I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Transplant Discussion => Topic started by: Meinuk on December 04, 2008, 05:34:52 PM
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Today is day 33 post transplant for me, and I had my stent removed. I decided to write about stents and describe my experience of removal. (not a big deal - If you are reading about this because the idea of a stent bothers you - let me tell you it really is a quick, straightforward procedure.)
A stent is placed during renal transplant to maintain integrety of the ureter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ureter, bladder and urethra, there are some discussions, and a few studies about not using stents in patients who do not have bladder/ureter issues, but as my urologist said, transplant programs live and die by their outcomes, and no one wants to lose a graft due to stenosis of the ureter.
Keep in mind that I am writing about my experience (female) those of you with external plumbing (those men in the audience) well, needless to say, your experience will differ.
Below is a picture of a double pigtail ureteral stent (what I had partially coiled in my bladder and then reaching down into my urethra) it is a few inches long, and made of a soft, flexible silicone.
My Tx Clinic Nephrologist made the referral on week 3 (normally scheduled between weeks 4 and 6) for me to have my stent out. The clinic made my appointment for me.
Today
I got to the Urologists office at 3:40 for a 4pm appointment, filled out my forms, handed the receptionist the letter stating that this is part of the transplant process and Medicare would be paying for it (supplied by my Transplant clinic).
The Doctor came out, called my name, shook my hand and led me back to a procedure room. He explained that Thursday was his nurses day off, and he would be prepping me. I was told to use the bathroom and empty my bladder, then undress from the waist down, (socks on! it is cold) and hop up on the table.
He then swabbed the pertinent areas with betadine and then applied a lidocain gel to my urethra. I then had to lay there and wait for the gel to work. (about 10 mins)
The doctor then came back into the room, inserted a small camera which is hoooked up to saline for flushing purposes in to my urethra (no pain, some wetness, a little pushing sensation), he then visualized the stent and removed it. (all in all 2 mins from insertion to removal)
He showed me the stent, then was required to send it off to pathology for testing (a needless medical test, as I had no symptoms of urinary tract infection a waste of money IMHO)
I was advised to take another bactrim tonight, and that there may be some blood in my urine tonight, and some irritation and urge for frequent urination from the removal, if it persists, call him. (it is now 4 1/2 hours later - no problems)
We then chatted, I got dressed, walked out, said good bye, and went to meet my friend Kerry at a Mexican restaurant down the street for an early dinner.
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Yes, way different for men in my experience.
Glad my doc didn't chat while I had my pants down :urcrazy;, to odd for me.
Have to agree, those doctor offices are too cold and no way am I taking everything off so I can freeze.
Hard to believe it has been a month, time has flew by fast.
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Yeah, a month - time flies. My wound is healed and I am ready to get out there. (I feel like a racehorse stuck in a starting gate)
I had such a difficult time writing about the removal - just because I have a tendency to make everything dirty. (It didn't help that the urologist is Dr. Weiner) Yes, you got it, Dr. Weiner. hee hee (I really am a 12 year old at heart)
Yeah, I should be more modest, but so many Drs, Nurses and Techs (ultrasound, CT and nuclear medicine) have seen me naked at this point in the transplant, what is another Dr added to the list.
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Thanks for that I get mine out on 18th December i will let you know how i go.
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You have written such excellent reports. It really helps to know step by step what to expect. What a year you have had! I am so glad the transplant is doing so well. Vegas next year, right?? :cuddle;
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Thank you! I'm scheduled to have my stent removed on Dec. 22nd and I was nervous not knowing WTH they were going to do! I have already been given my antibiotics. I take the first one 1 hr before going in and the 2nd 24-hrs after the removal. That's all I know.
I'm going to PM you, however. I have a 2nd question...
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I am always interested in this stent stuff. Stephen's was removed before he left the hospital after his transplant - which was a week after it was put in. But, I notice that others have had their stent in for much longer. Seems like a big difference to me.
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After Marvin's transplant (got it in 2000, lost it in 2003), we both went back for a one-month check-up. They put me in one exam room (donor), and Marvin in another. After about 30 minutes, we finally got back together. I told Marvin, "You're not going to believe what they did to me! The doc said he had to get a 'pure' urine sample. That means I couldn't put it into a cup; they had to go in the bladder and get it. Yuck! It was awful."
To which, Marvin said, "That's nothing. They removed my stent."
So I said, "Where did they cut you to get it out?" And Marvin said, "They didn't cut me. They went in through the only opening I have down there in the front and got it!"
......... I had to let that piece of information sink in. "You mean they went in through your......?" I asked. "Yep," he said, "that's exactly where they went."
