Kidney stones?

[maslex]

I'm scheduled to have my kidney stones "blasted" as the doctor put it on September 10 and also have a stent put in for a week. I've never had this procedure done before and just wondering if my pain/discomfort will go away right after surgery or does it take a while? Any suggestions for after surgery or now while I'm waiting?

 

[MPD]

You will pass fragments of the stones for a few days. The stent will help them exit. My husband found the stent mildly bothersome. Mine caused constant bladder spasms and I was miserable until it was out (2 weeks). So mileage for sure varies! Definitely use pyridium (prescription or OTC). It helps with the stent. You can do this!

 

[HeatherC]

Sorry you are having pain with your kidney stones. This summer I was hospitalized with an infected kidney stone and wound up having an emergency stent put in for 8 weeks while the infection cleared. I then went back to the hospital to have lithotripsy done and a new stent put in for two more weeks.

I will say that there really wasn’t pain with the lithotripsy. I made sure they did give me a couple doses of oxycodone for the first day just in case, but only took one dose before I left the hospital. After that, Tylenol and Motrin worked.

The stent was just uncomfortable. I am a pretty active person and did have to walk slower and I really couldn’t do my normal two mile walk. I did about a mile a day at a slow pace. By the time I got the second stent out, I was very relieved to have it gone. The procedure for getting it out was also quick and painless and the relief was immediate. I did have anxiety about that because I was awake for that procedure.

Hope your procedure goes smoothly which I am sure it will, and that you are back to normal in a week or two. Just take it slow and don’t overdo it.

Wishing you all the best!

 

[lorimt]

My husband had that done last year but without the stent. He was in a lot of pain for weeks leading up to the procedure so his relief was almost immediate. Passing the smaller fragments was nothing compared to the pain before.

 

[goofyernmost]

My first kidney stone was large and was blocking the path to my bladder. They placed a stent to take the pressure off my kidney and after everything seemed healed they removed the stent and broke up and removed the stone in pieces. They were so proud of themselves that they put the pieces in a small vile and asked me if I wanted to keep it as a souvenir. Funny guys! I said no since I don't have a fireplace mantel or a trophy case to display it. They replaced the stent and I had to remove it myself when they told me it was time. The stent was uncomfortable, but not awful and the removal was weird, but not painful. Once out it was like it never happened. It was about 10 years ago so I don't remember the event clearly. I like to put things like that out of my mind. The second one was far more complicated due to the infection going to sepsis. That was not a fun trip, but all's well that ends well.

 

[lovesmurfs]

The stent was the most uncomfortable part (TMI, but the whole time, it felt like a tampon that got a little out of place). I have hard stones. The one on the right side (about 7 years ago) caused an infection, and I went to the hospital nearly septic -- never had pain from the stone itself. I had 4 lithotripsies to make it go away. For that one, I had to collect the pieces and bring them back to my urologist so they could figure out its makeup. I was then put on a low oxalate diet. Over the years, I've given up black tea and a lot of leafy greens, but that's really all I've been following.

I've had a stone on my left side we'd been watching for a few years, and we just tried the lithotripsy again - it only broke it in half. We're just going to wait another year before getting another xray and trying again. It's not causing any pain, and I don't have an infection, so we'll see.

The procedure is easy -- they knock you out -- you might be a little sore the next day.

Best wishes!