worse. Reporting the pain as much worse than expected occurred in 27% of those who underwent office cystoscopy, 24% of those who had their stents pulled out by the clinic, 20% of those who pulled out the stent themselves, and 15% of those who had a cystoscopy in the operating room.
If you had a choice, would you choose this option again?
Those who underwent operating room cystoscopy to remove their stents were most likely to choose the same technique again (65% replying probably or definitely would choose this method again) followed by self string removal (59%), doctor’s office string removal (55%), and office cystoscopy (50%).
While we asked respondents whether they would choose the same method for stent removal the next time, not all options for stent removal may always be available to you. For example, your doctor may choose not to use a string if he or she feels that your stent needs to remain in longer than a few days because the string can easily get snagged and the stent might accidentally be removed too early. Secondly, stent removal in the operating room is not always an option because: time in the operating room may not be available, the risk to you of undergoing anesthesia again may outweigh the benefit of having the procedure done in this fashion, the costs to you in terms of time and money involved in scheduling and preparing for an operating room procedure may not be worth it. We recommend that you talk to your doctor to go over the best option for stent removal in your particular case.
Priorities as a patient:
We asked respondents how much of a priority certain things were to them as a patient with a stent. Being informed why a stent was placed was the biggest priority for respondents (4.7 on an importance scale of 1-5). Being informed about what was actually involved in the stent removal procedure was also a high priority (4.5). Being able to have general anesthesia was a moderate priority (3.1) while being able to see a video/diagram of the process was a lower priority (2.9).
Okay, what’s the bottom line?
Most patients reported an average amount of discomfort with stent removal by any technique. Many patients actually reported no or minimal pain but about a third reported significant pain. Removal by office cystoscopy was associated with more pain on average and removing a stent yourself by pulling on the stent string was associated with less pain on average. A third of patients may experience a delayed attack of severe pain after their stent removal. Overall, about 62% reported that the experience was not as bad or about what they expected but 38% said it was a bit worse or much worse than they expected.
Editors note: Post updated on August 29th with additional survey results.
My male friend is having his stent removed tomorrow. He has been told that he has to have someone stay with him for 24 hours incase of internal bleeding after removal. Has anyone else had a problem with bleeding after removal of stent. What symptoms should we be watching for.
I had stent removed 7 days ago. At first painful, bloody urination for a few days then felt like I was getting back to normal. That feeling was short lived and I began feeling the urgency feeling I had dealt with when I had the 5mm stone stuck at my UVJ.
Has anyone else experienced urgency AFTER the stent was removed?? How long did that last??
I’m going insane from all of this. Started symptoms from stone thanksgiving 2016.
I had a stent inserted in the OR on Dec 16 (2016), Dr. said he couldn’t remove the stone because kidney was terribly infected. After three weeks living with the discomfort of the stent and popping anibiotics, anti-spasm pills (Ditropan), and a urine alkalizer (which helped a lot to relieve burning during urination), returned to hospital for stent and stone removal. Surgeon said that sometime during the stent period, the stone had disintegrated on its own; he couldn’t find it. Post-op (post stent removal) was relatively pain free, but I now have a dull pain (about a level 2-3) in the kidney area which ebbs and flows throughout the day and night. Panamax helps during the day, and a Panamax and Ditropan get me through the night. Urologist advised me to see my GP, and have just had another CT scan, urine and blood tests. I’m scheduled to see the GP tomorrow to hopefully learn the test results. Has anyone else out there experienced this lingering back pain after stent removal? My pain has been ongoing since the stent removal nearly a month ago.
I just had removed my stent on my own this past Sunday and noticed anytime I do certain physical activity I have pain cramping and small amount of bleeding… was told this will last for a few days baling with urgency to ore and burning…
Hi, this is Dan again. I posted the comment on Feb 4 2017 about residual pain after stent removal. After a series of tests, including 3-phase (dye injection) CT scan, my GP couldn’t find anything wrong and told me to continue taking mild pain relievers (Panamax) as needed. It’s now been six weeks since stent removal, and I’m pleased to say that the pain in my kidney area has subsided a bit each day, to a point where I no longer require the Panamax. Still a mild, dull ache that ebbs and flows throughout the day,but almost gone. I would still be curious to know if anyone else has had this residual pain lasting several weeks after stent removal.
