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 experience this far, stent put in two months ago due to a 10mm stone and have been in pain every day to some extent, often peeing blood and clots, constantly needing the toilet and still no date giving for the stone to be lasered. Quite frankly I couldn’t give a shit how painful it Is coming out so long as it’s out as it’s really beginning to take its toll on me.
My wife had her kidney stones removed 3 days ago and today she removed the stent at home by pulling the string. About a hour later the pain came out of nowhere. On a scale of 1-10 she says it’s a 8! Is this normal and if so what should we do?
Went last week for stint removal and my urologist was blown away after having it for just under 3 weeks i had scar tissue grow over it and so he scheduled me in the O.R. to have it removed best idea EVER! My last stint hurt like hell coming outcause i had stones attach to the end of it.
Hi Guys, i had plenty of stents, i had no discomfort with the “long term” stents however the normal stents gives me excruciating pain. i feel the stent poking my bladder when i move, when i urinate i get the urge to push like im giving birth. its so bad!! also i have recurring stones, every 2 months my kidneys are filled with stents, must have had 20 procedures since November 2015. does anyone suffer from recurring stones? i am on antibiotics permanently. Dr’s are struggling to get to the root of my problem. im based in South africa so BTW
My story is a bit different than some here. I had my procedure to remove the stone 2 weeks ago today. When I woke up in recovery they told me they weren’t able to get to it. Turns out that I have two ureters (tube that connects from kidney to bladder). Anyway the stone was not is my working ureter, but in the one that goes nowhere.
So all that prep for nothing and still got the stone. Anyway they put a stent in and removed it 5 days later (much shorter than most of you), that was about 9 days ago and In addition to the pain I had before the procedure, I now have a new pain that I though would go away after the stent was removed.
So the stent pain that was added with the back pain and the burning after each urination has gone away, however now I have pain when I : use that “musscle” force the last bits of pee out, when I have an erection (morning wood) and when I ejaculate, yes pain when there should be pleasure.
Has anyone had experience with that? I’ve been waiting to see if this will pass, 10 days after stent removal it hasn’t.
Anyone have experience with that?
I bet that if the surgeons had to experience the simple procedure of a camera inserted through their penis and suffer the post dis-comfort akin to passing broken glass, they would very quickly find relatively pain-free techniques for this procedure. All sufferers can do is write their experiences in the complaints box.
Yes Yes. I could care less about the going under and having surgery, but these dr office visits with the camera and stent removal are nerve racking. They should prescribe a Xanax and pain killer to take an hour before procedure.
9/9/16 at 10pm: Went to ER with severe pain. Stone measured 1cm x .5cm and blocked ureter.
9/10/16 at 2am: Stent placed to stretch ureter because ureter was too narrow to fit instrument to blast stone.
Waves of very severe pain in kidney every day. Took Kidney anti-spasm drugs (oxybutynin), ibuprofen, oxycodone for pain.
9/14/16: Stent removed and stone blasted. Stent was replaced to assist clearing ‘sand.’
Waves of very severe pain. Same drugs.
9/20/16: Stent removed.
9/20 & 21: Severe burning sensation in urethra two evenings in a row, starting about 7pm.
This pain was so bad I wound up curled up in a ball under piles of blankets, shaking, until the pain meds finally kicked in. We’ll see what happens tonight, but will start pain meds much earlier if it starts again. Will call doctor tomorrow if it happens tonight.
What is strange is that I have had little pain either day until about 7pm. Could be a UTI, but why no problem until 7pm?
Had my op on 31 St aug to blast stone as it was blocking the tube. Stent put in and will come out on 14 th sept. I rested for s few days after op because of pain and bleeding. Back to walking my grandson to school the following Monday and tuesday. By the time we got home from school I was in pain and bleeding a lot. Next day I rested again. Back to school next day and the pain I felt by late afternoon was so bad ! This morning only slight pain. I will be glad when the stent is removed.
How did it go, any pain after stent removal?
While I’ve not experienced this yet, I shall shortly. But, my dad recently had one removed (don’t know the type or how), and he said it didn’t bother him in the least. So I guess I’ll take that as encouraging news.
