Exercise post op

Advoty,

First and foremost you must heal from the surgery.

Walking 5 miles a day 1 week out is pushing it. You will probably feel like running short distances in a few weeks. However I think you are over doing it with a Triatonon less than 2 months after surgery. Heal first and set your sights on something this strenuous at least 6 months out. You will be able to do this, just not now.

Icemantoo

Let me amend what I just wrote.  I sound too snotty.

please slow down. Although you may feel okay, think of what your insides went through.  That poor kidney needs to heal and the bouncing around it gets running isn't doing it any favors.  As people remind me, we are healing from the insdie out.  

Walking is good for you - but I agree with Iceman, 5 miles a day seems a bit much.  You want to be in this for the long haul and not blow your self out in the first few weeks.

Have your Dr.s cleared you for running?  As said, I had open and was only cleared to run 2 weeks ago.  

Please take it easy...or easier.  If you do do the Tri., don't push it.  Sign up for one later, maybe Aug., that way you will have been able to heal and train.

sorry again about my first post.

sblairc said:

Probably not what doc meant by "exercise"

I'm pretty sure the surgeon didn't mean high level training at 2 weeks, or even running for that matter. Remember you have INTERNAL wounds as well as your external ones. I think sometimes it's easy to forget that when you see your external incisions healing up, that you had a vital human organ sliced up. That's a pretty big deal. 

My husband is just getting back into his physical routine 6 months after his surgery. It takes a while to trust your body again.

 

I'm a physical therapist,certified athletic trainer, retired marathoner, and 3 years post nephrectomy. It's too early. The question is not whether you can get back into shape to compete. The question is "Who do you want to impress?" Is it just to prove to yourself that you can do it? A bit of a superman complex? Denial of cancer? If getting back to that level of conditioning has a high value for you, ask yourself this, "Am I prepared for risking damage to myself which may put me out of commission for another year or so?" Besides the obvious risk of tearing out internal sutures, risking hemmorrage, or developing a hernia, there are bigger issues. All your physiology has been affected. There is renal compromise. Vascular changes. Your renal function needs time to adjust. Nothing about your physiology will be normal for a while. It has been operating at a consistant work load for years and will need an adjustment period. Despite good blood work. Your nervous system will identify that you are no longer the same. Things are different and only time will allow the new you to become the new normal you. You will find that it may well be a year. No one will think less of you if you say, "I'm recovering from kidney cancer surgery and I'll sit this one out." For the record, I was jogging and golfing in a month. But not anything near a high intensity competitive level. Keep the ego in check. Get better. There will be plenty of events down the road.

avdoty said:

Competition

No reason to insult me. I merely love competition and can't wait to get back to it. I was simply trying to see if others that were in good shape and that had what I understood was a minimally invasive version of the surgery like me would share their experience. 

With regard to denial of having cancer, I feel blessed that I found my cancer early enough to be able to have surgery that completely removed it. My father died of colon cancer at the age of 55, my current age. That has motivated me to take care of my health and to get regular colonoscopies since I was 35. So no denial here, just been waiting for the bad news that I have cancer for a long time. I just thought it was going to be colon cancer.

I have cancer but that doesn't have to define me. My goal is to get back to normal as soon as I can. If that means pushing it that's what I'm going to do. Of course, that doesn't mean doing something that will hurt me. After all, that will only delay the recovery. My surgeon told me to let pain be the guide. If it hurts don't do it. 

 

After being on this site for three years, the questions of returning to running, biking, swimming, rowing, weight training, and more are discussed frequently. We've had some pretty hard core people. I was weight training and running 5-6 days a week for years. I'm 62. I 've run up to a thousand miles a year. Now I do less but still exercise and run 2-4 days a week. Texas Wedge was 70. He rowed 10k's like wind sprints. He was a weight lifter, and marathoner. He golfed several times a week in Scotland in temps in the 20's. There have been many like this. I hope you recover as well as you expect. And let pain be your guide. And yes you don't want to delay recovery by hurting yourself.

The misunderstanding is in my experience on this forum. And your lack of experience. Again no insult intended. It is that I shared your enthusiasm as many others have in the period of time from diagnosis to surgery, to recovery. I hope you can just move on with no further issues. It is happening more and more here. Thats good. Best wishes. Sincerely.

But for those that have returned to high activity levels, the general concensus is to take plenty of time. In all retrospect, from people who have already done it, not my opinion only, there is no good to come from training too hard too early. Loosen your goals a little. Because for those like us that rebound well, many people don't for  reasons that weren't apparent in the beginning. The stories here would certainly give you second thoughts if you had participated on this forum for a year or two. That's what I mean by experience. But keep your positive attitude. I'm just saying that 90% of us have learned that what and how we think of cancer at post op recovery is far different than what and how we think of cancer at 6 mos, 12 mos, and from then on. Next year you'll advise people. You'll advise against doing too much too soon. There are other ways to be competitive. Get better first. Train as you tolerate. In a couple years it will not have mattered if you raced this June or this Sept. It will come.

I apologize for my approach.

avdoty said:

No problem. Thanks for the

No problem. Thanks for the clarification.  I am definitely new to this and have a lot to learn.  

Each of us comes on this board with their own personal perspective of their surgery as well as what they have absorbed fron the experiences of others. There is no one size fits all. My recovery and experiences are not your recovery and experiences.

This forum allows us to share each of our unique experiences. All of us have had a neph or partial neph.

There are no rules as to who should do what or when. There are no right or wrong answers, This forum allows us to see and absorb the experiences of others. Many find it helpful. Many find they can do more than others. Many feel they can not do what others are doing. Age, physical condition, the type and invasiveness of the surgery all play a role in your recovery as does attitude and determination.

Take everything that is said with a grain of salt before applying it to yor situation.

You asked when you could run agein. You got a lot of answers as to the experiencers and perspedtives of others.

Icemantoo

there is no answer to when, if at all, you will be able to run; surgery and cancer change activities, stamina, life.

today is May 18; you say that 10 days after surgery, you are able to go 5+miles; and, you say you stopped because it didn't feel right. DUH! 

Sarah

avdoty said:

I didn't stop walking. I

I didn't stop walking. I tried a few light running strides just to see what it felt like. I knew I wasn't going to run for real.  As I said in my original post it was a quick test.  One thing I didn't say in that post was that my tumor was found while I was trying to figure out what I thought was a running related injury.  I had a severe pain in my lower abdomen around my pubic bone. All of the doctors i saw thought it was a muscle strain. But I felt it was something more so I insisted on getting a scan. The CT scan revealed the tumor but the uro-oncologist still thought the pain was unrelated to the kidney issue.  I'd been having the pain for over six months so I don't buy the muscle strain diagnosis. It didn't sound like more than a guess anyway.  My orthopedic thinks it's related to the cancer.  The pain progressed so much that it starts almost immediately when I begin to run. So, out of an extraordinary amount of curiosity about whether I still have the pain (only present when running) I took a few running steps. It was obvious that running a few steps that it wasn't a good idea so I stopped immediately. That led me to the simple question about how long would it be before I could expect to run. Instead I get comments about having a superman complex and statements like "duh" it doesn't feel right. 

 

Avdoty,

There is no simple answer to your simple question as to when you will be able to run. The best answer I can give you is when it feels right to you. It may be a few weeks, a few months or 6 months to a year barring any injury or set back. Do not overdue it in the beginning, that could be counter productive. Absent any set back you will be able to do the Triathanon again, just not right now.

Icemantoo