Ureter Stent Self Removal Per Doctors order Help!!!!

Thanks for the info...my comes out today..

I am going to remove my stent, today. I am very anxious and I am trying to take myself into it. Will update later.

I hope that I can be of some help to someone. I removed my uteran stent today. This is the second time that I have had a stent and my third kidney stone in sixteen months. Please don't be afraid to remove the stent yourself. Count to three and pull it out. It is really easy and hardly painful. Take an Advil or pain med before and that should cover any post removal discomfort. I hope that this helps someone. Trust me, I worried for absolutely nothing!

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR POST!!!! I'm seriously going through the exact same thing right now with my stent. I'm suppose to have it removed in the morning, but I'm leaking so badly I can't tolerate this feeling anymore and decided to take mine out now too (with my doctor consent). Well, let me go get my pain pills and build up some nerve to get my freedom back. Love this site!

I just wanted to write to thank everyone upthread, so much, for all the tips and encouragement. I had my first ever kidney stone at age 60 (will spare y'all the long story) and am in the end game of treatment. have had a temporary stent in place for 5 days, after 5 previous weeks with a stringless one. The string version was much worse, imho. I've been extremely uncomfortable and unhappy all 5 days -- constant feeling of being poked in the bladder, unable to sit, stand or walk without pain; the only way I could get comfortable was to lie down. any slightest accidental tug on the string was kind of sickening. Oh btw, I'm female & have a pretty low pain threshold.

I was terrified to remove my stent -- even though I desperately wanted to be rid of it -- but this web page gave me the courage to do it! I will recount exactly what I did for the benefit of future readers:

8:30 AM: eat a healthy breakfast, take prescribed antibiotic
9 AM: take 2 T3s (I think this was overkill, but better safe than howling with pain!)
9:30 AM: take 400 mg Ibuprofen (and from now till 10 AM, drink water pretty much continuously)
10 AM: run very hot bath. untape string. take deep breath. lie down in hot water. get a good grip on that string. wait until I really need to pee, then as soon as I start peeing, pull gently (I checked an anatomy diagram for the pull angle, about the same as for a tampon).

I think my stent had slipped downward a bit because there was no delay while any string pulled out, it was right there at the urethral valve. no wonder I was so uncomfortable. the sensation is impossible to describe and more "disturbing" for me than "painful" (of course I was well doped up by then). I could actually feel the friction and movement all the way up to the kidney, and it was extremely bizarre and somehow quite upsetting; it took another deep breath and doggedly counting seconds to keep me pulling steadily :-) but I kept at it. there was a definitely weird moment as the upper curly bit passed through but other than that, it was soooooo much easier than I had feared! I think the whole thing took about 15-20 sec.

I felt a little light-headed with stress and relief but other than that, no after-effects to speak of, no blood, a tiny bit of cramping in the kidney about 15 minutes later but very minor and it passed off quickly. I had a good long soak (and a bite of chocolate as my reward!) and then spent the afternoon sleeping off the t3s which were a bit of a whack upside the head; I was profoundly exhausted and fell asleep instantly, yet my heart rate was elevated and I felt like I was on an adrenaline high. I guess it's the caffeine and the codeine in the t3s, fighting each other. when I woke up a couple of hours later, I felt so much better it was unbelievable! I could walk without pain, sit on a chair without pain, pee normally -- first time I've been just ordinarily physically comfortable since the lithotripsy 6 weeks ago! felt like dancing around the room!

as far as I am concerned the "pee in the hot bath" method is a winner! I can imagine that having a doctor do this could be awfully painful (if you weren't able to pee to open up that valve in the urethra, holy cow!) -- I am glad I gritted my teeth and just did it, and hope my story will encourage others who are feeling as scared as I did. I sure hope I will NEVER have to do this again, but if (god forbid!) I have to, I won't be intimidated by it.

I had stents twice before this. 1st time he dr pulled out from my back as I had a nephrostomy tube. Second was string between the legs. Now I have double stents and I just pulled mine out 5 minutes ago. I had stents in both kidneys. There was only on string. I had so much anxiety about pulling them out. Finally after about an hour I went in the bathroom, standing grasped the string and gently pulled. The worst part is the curly q in the beginning.

I took the plunge tonight. Was pretty afraid but reading experiences here calmed me a bit. Took the advice of having a shower to try to calm myself. Rolled a washcloth, stuck it between my teeth and started pulling. The nurse told me it was quite long and she was right. Uncomfortable for sure but no worse than passing a small stone and MUCH less painful than an in and out catheter if you've ever had one. Once the first end of the stent is out the worst is over. Agree with one poster who said if you can deal with the pain of putting a match out on your arm you can pull it out yourself. Glad it's over, but definitely not the end of the world.

