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PCNL Five Days Ago and I’m Still in Pain

Stone Fighter #05E835Sep 2, 2026👁️ 640❤️ 110

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I had a PCNL and a ureteroscopy midweek, and I still feel awful. My back is sore, and I just feel so out of sorts.

I've been home for several days now, but this stent is killing me. It hurts to pee, obviously, but walking, shifting positions—everything is just terrible. I'm so uncomfortable.

Any tips? I'm taking Flomax and Pyridium, using a heating pad, drinking water, taking extra-strength Tylenol, and none of it is working.

I've left a message with my care team, but there's no way I can make it another week and a half until the stent comes out. I'd welcome any advice.

Comments (2)

Stone Fighter #98F3B6May 12, 2026

Add in ibuprofen if you're not allergic or otherwise told not to (in between your Tylenol doses). Drink a lot of water throughout the day—it might seem backwards, but it helps. Take it easy! If you develop a fever or any signs of sepsis, you'll need to get reassessed fast—it's not common, but it can happen. Even though it's a laparoscopic/keyhole procedure, it's still major surgery that sometimes takes several hours, so don't expect to be doing much too soon.

Stone Fighter #1D3B29May 12, 2026

I was in the ER a couple weeks ago when they thought I'd gone septic from the stones and a UTI—thankfully I hadn't. This is my first PCNL, so it's been a lot to process. My ESWL about 13 years ago didn't feel anywhere near this bad, but I was also 13 years younger then, haha!! I'm definitely going to ask about ibuprofen the second the office calls me back. It's top of my list. Thank you so much for the wisdom.

Stone Fighter #98F3B6May 12, 2026

Happy to help. Good luck—I hope you feel better soon. Sadly, I'm an old hand at these: 7 so far, with another one coming up soon.

Stone Fighter #1D3B29May 12, 2026

Wow! Wishing you the best. I hate that you've had so many. I can see one more in my future too, and that's so frustrating. My urologist couldn't get one of the stones because it was buried so deep in a pocket, and said it's likely just going to sit there. Trying to remove it would've messed with the other two that are causing the pain. He says this leftover one shouldn't cause any pain, but my body usually has other plans…

Stone Fighter #98F3B6May 12, 2026

Thanks—it's the typical story with cystinuria, unfortunately.

Stone Fighter #14E681May 12, 2026

I'm 2.5 weeks post-PCNL and about 1.5 weeks post stent removal. My pain didn't ease up until the stent came out, unfortunately—though mine was only in for 6 days. The only thing that touched the pain for me that first week was alternating Toradol and oxycodone. After the stent came out, I did one more day of Toradol and then was able to switch to Tylenol and ibuprofen. Azo helped some, and so did the heating pad. You can also ask about an antispasmodic like oxybutynin (it worked for me, but i...

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