I had an emergency stent procedure on January 11th after 2 days of X-rays and a STAT CT scan, and many phone calls from doctors offices and the hospital. I honestly had no idea what was going on until I was told the stone started out as a teeny stone in September and is now about 8mm. I was not in tremendous pain so I was surprised at the urgency. I’d never heard of a stent procedure but we just did what we were told and trusted the surgeon. The 35 minute ride to the hospital was quite uncomfortable when I returned on the 19th to have the stone pulverized. The surgery was delayed by 2.5 hours(prior patient took longer then expected) but there was no way I was leaving! I was becoming much sicker the prior day and during the wait. I then realized how ill I was. The doctor said I have a high tolerance of pain because I should be just jumping off the bed in pain!
Surgery took 2 hours. Surgeon thought he could grasp the stone in the basket but he said it was complicated(not sure why but possibly because I have a prolapsed bladder) so he had to pulverize it with the laser. He also thought he could put in the stent that has the string, but no, I had to have the regular one. If I had the string it could have been removed last week by a PA. I was hoping for that so I could enjoy my birthday party on Sunday. What I didn’t know was that my family planned a big surprise party for me out of town and all the arrangements had to be changed to our home where one by one relatives and friends surprised me. But some couldn’t come because it was too far. I was kind of mad at my body for doing this to me but of course my health is a priority. I managed to get through the party with the help of pain meds.
So tomorrow is the day the stent gets removed at the surgical clinic. After reading many posts I’m getting nervous but it seems like I need to try and relax. I’m hoping my “pain tolerance” is good! The last few days have been painful, so I did a home strip test and I have another UTI. Some mentioned you took a Motrin or something similar before the procedure. What do you think? Did you have much pain afterwards?
I had to postpone my prolapse surgery at another hospital until March so I hope that’s enough time for recovery. Thanks for listening. This forum has been very helpful for me.
I took Motrin before we went to the hospital which may have helped. The nurse was very calming and explained the instrument would have gel on it to help with the pain during the insertion. Eventually the doctor came in. The insertion was painful but only for maybe 10-15 seconds. I heard him say “oh it’s right there” which I found out later it had moved down to the entrance and that’s why my pain was so bad the previous days. So bad I didn’t even want to sit down. Anyway the stent coming out wasn’t as bad as the insertion and it was out in about 15-20 seconds. Finally! Felt better each day until I got notice I have an infection. Doctor wanted me to get tested again. 2 days later he calls to tell me it’s still infected. I had a few options. I decided on oral medication but a few days later the doctor decided he didn’t want me on any more antibiotics so he scheduled a straight catheterization this Friday to get a sterile catch. Another test I’ve never heard about. Hopefully this will decide what’s wrong and what medicine, if any, to use. I need to get well because I have another surgery scheduled in a few weeks for the the prolapsed bladder. Fingers crossed! By the way, the constant urge to urinate has been decreased in half.
I have had two stents placed in several months. The
first was removed by surgery after lithotripsy failed. I am 75 and had two stones over 1cm, one obstructing uteter and the other in kidney, both on right side. The delay was caused by infection in the kidney and brusing caused by lithotripsy
The first stent was tolerable, not the second. I could not.bend over or lift anything. Too much walking gave me great pain and bleeding.
Both stents remained in place for about 6 weeks each.
There was no string, and doctor removed it in office surgery. They were very careful, consultive, and empathetic (I am on Puerto Rico where kind medicine is the norm).
They put lidocane in the utethra, after a lot of washing followed by an iodine bath. They said this was the best way to avoid infection.
The procedure was fast, and the pain was less than I expected. About a 3, but very fast.