Thank you for posting!

Thank you to all of you who decided to share your wisdom with all of thee past or present "stent holder's" or "stent looser's". All of the posts were thoughtful, honest, courageous and truthful. Most of all, they helped another extremely anxious 60 yr old woman who had never had to go through such a procedure. Here was my method, using everyone's advice. 1) Eat a good sized breakfast to have plenty of food on the stomach before taking a lot of medications; 2) an hour before pulling out the stent, I took an 800 mg Motrin, a 5 mg oxycodone (these were meds I had on hand for pain over the last 2 weeks with a kidney stone, that never was going to come out on it's own); 3) started drinking plenty of gatorade (your favorite flavor) mixed with ice and water to stay hydrated (in case you sweat, like me, when anxious); 4) 30 minutes before pulling it, take a Flo-max to help dilate ureters and reduce kidney spasms (usually taken at night with kidney stones according to my urologist), I also happened to have stashed (shame on me) 2 Lorazepam, an anti-anxiety drug (I took for another procedure before having a biopsy years ago), take only 1. Then, I drew a nice hot bath and put a fan right on my face outside the tub. Be sure to try your best to hold and don't pee after drinking all that gatorade. Got in the tub and lay down; and basically, wrapped the string once around my finger to keep a tight grip. I started to pee instantly from pressure and all those fluids. Didn't think about it and firmly but gently used a steady pull forward like pulling out a tampon. It was out instantly! No pain, tugging, feeling curly q's, nothing, done; YEAH!!! OVER.
Soaked another 15 minutes in the bath to relax. Showered, everyone knows why... Went to bed to sleep off all those meds for a few hours. Next day, today, a few minor cramps, but a Motrin did the trick. Thank you all; so very h
elpful; couldn't have gotten through this scary procedure without all of you sharing!

Thank you all for your posts! I discovered I was dealing with a kidney stone last Wednesday and just had surgery Monday (today is Wed) to remove stones and a stent was placed. My urologist wants me to come to his office next Tuesday to have it removed, but I wish it could come out sooner. Unlike most people who are bothered by the stent, I feel no discomfort in my bladder. My discomfort is in my kidney. I can FEEL the thing in there and it’s like a constant, moderate cramp that doesn’t go away. My question is how long did you all have to keep the stent in? I am so tempted to remove mine myself, but don’t want to do harm or take away any of the benefits that I may be having by having the stent in. I have to return to work tomorrow and can not take the pain meds while at work, so that is also adding to my worry. I noticed yesterday when I got up and cleaned the house, made dinner, did laundry that my urine turned darker (like black cherry koolaid), and I’m nervous that my very active job is going to cause this to happen again. When you all took the stents out did it help decrease the blood in the urine too? I had a kidney stone ten years ago and I do not recall the recovery being this long. I didn’t have a stent after that surgery and I recall not really missing a beat except for the day of that stone and the next days surgery. This time just seems so long...two weeks to just “stop” life is a real pain when you have a family and a career!

My Dr took my stent out and the string broke! I am glad I was at his office. He was able to take what looked like needle nose pliers and go in and get the string and pull it out. It wasn't to bad only problem was having that same weird feeling twice!

What if it doesn’t have the string? I don’t have insurance and the dr left a stent with no string. Now they’re saying I have to pay the drs fee from the procedure at the hospital and another $60-120 to remove the stent. I don’t have the money. I don’t have a string and 5 teenagers that can’t drive. I’m in pain a lot and need it out.

Thanks so much i have to remove my stent tomorrow very anxious

Thanks for this detailed explanation hope it relieves my anxiety as i have to remove it tomorrow

Hello Ureter Stent Self Removal people. Just wanted to add a quick vote of confidence for you all that I successfully removed my string stent after much apprehension and avoidance! I had a 6mm kidney stone removed on a Monday evening, and string stent was placed in as part of the operation (as discussed with my urologist. I had my doubts when he said "It's ok for you to take it out yourself with minimal discomfort and pain." I checked out this link ahead of removing it myself and my thanks to you all for your helpful suggestions. I opted for the 'hot shower, slowly but firmly' approach! I took a 650mg Tylenol and a regular strength Advil (ibuprofen) an hour before. Lots of water ahead of and after the removal. It was more of a discomfort than pain to get started but a steady firm pull over a period of about 20 secs seemed to do the trick with very minimal pain. Someone said, "You're almost done when you see the blue top part of the stent". That was helpful! It was totally fine and I finished my shower feeling a 1000 xs better! Afterwards, for a couple of days, I noticed my energy was pretty low, but its picking up now. Good luck all!