"Okay," I said. "You win. Yours was worse!"
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I had such a difficult time writing about the removal - just because I have a tendency to make everything dirty. (It didn't help that the urologist is Dr. Weiner) Yes, you got it, Dr. Weiner. hee hee (I really am a 12 year old at heart)
Tee heee heee I am 12 too. Weiner. No way. Heeheehee :rofl;
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My Aunt had at one time married a man with that last name. Just glad I wasn't one of her kids at the time :rofl;
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I never had a stent at all for my first transplant. Wonder what will happen this time? I'll ask before I go in.
Terrific account Anna. Thanks so much.
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I just want to say my legs have crossed protectively over my Dr Weiner in reading about this... this sort of thing has been a bit of a fear for me because I can't imagine how painful and gross that would be.... even if they were going to use a local or something.... ugh!! Still, I imagine in relation to the whole transplant process in the passing of time it would be quite minor, but omg I am NOT looking forward to that part of proceedings!!!!
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I just want to say my legs have crossed protectively over my Dr Weiner in reading about this... this sort of thing has been a bit of a fear for me because I can't imagine how painful and gross that would be.... even if they were going to use a local or something.... ugh!! Still, I imagine in relation to the whole transplant process in the passing of time it would be quite minor, but omg I am NOT looking forward to that part of proceedings!!!!
Ouch!
8)
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well it was like this when my stent was removed (which i was scared to death) i was sent to urology met a nurse and discussed what was gonna happen...went to procedure room ,got nakkie waist down got on cold table and then proceded to clean me and put betadine on my privates, then brought over a syringe ( i went yikes) took off the needle and inserted the end in my penis and it was a type of numbing medicine that numbed me a little bit waited a few min the put the camera in that was big around as a pencil about 2 feet long. it took about 2mins after the numbing had taking place. it wasnt a bad as i thought it would been..i dont want to have it done everyday...not a bad experience for myself..
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<<<<faint>>>>>>
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Oh boy! You poor men!
It wasn't a bad experience for me except for my neph said to make sure they removed the stent after 4 weeks or so. Well, the urologist didn't seem to care because he kept cancelling my appointments. It took MUCH longer than 4 weeks and my neph said that is probably why I have recurring UTI's right now. So those of you with new transplants or are soon to have one, make SURE your urologist does not wait!
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Hey chris73, the put the needle where???????? OMG, OMG, OMG..
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I just want to say my legs have crossed protectively over my Dr Weiner in reading about this... this sort of thing has been a bit of a fear for me because I can't imagine how painful and gross that would be.... even if they were going to use a local or something.... ugh!! Still, I imagine in relation to the whole transplant process in the passing of time it would be quite minor, but omg I am NOT looking forward to that part of proceedings!!!!
Ouch!
8)
They took Stephen's stent out while he was still in the hospital and I seem to remember that they took him back to one of the ORs. He wasn't traumatized at all, so either he was knocked out or very numb and couldn't see what was happening. He was much more traumatized by the serious shades of black and blue he had over his privates from the transplant surgery. It's a blood flow thing apparently.
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I'm scheduled to get mine out on the 22nd, but just yesterday I started getting the little "urges" to urinate and then when I go there is just a little. I called and told them I might be getting a UTI, but she thinks it might just be a problem with the stent. I'm supposed to call Monday if the "urges" continue. I urinated a good amount in the evening and overnight with no pain or discomfort, so I don't think it's a UTI. I'm hoping it's the stent so they will take it out early!
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Hey Chris73, the put the needle where???????? OMG, OMG, OMG..
LOL it was the syringe without the needle.... that hurt more than anything pushing that medicine in the end of my penis....wasnt put in slow either was "slammed" in there
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I am crossing my legs again!! Dr Weiner doesn't like the sound of this at all!!! LOL
Well, been through so much already... I will just ask them to up the happy drugs because I'm a big wimp.... fingers crossed!
(I know, I need the transplant first.... fingers crossed!)
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Len was also taken to the OR to have his stent and center line removed. Gave him a little joy juice and he was good to go. :rofl;
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Joy Juice! Joy Juice! Joy Juice!!!! I vote for that....
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They always tell me they are going to drug me up for some procedure, then some doc makes a decision, no because you are a kidney patient we cannot give you anything. WTF?
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Tough call on which is worse, having a stent removed or having a catheter put in while in the ER, both without much meds. Lidocain lube did not do a thing for me.
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I just want to say that my stents (yes, I had two) were removed painlesslyand quickly. My urologist credits all the video games he played in the 80's prepped him for his line of work.