Returning home the discomfort had ended except for a slight discomfort in urinating. I felt like a new man.
About 10 hours later I got sick with a low-grade fever. I could not urinate too well, and at times I was incontinent (never had this problem before). Forty hours later I was properly urinating, but some incontinence remains. I am taking cefalexin 500mg two times a day.
This is an immediate post, so I am not sure what the future brings. BUM X-ray shows stones now gone.
Had my stent put in on dic 9 just fifteen days after the urologist took out a 6mm Stone that would not pass . after taking out the Stone through cytoscope he did not leave a stent so the uréter ended up closing and collecting urine up into my left kidney creating something called a urinoma. ended up at the hospital for 6 days and had a stent put in to reléase pressure from the obstructed kidney.
the first week was painful to urinate 1-10 it was a 5 and 4 sometimes 6 . second week
maybe went down to a 4 and the third and fourth i would say 2 just at the time of urination. Do not wait for a full bladder , when you feel you must go .. go if you wait then urine flushes back into the stent up your kidney and you get a awfull back pain sensation that can scale you to a 6-7 of pain.
waiting the next few days to take it out at the OR.
I had surgery last week to remove a stone 10mm,the doctor said he had to chizzel it down to get it out, then 9 more stones were behind it they too were removed. I have a stent that is being removed today. The doctor said my ureter looked like hamburger meat.I have been tired and its been pretty painful. I am scared to death to have it taken out! I don’t have a string and the doctor is removing it in his office.
i had mine put in dic 9 , been with it for a Little over a month , felt alot of disconfort in the beginning , sitting or getting up from a chair but after a couple weeks it got better.
i am waiting to have it taken out in the or tomorrow .or next day .
if you can go to the or and pay a Little extra to put you out with a light sedation its much better.
Did URETEROSCOPY or Retrograde Intra Renal Surgery (RIRS) 20 days before after acute kidney stone pain which was reported 8x6mm stuck in the ureter under anesthesia injection in backbone. The process took almost 2 hours right from i was taken to OT until i opened my eyes after surgery. It appeared to me as if the whole process took in atmost 20 minutes!
Had sip of water after 6 hours of the process. Passed RED urine in the urine bag for 10 hours after surgery with NO pain. After the bag was removed the first urination gave electrifying pain from back to front all renal region which was bad but bearble with DICLO tabs.
Next evening was was discharged from hospital, took shower and was feeling fresh except for the pain while passing urine.
Since i drank like 4litres water, gradually the urine color was getting normal except for the first urination in the morning.
Made love to my wife on the third day which was psychologically bothered me for a while but thankfully, i was all fine with no pain or any other concern.
10 days after, did x-ray, stent was clear on the plate with no mark of any stone particle.
Got the Stent removal procedure after 15 days of the surgery. Gone through this forum to check on intensity of pain 🙂
The process took around 45 minutes right from being taken to OT and waking up after local anesthesia (was sedated to sleep) with absolutely no pain.
Same evening got discharged and except for some psychological concern that i undergone the surgery there was no pain but yes had weakness,
Took rest for two days, joined office today and feeling muchcomfortable.
Have to take gallons of water a day, BD Cipro500, Urispas and magnesium citrate powder for next 10 days.
Lets drink lot of water to avoid recurrence 😛
Thanks!
I have taken my own stent out on two different occasions now and I can’t imagine why someone would make an appointment to have someone else do this simple (and in the end, joyous) task. The best way to do it (and the first time I did it I was instructed by a nurse) is to get in a hot shower and just let the hot water warm your back muscles for at least 5 minutes. Then grab the string and gently pull. Nothing to it and by warming your muscles and standing up (rather than being on a table lying down) your body will resist less and pain will be avoided. Grab your courage and do this – you won’t regret it.
