Hi I am due to have Lipotripsy tomorrow and have been advised I wont receive any pain medication but I can take something like paracetamol etc if i have some at home. Has anyone else had this procedue and can explain to me what i might expect during and after. Thank you
Hi Maureen. I had this procedure on 9 June 2015. I was given a suppository for pain relief prior. The treatment itself was 25 minutes but did get a little uncomfortable in the last 10 minutes. Not more than my episode of a kidney stone blockage. It was just bearable.. Once the machine stops the pain goes away. It's a straight forward procedure. Mine was done on NHS Birmigham, England.
Presume that you won't be getting painkillers for other reasons. You don't mean that they won't be sending you away with painkillers afterwards do you? Might they give you a painkiller for the treatment and then tell you to take paracetamol later in the day if you need pain relief AFTER the treatment?
They gave me painkillers at the start of the procedure but kept the machine running slowly until the painkillers kicked in, and then they gradually upped the pulses.
Assume that they might keep to low frequency of pulses for you but do let them know if it gets painful and tell them that you need pain relief.
The last 10 minutes had me feeling a little sickly but it went away after they had stopped the machine - nothing too demanding though. They kept telling me how long there was to go and I found it helpful to know that the procedure was nearing the end.
Hi Thanks for the info.No reason why I cant take pain meds, I was definitaly told i would not receive pain relief but advised that I could take something before hand like paracetamol or cocodamol if i had any at home. Apparently the machine they use does not have skin contact.
Hi thanks for the reply, I sympathise with stone blockage iv experienced this myself and really hope it isnt that bad. Any how I will take some pain killers before I leave my house as I was definitaly told they would not be administering any
No, the machine doesn't have skin contact as it 'fires' a sound wave through your skin but it feels a bit like tapping yourself repeatedly and it gets annoying after a while.
I was given tramadol which is a fairly hefty painkiller. It takes 10-15 minutes to work effectively and, by then, the machine has been cranked up to firing pulses about 2-per-second.
If there's no reason why you can't take painkillers then I'd ask for them ahead of the process and/or insist on getting something if it gets painful.
Hi, it is the procedure where special machine is used to produce the shock waves that can break up the stones. The lithotripsy procedure takes about 45 minutes to one hour to perform. It is important to eat, and drink as normal. So don’t go starved. Take any medications that you would normally take as usual. Usually, you may not experience any pain as doctors prefer to give general anaesthesia for the procedure. This is also required to ensure the patient remains still during the lithotripsy procedure. If not this, ideally you should receive some pain killers at hospital because procedure can be little uncomfortable and painful. It is normal to have a small amount of blood in your urine for a few days to a few weeks after this procedure. Hope you get on well.
As far as I know, general anaesthesia is NOT the norm but I do agree that you have to keep still for the duration of the process.
Lithotripsy is a non-invasive process as the only thing going into you are sound waves. Even so, they can get a bit uncomfortable but nothing you won't be able to bear, particularly with some painkillers beforehand.
Let us know what happens on the day.
Thanks for the advise i have some tramadol that was prescribed a few months ago so I will take them before treatment. Definitaly no mention of anaesthesia. I will let you know how it all goes
I had general anesthetic with my litotripsy end of May, plus I was sent home with a prescription for oxycodone for pain after the procedure. I only had to take one the night after my procedure. Then I used Ibuprofen for pain.
Hi did you have the procedure in the UK .
No, I am in the US.
Hello Karen..
Sorry I haven't followed but not o scare any one from any procedure..just make sure its the right one.As you know I had the laser and stent put in on the 1st..from day one discomfort up till the15th for follow upland stent removal in clinic with local..NOT so good.painful and complications..Dr. could not get apparently stones were in bedded in stent.so surgery under general anastesia. still impossible..then had kidney drai. Tube put in...rested a day..discharged be cause ins would not cover transport to another Hosp.with lithotripsy equipment..Home resting..RU. fever not feeeling good go to er of Hosp scheduled at..103.7 fever..pulse 172..infection..so admitted..no surgery till fever reduces and enough antibiotics are in ..finally Friday surgery ..relief no more pain or discomfort from stent. Only drain from kidney..released sat..just tired ..dye and xray tomorrow to see drain is good..then finally removal..sorry if it scares any body..but mine was 1inMillion and I was the one..so y'all should be good..
Good Morning,
Glad to hear that you're home and resting. Hopefully the dye and xray is all good and they can get the stent out. Thank you for keeping us updated. Blessings, Karen
Hi Karen the procedure went well it was uncomfortable pretty much how you described it. I'm glad I took some painkillers before leaving home. Anyway apparently the results were good and I may not need another treatment but they will let me know at follow up appointment. It's quiet uncomfortable at the moment but I guess that's to be expected. It's worth it to get rid of the stones.
Hi Maureen , hope your treatment went ok . I had mine yesterday and it wasn't half as bad as I expected . Came home and drank loads . No sign of any stones passing yet just wondering if it has worked or not . Can any one tell me how long it should take for the fragments to pass . Thank you
Hi. I have a nephrostomy tube in my kidney. I had lithotripsy on 9 June which lasted 25 minutes. I was told before the procedure that I might need another treatment. Maybe because i have 2 stones. For the first 3 days I didn't notice anything. But on the fourth day and every other day I saw little particles in the water bag connected to my kidney. They were quite hard. The person who treated me said that the broken stone will go down the ureter and not through the external tube. She did not say how the procedure went and said I will have to have an X-ray in a few weeks time to determine the outcome. But I have seen gravel come out the tube. I haven't seen only for the last 4 days and wondering if all of it came out or not.
Would love to hear from some one in my situation with a nephrostomy tube and lithotripsy.
Hi Sheila I didn't find it too bad either Worse part was stomach pain due to bowel gases apparently. A little discomfort during the evening but otherwise fine. I haven't seen any signs of stones passing either so I'm not really sure what to expect.
Maureen
Hi . I had lithotripsy a week ago . I have had no signs of passing anything . I'm drinking two litres of water a day . Am I to assume that the treatment hasn't worked . Thank you
Did they tell you that there was still some stone remaining at the end of the treatment (and that you needed a second course)?
Or maybe the stone was reduced to dust??
I was told that I would need a second course but, on arrival, there was no remaining stone to be found so they sent me home.
I think I know when it passed as there was some slight burning sensation on passing water for about a day but I never saw anything pass and was pleasantly surprised to find that the stone had gone completely.
If you're getting no symptoms now then keep your fingers crossed that it's gone.
You won't know for sure though until your next x-ray.