Kidney stone proceedure/stent...what would you do?

[lisareneeo]

Had Lithotipsy done 2 weeks ago. Went to dr today. He said the stone has moved but can not tell how much it was broken up.

We are leaving for Disney two weeks fromThursday.

He said I could just do nothing for now. I generally feel pretty good but do have pain in the evening and it is not fun...but not as bad before the litho.

He also said he could have a cystoureteroscopy (??) procedure done where I would have a stent for 3 days and then that should take care of it.

Has anyone had this done? How much pain will I be in? Tell me about the stent....that kind of freaks me out )I don't know why, but it does) He said after three days I will be able to remove the stent myself.

I have to decide today to make an appt and get in early next week.

Help!!!
Thanks

 

[ols386]

DD had the procedure where they went in and removed the stone and then placed a stint in there.

She went back a week later and they removed the stint. (I don't know how you would remove the stint yourself. Seems like that might be pretty difficult and somewhat painful.)

She said she could definitely feel the stint in there, and that it was uncomfortable. Not painful, just uncomfortable.

Is your doctor willing to do the procedure to go in and remove the stone? If it were me, and I had an upcoming Disney trip planned, I'd probably want to go ahead and have it done and then be recooped enough two weeks later to enjoy the trip.

 

[mamamary]

I hated having a stent. Last time was about 13 years ago. Have had many litho. since and never needed a stent. i remember it being very uncomfortable and makes you have the sensation of constantly having to use the bathroom. can't imagine removing the stent myself

Sometimes you need two if not more lithos for the stones to dissolve. I've had two lithos for my current stone and then gave up cause it isn't too big anymore and doesn't bother me.

Hope you feel better soon. Let us know what you decide.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I had a stent in a couple years ago. Be forewarned that (I think this is the right figures)- something like 1/3 don't feel the stent at all, 1/3 feel but don't hurt, 1/3 have pain from them. Mine was WORSE than the kidney stones, believe it or not. I was out of work the entire time, could barely get out of bed. It was better as soon as taken out, but I wish they'd have let me know about that ahead of time.

I cant' figure how one would take one out themselves? It was a procedure involving a scope.

 

[nmmom95]

I've never had kidney stones, but I had a stent for 6 weeks after my kidney transplant 3 months ago. I didn't even know it was there. My was removed by a urologist. Like PP, I can't imagine how you would remove it yourself. Removal takes literally seconds.

 

[ols386]

Out of curiosity, for everyone who has a stone removed, and then a stent is placed....is the stent always placed in the same location? The ureter, I think that's what it's called.

And does everyone have the same size stent? DD said her's was about a foot long.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that the dr. said the reason they placed a stent in dd's ureter is because there was so much imflamation in that area. At that point in time the stone had been removed. Having the stent in the ureter would let things flow normally until the imflamation cleared-up a week later.

 

[lisareneeo]

I am having cystoureteroscopy with laser lithotripsey.

I was told I would have stent for 3 days and I would also have string that I would use to remove. I have NEVER heard of this before. A little freaked out.

 

[dngnb8]

Had Lithotipsy done 2 weeks ago. Went to dr today. He said the stone has moved but can not tell how much it was broken up.

We are leaving for Disney two weeks fromThursday.

He said I could just do nothing for now. I generally feel pretty good but do have pain in the evening and it is not fun...but not as bad before the litho.

He also said he could have a cystoureteroscopy (??) procedure done where I would have a stent for 3 days and then that should take care of it.

Has anyone had this done? How much pain will I be in? Tell me about the stent....that kind of freaks me out )I don't know why, but it does) He said after three days I will be able to remove the stent myself.

I have to decide today to make an appt and get in early next week.

Help!!!
Thanks

Tough call. I just went through this in June (male).

Nothing guarantees a pass.

My stone was 1.2 cm. Litho halved it. One .6 passed (OMG!) and the other didnt, but my other is stable. I had the stint. Painful, but not as painful as the stone. I go in for my follow up tomorrow. I will post an update for you.

If your stone is stable, I would say wait. If it isnt, do another litho/stint and make sure its removed before the trip is my suggestion.


I felt pain with my stint. My wife had a kidney transplant and felt zero from her stint. Go figure

 

[Best Aunt]

. I was out of work the entire time, could barely get out of bed. It was better as soon as taken out, but I wish they'd have let me know about that ahead of time.

Me, too. I had the procedure where they go up there with a laser and a telescope and basket. Blasted the stones with a laser and removed the pieces in a basket. The doctor put a stent in, and left it there for a week.

The stent was bad. I could barely get out of bed. In order to get back in bed, I had to literally pick up my right leg with my hands and place it on the bed. I could not lift that leg high enough to get it on the bed (and I have one of those short box springs, so my bed is not very high).

The minute the doctor took the stent out, I felt better.

Take it out yourself? Yikes.

And by the way, I specifically asked my doctor if I would be able to go to work. She said yes, but I would probably feel like I had to pee all the time. Well, I did not feel like I had to pee all the time, but there's no way I could have gone to work.

 

[M5ward]

I've had several lithotripsies and several stents. The last one was last November and the stent was in place for about three weeks (septic infection caused by a stuck kidney stone that damaged and infected the ureter.). The first time I had a stent was awful..really uncomfortable. The second time was after the basket stone retrieval and I barely noticed the stent. The one in Nov. got more uncomfortable as time passed. I can't imagine being able to remove it myself. Yes, they are close to twelve inches long and appeared to be coiled on the ends. I think there are varying degrees of thickness, so the narrower the stent the less discomfort I think you would feel.
Did your doctor do a renal ultrasound? That would indicate how many pieces of stone are left; or a KUB or a CT scan?
Good luck..kidney stones really suck!