I had kidney stone surgery. I took my stent out myself today. I had it in for five days. I was worried about the stent removal process (especially because it was me that was doing it.) I pulled out the stent and was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t even hurt pulling it out. I still have some burning while I urinate, but I think that’s normal. It was a breeze compared to the pain I’ve endured for the past 5 months from the 8mm kidney stone that I had!
you be dead or cry like baby till get removed if you had 8 mm stone.I think you don’t understand how big is 8mm not even talking about it that you don’t have any idea
how big any kind or type of stone can be!
Interesting Linda because I am sitting here with a stent in and had a 10 mm stone. Huge? Yes Impossible? No.
Hmmmmm….I had a 13 mm and an 8 mm plus stent, last Week. I’m still alive. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve had way too many to count. No, it is very possible and not rare.
I’m a 26 year old male who just had a 5x8mm stone removed among others. I’m a machinist I know exactly how big 5×8 was and I was not crying in a ball not moving, all depends on where those big suckers lodge in your kidney/ureter that causes the pain. I mean it was no walk in the park but I could generally function. Stent removal in a half hour, kinda freaking out, took a hot shower, Valium, and naproxen as suggested by the doctor before heading into his office. Hope this goes well!!!
I’ve had 18 mm and lived to tell the story!!!
Also 14, 11, 10, 8 & down
Tried to pass a stone for one terrible week (twice misdiagnosed as lumbago just because I had played some ball sports the day before…), then got uretroscopically lasered and stented. Stent meant almost no discomfort (but I did no sports). I could maybe feel it sometimes but that is more because I knew it was there… Of course after the surgery and the few hours with the catheter in I felt I was peeing lava for half a day… and peed some blood for 4-5 days.
Got the stent removed today, ten days after the surgery. No biggie. A few drops down the urethra to numb it down and the whole thing took like four minutes. Highly uncomfortable – felt like my penis would come off with all the pulling; well, luckily it didn’t:). But no real pain – Except for the insertion site of the urethroscope I didn’t feel a thing – was quite surprised when I was told it was over.
Good luck to you all.
I absolutely DETEST stents.My story.
In 2008, i was having some discomfort, i thought it might be some type of intestinal issue. I went to my doctor and they took a blood sample. The next day they called and told me to check into the hospital, they had a room already set up for me. I had no idea what the problem was and quite frankly was scared shitless.
Bottom line was i had 2 stones in my left kidney, and the smallest was a 12.
The urologist i ended up with should have retired 10 years before. I ended up going into the OR 5 times in 3 months.
First trip was to stent me. Why the idiot didn’t try to take care of the stones was beyond me. Then, back into the OR for the camera and laser. He got 2 of them, but chased the third back into my kidney. He was sure it wouldn’t give me any problems, so 2 weeks later i was in his office for the stent removal. I got the jell in ,y penis, and when he shoved that scope up inside me i screamed. I have and some serious pain ion my life, but that was a solid 9.5!
So i figured i was done with all of this. Nope. The last stone that he said wouldn’t bother my lodged in my ureter. Back to the OR for #3. He chased it BACK into my kidney, but said he did break it up a bit so i should be fine.
Back to his office for the stent removal again, but this time i had a UTI. He decided to pull the damn stent out of me anyway. They heard me screaming in the waiting room. I jumped so hard i broke his chair.
Of course, that wasn’t the end of it, and i had to go back into the OR for #4 to once again laser this stone. This time he he hit it solid and broke it into a million pieces, which passed with no problem. However, i had another damn stent in me.
After the last experience,. i demanded to be knocked out in the ER for the removal.
If i ever have another stone, i am pretty much going to demand no stent. Period.
I would demand a different doctor. That would be the best place to start as you probably won’t get away without a Stent. They suck big time but if it was all done properly the first time it wouldn’t have dragged out the pain for so long. Hope you’re feeling better now. I’m on day 2 with Stent. Yuk
So here’s my story…..
