Stent Removal…

 When they did the surgery they put in a stent which goes from the kidney through the new ureter and into the bladder this just helps things move along then about a month after surgery they do a cystoscopy to remove it… this is not a pleasant t procedure and yes you are awake and not on anything during it… the good news is it is over relatively quickly the bad news is it doesn’t feel great and after I usually bleed and cramp… but sometimes knowing what to expect isn’t the greatest thing… I showed up at the hospital they called me back and I sat in my gown and waited to be called to the operating room… I saw the nurse and she checked my vitals but once I told her this was my 5th or 6th cystoscopy and 3rd stent removal it was a quick visit and I signed the paperwork and sat and waited…

 A very large very tattooed man brought me back… omg I thought please don’t let him be the one to prepare me and clean me… the last cystoscopy I had before surgery to make things looked ok…. a lovely gay fellow was the one to do that and it was humiliating but somewhat ok… hard to explain he was really gentle and kind and  sweet.. so this man introduced himself and led me to he took helped me take off my gown ( the one you wear backwards over your gown kind of like a robe) and helped me get into the bed and put my legs in the stirrups and get me all exposed… yup here we go I thought… but nope.. he laughed and said and now here is he burse who will prepare and clean the area … ha you thought it was going to be me didn’t you… then he left…. She came over and started… what she said was cleaning… let me tell you I must be cleaning myself wrong because never have I ever cleaned myself where tears came to my eyes because it hurt!  I kept bracing myself as she just kept pushing so hard everywhere.. then the surgeon came in and right away I could tell he was in a bad mood… he was complaining about the gloves and demanding different ones  and sending nurses to find better ones and so the door just kept opening and shutting and people coming in saying how about these?  Yup great I’m all exposed and in stirrups and my hooray is on display lovely!  He came over and checked out how the incision from the surgery was healing and he was quite pleased with it and then brought over the cystoscope and asked if I was ready….. do I have choice?  The one good thing about a cystoscopy is that it is with a camera and there is a big tv in front up high so you can watch… now. As it is being out in it is not the most  to see up close but once it goes in seeing the inside of your body is pretty neat… at least for me… he went up examined the new connection of the ureter and said the redness and swelling is normal don’t panic… and you can see a lot of scar tissue from my multiple surgeries then he fed into the scope some water and then the pincers yup pincers he opened them and shut them to make sure they are working and then moved over to the stent and tried to grab it once twice third time is a charm….. then he said ok take a deep breath I’m going to pull it out mow and then you feel it slide through your insides and tada it’s out!  The nurse brought over a towel for me cause there was liquid a bit of blood I wiped myself off and slid off the table and he handed me a prescription for an antibiotic just in case and I was done.. went back to my locker got dressed and texted hubby I 2as done and he would meet me out front of the room they called me from.  Since I have had many of these done I was smart and brought a pad. I know there is bleeding and cramping after so I walked a little slower through the halls to the car and went home…. What I didn’t expect was pain.. I had pain in my lower abdomen groin area.. when I saw my doctor a few days later I told him about it and he examined me and said he thinks they bruised me inside and if it didn’t go away in a week to come back… but thankfully 5 days later the pain was gone! I pray as long as I live I never need another cystoscopy… I have had more than my share! 🤔