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I had mine out today very quick just abit uncomfortable
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I go Monday a.m. to have mine removed. Mine is giving me trouble and making me feel like I have to pee most of the time - especially when I'm up and moving around a lot. I can't wait to get it out.
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I have had that feeling too didn't know it was to do with the stent, but it does feel abit better now i just put it down to my bladder not being used for awhile, still peeing often , have to map out toilet stops when i go for my walks , but thats a good thing ;D
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At first I thought I was getting a bladder infection, so I went to my clinic and they a urinalysis. They said all is good - just a little blood. Doctor says it's more than likely the stent. I actually saw some blood on Friday after walking on the treadmill.
That's funny about having to map out bathrooms! You know, I never stopped peeing (then again, I was never on dialysis). But what I mean to say is that I always had a good urinary out-put, even though the quality of the urine was not good. But everytime I go pee I say a big "Thank you" to God. I don't ever want to have to go through that.
I'm so glad you're doing well, Charee!
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Now that I think about it, I had that feeling to and shortly after the stent was removed. They gave me some sort of med to help feeing. I am also told that my bladder has thickened (I think, have to read doctor notes again) due to not being used very much during dialysis.
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:cuddle;
I never had a stent at all for my first transplant. Wonder what will happen this time? I'll ask before I go in.
Terrific account Anna. Thanks so much.
I am so glad you and p said these things! I had mine removed after two weeks because of my infection, and have been worried about it. My native kidney failed because of stenosis in ureter from a surgery, soon a little extra sensitive. Kobie this was old, but grateful for OP and all other posts!
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I don't remember getting any local before my stent removal. I did have a nurse reminding me to breathe. I had it done after my first transplant years ago so I was prepared. Main difference was the first time was in the urologist's office and this time they made me go to outpatient surgery. They said it was a change in regulations. But I guess being a woman makes it easier. I found it better than the time they took a sample of my uterus.
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My stent removal is coming up next week. So glad to read this thread, it's reassuring. Even though they tell you about all the side effects of the immunosuppressants no one bothered to tell me what side effects the stent might have. Some of these oldie threads are still goodies!
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The second attempt to remove mine is on May 7. At the first attempt, the told me the dissolvable stitch they put in to hold it in place hadn't dissolved. I'm not looking forward to going through it again, but I can't wait for it to be gone. I have the same affects as others posted: the constant feeling like I need to pee and blood in my urine. If I walk very much my pee looks more like pure blood, including clots, than urine.
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I wish I would have read this thread back when I was dealing with my stent removal. It was very traumatizing for me, not to mention my UTI's from it.
Needless to say the 5th time was the charm in removal, although after the 2nd time I refused them from touching me unless I was knocked out. haha :boxing;
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The second attempt to remove mine is on May 7. At the first attempt, the told me the dissolvable stitch they put in to hold it in place hadn't dissolved. I'm not looking forward to going through it again, but I can't wait for it to be gone. I have the same affects as others posted: the constant feeling like I need to pee and blood in my urine. If I walk very much my pee looks more like pure blood, including clots, than urine.
Oh no! Are you still experiencing this bleeding? I had hoped that maybe it had subsided by now.
MommyChick, what happened during your stent removal? Sounds like it is a very unpleasant story.
SooMK, the doctor that did mine explained that she would be guided by a tiny camera situated at the end of a very thin optic cable and would I like to watch the procedure on the screen located above my head? I was curious, so I said, "Sure! Why not!", and by the time I turned my head and could actually interpret what I was looking at, the stent was out, and I had missed the whole show! I didn't feel a thing. I wish Deanne and MommyChick had had the same positive experience.
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Well yes it was very unpleasant and after all was said and done they told me they had never in there lives seen anything like this happen. I do seem to be unique when it comes to the medical things though.
My first attempt.. my urologist made it seem like it would be as simple as 1, 2, 3 needless to say it wasn't that easy with me! The first time they came into my hospital room and was told they could remove it right then and there. I was all for it, not to worried either at the time! So they tired to remove it in my room and all i felt was pain while he were tugging. It became dislodged and made it even more uncomfortable for me to walk/pee. That day I was told they couldn't remove it and I went for additional tests to see about my stent.
Second attempt... They waited about a week later I was still in the hospital to try and remove the stent. This time they told me it had looked some what calcified from my high CA levels but they said it should be able to come out since it was a week later... not really sure why but I went with it. Still was stuck !!
More tests were done.. it showed that the coil came undone inside me & had made a knot, becoming stuck inside me!
Third attempt... They put me under in the OR. Thinking with me under they could some how undo the knot and pull the stent out, it was unsuccessful!!! I was very disappointed when I awoke from the anesthesia!