Became a member of the club at 17. Passed my first stone on my own after two weeks of misery. Now I’m 40. Nov. 11 was told I had a kidney infection and hydronephrosis. Also sepsis. Spent about a week inpatient and had stent with string put in. I’ve been home with stent about two weeks now and due to get it out on Wednesday. My pain has been tolerable most days. I’m a mother of 3 and my youngest is just 4 mo. old. The worst part is the burning stinging pain during and after urination. But only minor discomfort from stent itself. I’ve noticed getting up and sitting down are slightly painful but I’ve been taking pyridium and oxybutinin for the bladder spasms and staying hydrated. I’m due to get stent out in two days, slightly nervous about the pain I might encounter afterwards. It sucks not knowing if I will be one of the unlucky ones afflicted with severe pain…,,. So glad I found this site. Thanks to all for sharing your experience. I’ll post again after it’s out and update.
Id love to hear how you went with having the stent removed..
Please let us know how it went…
thanks!!
— sitting with stent in place day 4,
Arlene
I’m a male, 22 years of age and have had kidney stones 4 times now from the age of 19. The other 3 times were of course painful but I was fortunate to pass these without any need for medical assistance. The fourth time was the most horrific experience I’ve ever had. I had to have an ambulance come out to me as I was unable to move, I was put on a drip straight away and given gas and air whilst I was being transported to the hospital. After going through the necessary scans it turns out that I had an 8-9mm stone lodged in my right kidney causing a blockage, as well as a small stone and a lot of debris on my left side from my previous encounter in July. I had an operation the following day to remove the the stones and clear out most of the debris.
After awakening from the procedure still dazed from the anaesthesia I noticed after about 5 minutes that I had a catheter and a bag to collect the urine / blood. After around an hour I informed the nurse on my ward that I was unable to pass urine. She said that’s what it may feel like but look at your bag, there is urine in there, just give it a little while. So I waited and waited, noticing a lot of discomfort in my bladder, so I informed the nurse again and she proceeded with taking out the catheter (most weirdly uncomfortable feeling ever). It turns out that a massive blood clot was blocked in the catheter on the inside of my penis. After the removal the nurse scanned my bladder with the results showing I had over half a litre in my bladder. I rushed to the toilet for my first proper urination, it felt like lava coming out.
I had my stents in for a month (with the doctor saying they will be taken out after 10 days) but the secretary messed up all the paperwork resulting in a long wait. I could only sleep in certain positions, was unable to dress myself properly, unable to manouvere around properly I felt completely bed bound / house bound. Every time I urinated it was just stinging, blood, dark urine and a squeezing feeling in my kidneys. I constantly felt tired and worn out. The colour in my face changed, my eyes were sunk and generally look very ill (as I was told a lot).
Finally on Tuesday this week it was the day of the removal of my stents! I was taken very well care of by two lovely nurses but I could tell in their faces as I walked into the room that they felt so sorry for me (maybe because of my age? Or that I was having two stents removed?). Firstly they used a local anaesthetic which was injected into my penis (felt like it was going to blow up, agonising pain and horrific stinging) after a couple of minites they proceeded to insert I believe a tube to shoot water into the ureter to open it up so they can locate the stent using the camera and tool. The first stent was easy to find and that was removed (I felt as though I was giving birth, my whole body was tense, sweating from head to toe, I screamed extremely loud due to the feeling but I couldn’t help it). The second stent took a good while to find and grab a hold of (I could feel the tool inside trying to grab onto the stent). As the stent was being removed I went through the same pain as the first one but it all built up and I began having an anxiety attack, struggling to breathe and burst into tears from sheer pain and discomfort. They had to lie me back on the bed and leave me for a short while for me to calm down and get my breathing back to normal.
I walked out of the room at around 0.7mph. Walking like I was about to endure in a cowboy duel with wide spread legs. What should have been a 2 minute walk from the hospital to my car, took me a good 20 minutes. After finally getting home, I went for my first urination, I had to really push as a blood clot formed after the stent removal, the clot came out and began to urinate a bit of blood then pure clear urine (a bit of stinging). This happened a few more times I went to the toilet.
Now a couple of days later I feel absolutely fantastic, no discomfort, my urine flows normally with no discomfort or stinging. I look so much better in myself and I am now dreading / waiting for the next batch of kidney stones.
