Has anyone on here had a stent fitted?

[Melons]

Mum had one put in 18 months ago. she has now started to suffer from loads of Mucus.

[Hidden]

They can sometimes get blocked. I suggest that you contact the specialist nurse for advice (or somebody on the right ward at the hospital).

[Melons in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I will ring the hospital tomorrow. What a wicked illness this is.

[Charlie36]

I had a stent before surgery whilst they were still deciding what to do with me and I cannot remember any increase in mucus although I do remember it as pretty uncomfortable and quite painfull. Bit like being kicked in the chest and it interefered with deep breathing and eating. Not pleasant!

Best of luck to your Mum.

Charlie.

[Melons in reply to Charlie36]

Mum had a lot of pain just after the stent was fitted. Can I ask, what they decided to do with you?

[Hidden]

I have had a chat about this with a colleague and we think that the issue might be (and we are speculating of course) that the stent effectively holds open the valve between the oesophagus and the stomach. When the stomach does its digestion process it creates a lot of fluid, and there is probably extra air involved as well because of the valve no longer keeping this air out of the system. This then tends to run up the oesophagus in the form of mucus, causing the trouble you describe.

There is a valve at the bottom of the stomach as well (the pylorus sphincter) and sometimes an answer is found by relaxing that valve so that contents do not stay for so long in the stomach. Motility (ie the digestive process taking the food through the system) can be improved with a motility drug such as maxillon or domperidone that can be prescribed, and is usually taken 30 miniutes before eating.

Getting stents in to the right position is a tricky process. It is not unknown for them to move, and if they do become painful it is always worth checking with the hospital.

[Charlie36]

Hi Melons,

I had surgery where they remove the oesophagus and half the stomach. My tumour was in the former. A new one is "constructed" for want of a better word from whats left basically! Your Mum must get this checked out as Alan says though. Hope you get this resolved quickly.

Charlie x

[Melons]

Thank you - Mum's cancer was too far advanced for surgery, they initially gave us a life span of 6 months, that was 2 1/2 years ago, so she has done really well, however, a lump has now appeared in her tummy, we are waiting to get this checked. x

[Charlie36]

Your Mum sounds like a real fighter Mel, hope her situation remains stable. It must be such a worry for you all. Sending my best wishes,

Charlie x

[Melons]

Thanks Charlie, she is and so is my Dad, he has Prostate cancer which has spread to his spine. They both carry on as best as they can. I hope you continue to be well. xx

[Melons]

Mum died Friday 4th May after a long hard battle with this EVIL cancer. May she rest in peace. xxxxx

[Chaskell]

Hello everyone. Melons, I'm sorry to learn of your loss.

.I'm new here and haven't written a blog or tag before. I have stage 4 OC and had a stent fitted 3 weeks ago. before that, the doctor had tried fitting a removable stent, but it moved and had to be repositioned. Then it fell into my stomach and had to be taken out all together. So I then tried a "permanent" stent which I still have. I was shocked at how painful this is and I'm still taking morfin pills to dampen the pain.

I should tell you that I am a Scot and live in Copenhagen, Denmark and I'm being treated there on the Danish equivalent to the NHS.

I've manged to block the stent with food twice. Fortunately I managed to clear the blockages by drinking cola. A lot of cola and some warm tea. It took about 3 hours in all.

I've bought a sodastream so I always have access to fizzy drinks if I block the stent again.

I've raised the top end of my bed by about 45 degrees to try to keep stomach acid down.

I found a site with meal suggestions that might be of help to others. It has certainly helped me.

methodisthealth.com/workfil...

I hope that others will write here and give some of their experiences of living with a stent and this horrible illness

Best wishes to all

charles

[robertpor]

Hi my name is Robyn and my husband has OC and has been fitted with a stent 4 weeks ago. He is in constant pain and has to take morphine which only keeps him pain free for 2-3 hours. At this moment he is in hospital and they will proberly have the stent taken out due to the incredible amount of pain he has had to endure. Can anyone tell me what stage 4 is like and how much longer they have to live. The doctors don't say much.