Fourth attempt... I was told the only way to remove the stent was by placing a drain directly into my kidney since I was having trouble peeing by this time and getting UTI's. It wasn't my first choice seeing it was a great new working kidney! It was done though and they were able to pull the stent out through my kidney through my drain. Once they did that then they realized from all the tugging it wasn't healed and they had to replace it with a 2nd stent after I went through all this to remove the first one! I had it for about 2 more weeks while being home and having a folie catheter placed as well. It wasnt fun !!!
Fifth attempt... I was taking to the OR, put under again and luckily they removed my fifth with no problems!!! :2thumbsup;
So yeah ONLY I would end up getting a knot in the coil of the stent that attached itself to my body, haha But my doctors were great through this all !!
Nothing medical is ever simple with me, haha everything turned out good and now I can laugh about it :)
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I'm hoping for a MooseMom experience and not a MommyChick experience. And I think I may not want to read any more stent posts until mine is out.
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To all the awful experiences: Holy Crap! Makes me cringe.
To anyone else, I had two transplants. Each time, the stent removal was uneventful although uncomfortable. I believe for most people there is no problem.
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The second attempt to remove mine is on May 7. At the first attempt, the told me the dissolvable stitch they put in to hold it in place hadn't dissolved. I'm not looking forward to going through it again, but I can't wait for it to be gone. I have the same affects as others posted: the constant feeling like I need to pee and blood in my urine. If I walk very much my pee looks more like pure blood, including clots, than urine.
Oh no! Are you still experiencing this bleeding? I had hoped that maybe it had subsided by now.
Yes. I went for a four-mile walk on Sunday and had extensive blood and clots in my urine afterward. My urine still showed blood and protein in my labs on Monday. I need to take oxycodone if I want to go for a long walks or be out of the house for very long at a time. Otherwise, it's just too uncomfortable because I can't tell if I really need to pee or if I'm having a bladder spasm from the stent.
They changed the urologist who's going to try to remove it in a couple of weeks. My nurse said the one they changed it to is better able to handle stents that present a challenge. I'm thankful I haven't had MommyChick's experience! I'll remember that when I whine about how uncomfortable it is.
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I'm hoping for a MooseMom experience and not a MommyChick experience. And I think I may not want to read any more stent posts until mine is out.
You should be perfectly fine! Plus my doctors had never seen that happen before so it had to have been a freak occurrence. I pray all goes easy for you!
:cuddle;
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Yes. I went for a four-mile walk on Sunday and had extensive blood and clots in my urine afterward. My urine still showed blood and protein in my labs on Monday. I need to take oxycodone if I want to go for a long walks or be out of the house for very long at a time. Otherwise, it's just too uncomfortable because I can't tell if I really need to pee or if I'm having a bladder spasm from the stent.
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I was told bladder spasms get more so worse when your dehydrated. I did use oxycodone for mine too but they would get so bad I would have to cross my legs and my hubby said it looked like I was doing a pee pee dance. :rofl; The most embarrassing was when it happened in public, all I could do was laugh about it :rofl; Although I'd prefer to never go through those again, haha
Wishing you the best of luck! :cuddle;
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I'm happy to report my stent removal was uneventful. I'm so glad I read the excellent play-by-play since mine followed the same pattern. And reading Moose Mom's experience inspired me to have my eyes glued to the screen which was wonderfully distracting. It was over quickly and uncomfortable rather than painful. I felt so much better afterwards. The doctor announced "it's a boy" when he removed the stent. LOL
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Outstanding! I'm so glad to hear this, SooMK! Thanks for the good report!
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I'm numb, just the thought of having a cath inserted makes me cringe, so the idea of holding still and letting a Dr poke anything up there sends shivers up my spine.
When I first saw the title I was shocked, the only experience I have with stents are the ones they inserted to hold some of my arteries open. So naturally I thought that for some reason they needed to take one out. Un-imaginable!
So I have to thank the OP for the well spelled out proceedure. It seems like an almost everyday thing.
But since I am a GUY, I don't think so.
I've had my heart replumbed, both shoulders taken apart and the bone trimmed clean. So far I have never had a cath, or anything else shoved up in there. It least not while I was conscious. And If I did, it was gone when I woke up.
So as a guy with a paranoia of Dr's messing with my junk, I'm scared, and I'll stay scared, and if it come MY turn, you bet I will insist that they knock me smooth OUT!
Go ahead, call me a wuss, it won't make me change my mind.
I've always said, ladies are the tougher of the species. This is just another one of those things that proves it.
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I have to say stent removal is a piece of cake compared to getting a NG tube (naso-gastric) inserted while awake.