This was my personal experience overall of kidney stones / stents. Which may severely differ from other people’s experiences. In my eyes I really don’t think I could go through with this again, I hope there are other options.
You poor thing!
I have experienced stones 3 times in 5 years and have had nothing but pain and discomfort for 3 weeks since the stent went in.
Im now dreading having it taken out as my body has done nothing but reject it! Sharp burning pain down my leg and back..
I have been in hospital 3 times in 3 weeks and still having to wait to see a Urologist.
Your lucky you got it all done so quickly..
I cant wait to have my life back of no pain and misery!
Thank you for your consideration, I believe after having read quite a lot online about this whole subject, it would seem that some people experience next to no discomfort most the times with stents in, yet myself I struggled with a lot of things, even putting socks and shoes on. Only driving when I really needed to.
I was informed that if I did have any concerns or problems then to consult to your GP straight away, which I did so when I had a horrible infection (a few days before the stent removal). My urine was tested in a lab, inspected by a urologist, then I got called to come and collect a course of strong antibiotics (unsure of what they were called). I believe my procedure was done when I still had an infection, which could possibly explain my horrible experience of the removal.
It’s a shame you haven’t been seen so quickly, a urologist, pharmacist and a doctor all came to see me the day after I was admitted to explain the whole procedure and all. It’s a horrible experience, I can understand your frustration of it all because of the pain.
Hopefully your removal will soon be near or has already happened between the time of your post. I’ve been seeking some products online that may help in a similar situation which is bound to happen in he future. “Chanca Piedra”, Google Search that and have a good read. It seems very promising and is available for purchase on Amazon, and funnily enough is a plant that is used by people of Amazon.
I wish you luck in the future
Everything you described about tiredness and pain and wanting your life back etc has been me the past 8 weeks! Urologist said its quite a common thing for people to experience!!
Shame no one told me after my op!!
I’m due to get my stents out in two weeks stressed to max
4 days back i underwent kidney stone removal procedure, now they have also placed stent.
Stent pains a lot while urinating and not else time.
My questions is now will they provide me again with anesthesia again while removing of stent? Stent is total internally like not of thread coming out kind.
There will be spasms of pain with the stent inside. Not consistent pain but on n off. Especially when urinating, towards the end. I had stent for two months. it was removed yesterday. it is a small minor operation.. will be over in 10 mina. little pain
Guys,
I am very worried about my mother. She has kidney stones, but she can not be operated on due to her lung illness. The only option for her is stints so that the stones do not move and block her kidneys. Last week, she went in for her routine stint replacement (granted this time, it was about 6 months or longer they kept them in) they were able to get the left stint out but not the right because it had become incrusted. She is terribly ill and upset over this. She pretty much vomits anything she eats. She also urinates on herself quite frequently. I am scared because they are going to try to go into her back this next week to remove the stint in the right kidney from above. However, they are saying her kidney is not draining properly and she may have to have the drain in for the rest of her life. Please if anyone has had experience with this let me know!
I just had a stent removed today, which was in for 5 months. I had the tube in my back for 11 weeks. The removal with both of these were done without being sedated. BIG MISTAKE. If this was to ever happen again, I would demand these be removed in the OR setting. I lost 20 pounds, was told I looked grey & ashen, very sickly. The pain I’m experiencing right now is a lot of pain when urinating, with lots of blood & clotting (10 on the pain scale). This is while I’m on Norco 10-325. Shouldn’t be feeling this bad. During the last 5 months, I had to be on pain medication every 4 hrs, or I couldn’t function. Worked a full time job as well. I can only say I hope this pain passes soon because I can’t take much more of this. My ordeal started with my left kidney infiltrated with stones & 2-10mm stones with 2 more blocking the the top & bottom of the ureter. This all started in July 2016, &I I don’t think I’m done yet. I’ve had 4 sonic wave lithotripsys done in 5 months alone with the tube removal, which was without anesthesia. Very painful. Haven’t had a good nights sleep during this time as well. Just sick of being sick. Especially not knowing if these are going to keep coming back. Ugh! That’s my story for now.
