Living with a stent

[spinningjenny]

Hi.

Im a 68 yr old female and I’m pretty new to CKD. After a prolonged spell of uti’s accompanied by excruciating pain I was referred to Urology. I was found to have some abnormality in my bladder and was sent for a biopsy.

The biopsy was scheduled for February, the abnormal growth had unaccountably vanished but at same time the consultant decided to put a camera up each ureter. The camera would only go 2cms up the left side so a stent was inserted.

I have subsequently had a renogram which shows that I have bilateral PUJ and my left kidney has only 2% function. The decision was made that I should have a pyeloplasty on my right side and that the left kidney should be removed. I was told that I would be put on the “soon” list. However, it is probable that I won’t have surgery until October. In the meanwhile I still have the stent in situ, not really doing very much other that causing discomfort and quite a lot of bleeding I am also getting quite a few infections. I find it quite difficult to cope some days. I’m fairly active, I try to walk three to four miles a day and go to the gym twice a week, none of which helps with the bleeding.

I’m not really sure that I have a question other than how long have other people managed with a stent before it begins to cause problems? I’ve been in touch with the hospital and my consultant is currently on holiday.

Thanks in advance for any replies x

[Michael__S]

I was wondering the same thing after mine was left in a little over 2 months, as a precautionary measure after a pyeloplasty. The answer I was given was a very long time. The bleeding and discomfort was annoying but it's only temporary so I did my best to avoid creating that. You'll likely have to keep the stent a few weeks after the surgery, on the upside you'll feel the relieved 5-15s after they remove it

Post-surgery it's important to hold yourself back and give your body a chance to heal properly or you may stagnate there longer or risk an hernia. Even walking. (edit: I was significantly more active after a few weeks but... ) Few months later I ended up going to sport therapy and it helped me immensely, hopefully it won't be as necessary for you. My hips were rotated, my diaphragm was displaced (not as bad as it sound) and had other issue that mostly resolved themselves as I got more active.

Prior to the surgery I had my hand on a used 100$ treadmill, I found it useful as I could control the slope and stop whenever I needed but it's certainly not a must have. A cab or a driver on call could do the same thing. Cheers.

[spinningjenny in reply to Michael__S]

Thanks for that. I don’t feel quite so bad now.