6mm stone, went to emergency room had it broken up and a stent placed. Stent was almost as painful as the stones, constant tickle in my kidney and burning from kidney down to the bladder and then the crazy string. Morning wood would tug on the stent and feel like it was ripping the end of my pns open. Make sure Dr leaves room for expansion when they tie it off. After stent/string removal in Dr office continued excruciating pains during urination for a week and now two weeks after removal, I’m still bleeding and throwing clots twice a day. How long can this periodic agony last?
After having 5 stones lasered by a cystoscopy in my left kidney I had a stent fitted.
OMG… The worst 16 days of my life …The pain on passing urine was excruciating and far worse than the kidney stone pain which I never imagined was possible.
Had the stent removed this afternoon, and although uncomfortable not really painful!
What a relief to get that evil stent out… Touch wood I am pain free at last!
Had a left kidney stone at 5mm for 3 months…eventually it made it way towards my bladder but…it stopped or rather got stuck 2mm before my bladder…Doctor told me to have it removed and they would place a stent “tube” in my ureter for precautions etc.
Had the stent for 2 weeks and was difficult walking…gave me the sensation of wanting to pee all the time…also difficult to ride my bike as I am a biker…today had the stent removed..OMG!…no medication no sedatives nor local anesthesia…it was very aggravating…the up side is it only takes a few min to remove…
suggestions?….when having a tent in place…move as little as possible just chill sit around etc..take meds the doctor prescribed for you..less moving gave me almost no pain or discomfort.
Having the stent removed?…talk a lot to the surgeon doing the procedure or assistant.. idle chit chat helps keep ya mind off it…take pain killers 1 hour prior to going to have the stent removed..I took nothing but next time I will..after you return home continue with the meds doctor prescribed for you with the stent…these meds will relax all down there…I recon 3 days later all should be back to normal.
My Stent is still in. Pain, burning when I pee aND pain after. 4th day of a Stent and I seriously can’t wait to get it out. I tried to feel for a string a few have spoke about because I’d pull it out of self. I hope I can demand it taken out early. At least, after a week stay at the hospital being misdiagnosed several times I’m blessed to be here complaining. Lol hang in there everyone☆
Sharing you experience here is very valueale to everyone but kindly for all your concern contact your doctor
Hi Guys,
For all people who want the advice on removing a stent, kindly contact your doctor asking advice in forum is risky and each person have its own experience. Nobdy know the medical background of any person and the one does is your doctor. So if you have an concern kindly ask your doctor and find r 2nd opinion you can go to other doctors as well.
Telling people that they shouldn’t seek advice from those that have actually had the experience, isn’t wise either. I agree that it’s good to talk to your doctor about the entire procedure. However, most doctors haven’t been in the position of their patients. They can’t give you any first hand accounts as to what it was like for them. They don’t have the first hand knowledge of what you can possibly encounter. I’m sure that you’ve heard, knowledge is power, and when it comes to dealing with anything medical, you want to be as empowered as possible. So yes, talk to your doctor, but talk to others as well.
I was one of the lucky 10% that needed two procedures. The first was to place a stent so that they could do a follow up cystoscopy. Then after two weeks I had the cystoscopy to remove the 9mm stone and insert a self removing stent. For those of you who are freaked out about removing the stent, stop worrying, it isn’t bad. The pain was maybe a 3 and you’re done in a few minutes. I took antibiotics, oxycodone, and the red pee pill about 30 minutes prior. I sat in a warm bath and slowly pulled on the string and the stent came out. About an hour after removing the stent I did have some back pain but it only lasted about 30 minutes and I was back to normal. I will note that the string hanging and getting caught was way worse than actually removing the stent. Relax, medicate, and go slow and you’ll be happy that you did!
I accidentally pulled the string out from the stent I’m peeing allot it’s soaked me pants is this normal
Wow where I went the docs don’t do the string anymore. To risky. If I would have had the option I would have ripped it out on the first day. It was aweful. But delt with it for the greater good. Most miserable 10 days ever. Only thing that helped was tons of water, Pyridium and my heating pad.
Had kidney stone surgery and they put stents in. They said it would be painless and I would be back to normal in a day. Not happening the constant urination , burning, bleeding, fever and unbearable pain and no sleep and I’m going on day three days!! Getting my stents out tomorrow and can’t wait!! This is my second set of stents miserable both times. Literally that stone was not as bad as this!!