I had 6 stones varying between 4 and 7 mm in my left ureter/kidney.i couldn’t drive to the ER, had to call rescue. Admitting physician was compassionate and started me on IV dilaudid, thank god. Had cysto surgery next day with stent implant. Ureter was too narrow for laser scope. Left the stent in for 2 weeks then returned as outpatient to have the lithotripsy performed. Dr said stones were pulverized and to see him in office in2 weeks for stent removal. Now the anxiety began after reading posts on the net about painful stent removals. Let me tell you, it’s all baloney. The doc squirted lidocaine jelly Into my urethra and the whole process was over in less than 30 seconds PAIN FREE. Don’t worry, even if it had been uncomfortable, it’s better than the pain from a blocked ureter.
I had a balloon dialation on my kidney around the 28th and they put a stent in afterwards to keep it open. I just pulled it out myself a few hours ago and now I am expediting the same kidney pain I had before the dialation. I have a blood vessel that is laying over my ureter causing the flow of urine to slow and swell my kidney. They want to go in and cut my ureter and move it. Will this kai in my kidney stop soon, or was my balloon dialation and excruciating pain a waste of time?
I have learned that balloons are too risky. My 1st dr used one and did not tell me and I ended up in the er wit a pain beyond their scale of 1 to 10 and more like 20! My new dr said balloons can cause scaring that can lead to problems later on or it can actually tear the ureter.
My first stone was removed last week and I felt pretty good. Sure, the stent made me think I needed to use the bathroom all the time and it caused slight discomfort lying in bed until I fell asleep.
Today, six days later, my stent removal was uncomfortable for a minute. I had taken an ibuprofen before the procedure. Was advised that cramping was possible for 12-24 hours. Walked out of doc’s office breathing giant sighs of relief.
An hour later, I started aching and took a second ibuprofen (astonishing for me). By Hour Two, it was serious pain and I was so afraid it was going to equal the original stone pain. I hadn’t needed Percocet from surgery and didn’t want to start now. Took a shocking third ibuprofen.
My dtr suggested something odd: get on the exercise bike and watch an adorably funny TV show while doing it. Surprisingly, the exercise reduced the pain from serious to annoying. I got out a heating pad, took a little nap. It’s seven hours later and thankfully I’m just about back to normal.
I just pulled my own stent after having uteroscopy/laser surgery to remove 3 stones (8,6,5mm) a few days ago. I took pain meds about 30 min before, then I got in the shower and pulled the string with a firm, steady pull. It did not hurt…felt a little weird, but no pain. This is the third or fourth time I have had a stent placed, but the first time I pulled it myself. I am experiencing a cramping feeling, but it is not too bad…about 4 on pain scale. I am a 55 yr old female.
Yep, I had a stent put in under general anesthesia for kidney stone pain relief before lithotripsy. Glad it was there when the sand started coming out with bloody urine. Lots of itchy, pokey, scratchy “wound rubbing” sensations that I have hated with the stent, also penile burning when bladder empties. A quick tip: don’t wait to urinate if you’ve got to go… a full bladder and kidneys is not a good thing with the stent. The pressure differential caused by rapid bladder emptying pulls the stent downward which tugs on your kidney… NOT A GOOD FEELING. Mine comes out on Nov 2. Praying for the best, as having a pencil sized scope snaked through my penis doesn’t sound like fun.
Having a stent removed for me wasn’t a big deal I thought it was gonna hurt like hell but it didn’t . When the doctor inserted the scope it was a lil uncomfortable like a lil pinch for a second but after he inserted it wasn’t no biggie and he had to do it twice cause with first scope couldn’t find it inserted another one and he got it out . So ladies don’t worry just relax just a lil pinch when first inserted and just breathe and woolAh its out.
