Well what is it?
Good question. No-one seems to have heard of them. Mention it and you'll see eyes glaze over.
My mother can't even pronounce the word!
Well at the moment, it is the thing that is stopping me from having kidney failure and I suppose, keeping me alive. Have a look at my other blog 'Why I have a nephrostomy' that helps explain my story.
You can see in the picture that I have a tube that goes through the skin in my back and into my kidney. The tube helps the urine to drain out of the kidney (you can see a little bit in the bottom of the bag) and into a nephrostomy bag that is attached by adhesive to your back.
You usually need a nephrostomy if you have a problem with your ureter, if it is blocked or not working properly. I had a hysterectomy and during the operation, my ureter got blocked. This meant that my left kidney couldn't process the urine in the normal way, as the ureter blockage was stopping it from going into my bladder.
I got sent to the radiology department to have the nephrostomy put in as soon as they knew what the problem was. It was a fairly quick procedure (I must admit I was on a lot of pain killers at the time so my memory is slightly hazy). I was asked to lay on my right side. A radiologist gave me an analgesic through my cannula and using an x-ray machine, they were able to insert a fine tube into my back and into my kidney.
It was slightly uncomfortable but as I had been in a lot of pain, as soon as the nephrostomy was put in the relief was immediate. It felt like the best thing in the world!
For more information on nephrostomies and the process, please have a look at this page from the University Hospital Southampton as it's really helpful.
Good question. No-one seems to have heard of them. Mention it and you'll see eyes glaze over.
My mother can't even pronounce the word!
Well at the moment, it is the thing that is stopping me from having kidney failure and I suppose, keeping me alive. Have a look at my other blog 'Why I have a nephrostomy' that helps explain my story.
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This is what my nephrostomy looks like |
You can see in the picture that I have a tube that goes through the skin in my back and into my kidney. The tube helps the urine to drain out of the kidney (you can see a little bit in the bottom of the bag) and into a nephrostomy bag that is attached by adhesive to your back.
You usually need a nephrostomy if you have a problem with your ureter, if it is blocked or not working properly. I had a hysterectomy and during the operation, my ureter got blocked. This meant that my left kidney couldn't process the urine in the normal way, as the ureter blockage was stopping it from going into my bladder.
I got sent to the radiology department to have the nephrostomy put in as soon as they knew what the problem was. It was a fairly quick procedure (I must admit I was on a lot of pain killers at the time so my memory is slightly hazy). I was asked to lay on my right side. A radiologist gave me an analgesic through my cannula and using an x-ray machine, they were able to insert a fine tube into my back and into my kidney.
It felt like the best thing in the world!
It was slightly uncomfortable but as I had been in a lot of pain, as soon as the nephrostomy was put in the relief was immediate. It felt like the best thing in the world!
After it was fitted, I returned to the hospital ward. You need to have bed rest for a number of hours after having a nephrostomy put in - I don't know why but you do. I couldn't even use the loo, I had to have a catheter. I still had an infection in my kidney so I remained in hospital on antibiotics for a few more days afterwards.
Before I left the hospital, the nurses gave me instructions on how to look after the nephrostomy. I was told that "I could do anything" with the nephrostomy. This isn't actually true as you are still restricted. For example, I am normally quite an active person. I can't go swimming with a nephrostomy and I find it very difficult to exercise.
But I try to carry on with normal life, as much as possible. The bag needs to be emptied regularly so I do need to go to the toilet a lot - roughly every 20/30 minutes depending on how much liquid I've had.
But I try to carry on with normal life, as much as possible. The bag needs to be emptied regularly so I do need to go to the toilet a lot - roughly every 20/30 minutes depending on how much liquid I've had.
The bag also needs to be changed regularly - roughly every 3 to 4 days. I attend my local GP surgery and the practice nurse does this for me. She removes the old bag, cleans my back and where the tube goes into my back with sterile water and applies a barrier film. She's then able to fit a new bag to my back. All in all, it takes about 15 minutes.
Older people usually have the district nurse visit their home to do this. But as I'm an able-bodied person, I can easily go to the GP surgery. Don't expect your local practice nurses to be knowledgeable on changing the bags. As it's not something they see regularly, you may need to give them some tips on what to do.
You should be advised how to change the bag before you leave the hospital. My ward sister wrote instructions for me to give to the practice nurse. But don't worry, it may not be something that they see every day but it is a quick and easy procedure so I'm sure they'll have no problems once they know how.
Older people usually have the district nurse visit their home to do this. But as I'm an able-bodied person, I can easily go to the GP surgery. Don't expect your local practice nurses to be knowledgeable on changing the bags. As it's not something they see regularly, you may need to give them some tips on what to do.
You should be advised how to change the bag before you leave the hospital. My ward sister wrote instructions for me to give to the practice nurse. But don't worry, it may not be something that they see every day but it is a quick and easy procedure so I'm sure they'll have no problems once they know how.
I've had some ups and downs with my nephrostomy, so I will write another post about how I managed to overcome them. This may help someone if they have similar symptoms or problems.
For more information on nephrostomies and the process, please have a look at this page from the University Hospital Southampton as it's really helpful.
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