Stent removal

Well, I finally got the stent out this afternoon. Dr. Perez and his nurses were very patient about my anxiety. It went smoothly. They numbed me but I still felt them pulling it out. Ugh. Greg held my hand and watched the video monitor...I kept my eyes closed. I am a big chicken about getting stents removed.
On a positive note, I have had NO pain on my right side for a few months. Maybe the pain on my left side will stay away now that I have had the lithotripsy and the stent is gone. I am looking forward to being pain free!

2 Days of Pain

Well, Friday evening and Saturday were pretty painful for me. I had to use Dilauded and a heating pad and I was mostly laying around in pain even with the dilauded(which is related to morphine and very strong). Today I am not in pain. I am SO looking forward to getting this stent out tomorrow and hopefully being pain free again. This has been a long hard recovery this time. I hope this is the last time, but I doubt it.
My husband, Greg, always comes with me to get the stent removed. I am always scared and he holds my hand. I hate that they do it awake. It is never as bad as I fear, but I still dread the actual procedure. The doctor inserts a cystoscope into my bladder and using the camera, finds the end of the stent and pulls it out. I wish they put me out for it.
2:30 tomorrow, only 24 more hours with this stent, thank God.

Lingering discomfort & Pyridium

It was 2 weeks yesterday that I had the cystoscopy with laser lithotripsy. I have been feeling much better. I have had some burning and urgency sensations and have been taking Pyridium- and it has been helping a lot. I looked it up at nih.gov and this is what it said:

Phenazopyridine relieves urinary tract pain, burning, irritation, and discomfort, as well as urgent and frequent urination caused by urinary tract infections, surgery, injury, or examination procedures. However, phenazopyridine is not an antibiotic; it does not cure infections.

Stent or Stone

What is worse, a kidney stone or the stent the doctor places in the ureter for several weeks after removing the stone?
I think the stone is usually worse, but there have been times I am not sure if the cure is not worse than the stone. Stents have caused me cramping and pain and a lot of blood in my urine. I have had a stent for almost two weeks and will not have it removed for two more weeks. This time it seems to be in a good position. I do have some pain, but no bleeding or cramping. I only needed pain medicine once yesterday and none today so far.

recovering

I think I am recovering nicely. Greg thinks I am sicker than usual after the procedure. I guess I don't see how I act. Anyway, I am feeling good today. This stent isn't too bad this time. I haven't been bleeding from it for days.
I feel better than I did before the procedure so I would again say it is worth it.

Scopolamine Patch

I had a scopolamine patch during the procedure. It lasts for 3 days. It really worked for nausea. The day after I took it off was not pretty. I was so nauseous and actually got sick in the evening. I am going to ask for an Rx of it to have at home when I have to take pain medication.
I have not needed any pain medication for two days. I think I can say I am recovered from the procedure now. Yay!

Surgery day

Yesterday was surgery day.I got to the hospital at 9:30am for prep work, paperwork and IV. My mother and Daughter, Elizabeth stayed with me until 11am, when I was transported to Pre-op where I got my pulse oxygen and blood pressure monitored and Vancomycin antibiotic. Anesthesiologist came in and gave me a 3 day anti-nausea patch for behind my ear. After an hour or so (no clock) I was moved into the OR. They put some EKG strips on me and had me breath deeply some oxygen. That is all I remember until waking up in recovery and wheezing. My throat was so dry and I kept coughing. They gave me ice chips and took out the catheter. I stayed in recovery for about an hour. My mother and Elizabeth stayed in the waiting room while I was in Pre-op, OR and Recovery. Then we all got moved back to the room I started at. There we waited while I had my vital signs monitored and they had to measure how much urine I was outputting.They gave me another IV and I stayed for a couple more hours. I was ready to go home when they discharged me at around 5:30pm. I was a little anxious when I got home. I did not settle down until around 7:30 when I went to bed.