So had emergency kidney stones surgery via custom copy basket removal of 3 stones that were 4-5mm. My ureter was too narrow to pass them. So a weekend of kidney pain until surgery Monday morning October 3rd. Had to have a Stent placed for 3 weeks. Stent was irritating. Having to pee every 10 minutes. Burning upon urination. Bloody urine about 4 days post op. Felt like my bladder into lady region was being poked on the daily. Urologist sent me home with no pain mess or bladder spasm mess. Got OTC Uricalm which helped. So just got home from in office Stent removal. I liken it to pap test or uterine biopsy. Uncomfortable and odd sensation on the way out. So relieved to get that devil out. I took maximum strength Aleve about 45 minutes before procedure and my last Flomax. So far so good. No spasms as of yet. I found the Urologist and staff rather dismissive about Stent discomfort and removal. Of course not one of them have personally had stones or a Stent. The curled part in bladder became embedded. My bladder tissue grew around it so he had to wiggle up and down to loosen so bloody urine. I read so many horror stories about removal. I guess after having 3 kids without pain mess and multiple other surgeries like spinal fusion, exploratory laparotomy, mesh net in abdomen etc I am pretty tough. I do think urology staff need a lesson in the reality of the discomfort of having a Stent in for weeks. Spent 3 weeks dreading the removal. After stones and living with Stent the removal is minor. Calm yourself, pretty medicate and force yourself to relax when they are inserting scope.
So it is 4am with the first night of having my stent, and I just wanted to write to everyone about my experience and how I’ve gotten here. In February I got in a ski accident causing me to get a grade 4 kidney laceration, and over 8 months the scar left behind from the healing process was choking the upper part of my kidney.
Yesterday morning I had to have a surgery where the doctors stretched my kidney where the issue was to reopen blood flow and urine flow. Unfortunately they had to place a stent in, but this stent was no ordinary stent. This stent is one where it is coiled up in the top part of my kidney, to keep that steched area from closing. Also to hold that stent in place they had to leave the string in my penis so that the stent won’t move from the upper part of my kidney. This experience has been so downright painful, that if it continues as is, and I run out of painkillers, I might go insane.
I have been researching and reading all of your other stories, and that has helped a lot with understanding what hell I’m about to go through for the next 4 weeks. Every time I urinate I have this strong sense of tension running from my upper kidney all the way down to that string. The bleeding ended from the surgery earlier today, but after my last rest stop I finished urinating, and then another sudden urge to go came over me. This time it wasn’t urine, it was straight blood after having the worst tugging sensation from my kidney when using the bathroom yet. My doctor said that I should be able to return to college by this Monday, but if things continue on this current track I might not ever leave the house until this is over.
So to all of you getting a stent out there I would recommend doing some research, and reading some of these other people stories. Unfortunately I never read up on what a stent was or how awful it is to have one. My question to people who have had more stents then me before, Does it ever get better? Once the pain killers run out, what should I do to cope with the pain? Will I ever get a good nights sleep while this thing is in? I would love to hear from all the people who have been through it, or who are going through it like me. Instead of being alone, lets suffer together, because from what I’ve read that’s all we’re going to be doing, is suffering.
I remember getting the stent in. I have never felt such agony my whole life. Miles worse than the kidney stones. I never thought the pain would end. 10 out of 10 pain. Post op the nurses said it was as much pain as they have ever seen. Nothing would touch it, be it morphine or endone etc. But after about 3-4 days of hell, it started to subside. After two weeks I had the stent out and it really didn’t hurt at all.
The worst thing was the surgeon did not care about the pain and basically dismissed me as a hypochondriac. This is after barely complaining about the underlying pain from the kidney stones.
Did anyone have blood in the urine for months after stent removal. Doc says it’s fine but it me.
I’m guessing you meant to write that it “worries” you.
I had blood in my urine for 45 years until last week when they found the stone in my ureter that was causing it. During those years I was instructed to take a daily iron pill (300 mg) to keep from becoming anemic. That worked fine, so when my stent comes out tomorrow, I’ll take iron again until the blood stops again, as I’m sure it will..