I just had my stent removed today and I’m very worried I haven’t peed very much since I have been drinking as of now it’s already 2 L does it take a little time ? Or should I contact my doctor asap
Shazz kindly contact your doctor majority of people are not qualified as medical doctor hear and none of us know your medical history. Each person have different experience, so I advice you to go to doctor.
Just had removed my stent yday .. and believe me .. no pain at all .. not even like pinch. It was the procedures less then 5 minutes .. and came back to home. We should drink enough water to avoid the infection. That’s it.
Sir i am going to remove my stent on 3 aug 2016 …can you plz give me you contact number….i want to ask some queries
Do you had any anaesthesia while stent out
Can you have pains after one year of stent removal???
Had a 6mm x 6mm stone removed on Sunday. Ureter stent was supposed to stay in one week but urge to pee every couple minutes was killing me, no sleep and totally annoying. Read up on self removal, made up my mind to do it and pulled the string this evening (Wednesday). No pain at all, just that odd feeling of a foreign object moving inside your body. Within 15 minutes, experienced the flank and gut pain others have described. I have not taken any meds since the surgery and hope not to have any. Drank a bunch of water, already peed with minimal discomfort and ready to ride out flank pain. But, don’t sweat pulling the string – firm, slow pressure and it pops right out – no pain from that move.
I was told after my pcnl that they had to give me a stent. After my foley was removed the day after surgery the pain was an 8 or 9 when urinating. They sent me home later that evening. I’m on my second day post op and pain is a 6 or 7. The Dr told me Id get it out in 2 wks…. I have pain pills for four days and have to go back to work in 4 days. The stent hurts 100% more then my actual kidney. I don’t know what to do.
I just went thru a bladder biopsy. I woke up with a catheter with a stent attached to the end which the nurse took out 4 hrs later in recovery. The removal was painless. That was on Monday. That nite bad cramps in bladder and pain in my back. No more cramps but my back seems worse today. The stent was in my kidney. On heating pad hoping to feel better tomorrow. Hope u feel better!
I have my second stent in now. This one has a string. I am supposed to take it out tomorrow by myself. I did not get enough pain medication after the surgery. The doctor was very unpleasant and not understanding of how much pain the first stent caused me. I have no instructions how to remove this thing, I’m terrified to do it. Just urinating is still a nightmare. Have any of you gone to emerge to ask a doctor to do it? Perhaps sedate you a little first…
I’m terrified, but just want to be done with this. I know the doctor who put this in will not help, which is sad. So I’m really thinking on going to emerge. I’m afraid I’ll look like a weak baby though…
i had my 1st stent removed an my 2nd stent put in a few hours ago .. i asked my dr if i didnt feel comfortable doing it if he would an he told me yes
I had my stone layered on Wednesday and this was my 2nd stent, it was supposed to stay in until Monday, but it was practically falling out. I pulled the string and it popped right out! No pain at all
Just had my stent removed today and it literally feels like I have back labor! I’ve taken ibprofin and it seems to just take the edge off. I have a low pain tolerance and I’ve been miserable for a week now. I’m hoping to fall asleep with a heating pad and wake up feeling like a new person! Never having this done again.
I feel the same. The stent was uncomfortable in the bladder whole time going frequently to the toilet to pass little urine more often than not. It felt like having cystitis and had to take pain relief often to get some relief. Just had it removed at the hospital a week later as I was over looked. Since out I have been experiencing a dull like tooth ache pain with burning sensation periodically throbbing pain. I took some pain relief as I couldn’t stand the discomfort when it was moving down toward the hip area. Is this normal to experience this discomfort as it’s now three days passed. I really don’t want to return back to hospital or have another stent in. It’s been an emotional roller coaster dealing with on top of working with just myself to face things when down not wanting to be a bother to my son or friends. The body is certainly an unexpected mind field of surprises with health matters indeed.
I had my stent removed at 11am today. Very painful worse than anything I’ve experienced. I still have back pain that goes to my hip,frequent urges to pee,and my area is sore. A hot shower and motion gave me like 2 hours of relief. (I’ll take it) I was told by the Dr I should be back to normal in 3 days. However, I have more of an urge to pee now then I did with the evil stent. I hope this is all normal. I never want to experience a stent again. My 10mm stone wasn’t as painful or uncomfortable as the dam stent. They really need to find a better way because stent r just terrible.
I feel exactly like you just got my stent out yesterday feel like im about to pop out a child the wrong way