Patient journeyONGOING

Extremely nervous about ESWL

Stone Fighter #5BD62AMay 13, 2026👁️ 2.1k❤️ 134

Strategy: Patient journey

Pretty much the title! I had a bout of kidney stones back in 2021, passed them, and went years without any issue until an unrelated X-Ray showed a 5mm kidney stone in my right kidney. Doctor gave me the option to leave it undisturbed, or to perform ESWL while it's still small/to prevent it getting worse. I went with ESWL, but my surgery is in less than a week and I'm having a lot of stress - particularly about the thought of getting a stent.

There's something about the whole 'oh, you might wake up with this invasive thing shoved into your body that will eventually be painfully removed, or you might not! no telling until you wake up and it's too late', and that's really freaking me out lol. I did ask the nurse at the pre-op appointment and she said while it's not very common, it's not impossible. I'm young (24f), have no pre-existing conditions, and am in good health so I'm really hoping the chances are low. Genuinely I feel like I'd rather pass a stone than have a stent, I feel silly for being so worried but it's stressing me out a lot.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me rant! I would really appreciate some words of support or success stories, because all the horror stories I've read have not been super helpful. Thanks in advance <3

Comments (7)

Stone Fighter #F48373Apr 23, 2026

Personally, I wouldn’t even do ESWL if I wasn’t in pain. Especially if it’s still in your kidney. You can do things to dissolve that or make it smaller. I reallllly don’t want a stent either. I have a couple 3mm stones bunched together in my ureter and I’m kinda just going with the flow trying to pass it on my own bc the thought of a stent freaks me out. I’ve heard so many stories about how bad it hurts and how people felt it caused pennant pain.

Stone Fighter #D39453Apr 23, 2026

I felt amazing the day of and after ESWL. In fact after the procedure I felt amazing. It’s the stent when it’s in that stinks. The removal also felt like heaven when it came out. It’s much better to get the stone out if that’s what the doctor is recommending then hope that a follow up to get the stent out doesn’t take forever.

Stone Fighter #E224F2Apr 23, 2026

The vast majority of stones are calcium oxalate, some calcium phosphate or a mixture of the two and there is nothing that dissolves them. Uric acid stones can sometimes be reduced in size by alkalinisation with potassium citrate but that isn’t guaranteed.

Stone Fighter #8B892CApr 23, 2026

I had the same choice for a 6mm stone and opted for ESWL. Well in fact my urologist seemed to be more in favor of observing but « understood fully » my concerns. My question is: is there any point to wait? Best outcome: it stays there and does not move. But it seems unlikely in the long run. Worst scenarios: it grows noticeably and then passes or cause issues inside kidney. The procedure was stentless and stent for 5mm is not standard practice there (1cm is the threshold). Was also painless a...

Stone Fighter #761060Apr 23, 2026

Get a CT as well before going with any procedure, sometimes x-rays not accurate or shows stool particles which looknbery similar to stones (fecalith). My xray once stated I've multiples stones in my kidney and doctor suggested for PCNL, I was in fear for a week then someone suggested me to go for a CT scan, in CT reports it was all clear I'm having only one stone which was removed 2 weeks back with URSL.

Stone Fighter #09BEDBApr 24, 2026

Stent removal is immediately the worst part, not ESWL itself. I was awake for mine and still have ghost memories of it. The procedure itself you'll barely feel, but yeah, plan for that stent coming out to be rough.

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