Kidney Stones

[MarshaC]

I am scheduled for sameday surgery on Tues. April 8. I have a 5mm stone in the right ureter which the doc thinks he can grab and a 4.8mm stone on the left side that showed up on a CT but doesn't show up on an xray. He said he would look up the left side to see if he can see it and then decide what to do about that one. He may have to put stents in for a week, depending on how easily the scope goes. Can anyone tell me how bad the stents are? I have been battling with these stones since the middle of Feb and will be glad to be rid of them.

[JPACHECO]

Hi
Wanted to wish you luck and relief with your surgery.
I had a stent in for a number of weeks, prior, during and after lithotripsy.
It was not "painfull" - just annoying at times, like going to the bathroom 100 times a day.
The stent removal was nothing (for females) and I am really not a brave person with these things.
Try to keep your spirits up - I know it is hard, but you are on your way to
seeing the end of this and nothing is as miserable as feeling so sick and in pain with the stones.
J.Pacheco

[MarshaC]

I had my cystoscopy April 8th and had two stones removed. I didn't need stents. That night, I developed a 100+ temp. Lots of kidney pain and vomiting. I notified the urologists office the next morning and was told to go to the lab and give a urine sample that afternoon and also he changed my antibiotic, thinking I could be reacting to it. I continued to suffer another night with 103 temps and still vomiting. I called the doctors office again and asked if I should go to the ER. The urologist was in OR until after noon. In the mean time my sister who is an RN stopped by to see how I was doing and promptly took me to the ER, where they confirmed I had e coli in my urine test. I was admitted to the hospital, put on IV antibiotics , since my strain was resistent to all the other antibiotics they had put me on prior to the scope. I developed pulmonary edema and my hemoglobem dropped to 8. I was given two units of blood and it returned to 12. I thought I was a goner. My fever finally broke on the 5th day after being admitted. I was discharged on Sat April 19th. I am very weak and still get short of breath, but there is something to be said for your own bed. I guess my message is to not wait too long after a procedure to get help from the ER. I should have followed my instints and gone the first day instead of waiting. Sometimes surgeons don't think out of the box.