Waiting for surgery re: Kidney removal

puppetman

trulytall said:

hi puppetman
I know you must be feeling very anxious and feeling all kinds of other emotions as well. Keeping all kinds of support around is definitely going to help you get through all of this. I had my left kidney completely removed on January 17th. Although the tumour was cancerous the surgeon and team do feel confident that they got it all!! So far, a clean bill of health. My next checkup is scheduled for May 20th so I pray everyday for continued good health. In regards to pain control and because of my intolerance to pain med's, the team thought it best for an epidural. I was frozen at and closely around the incision site.it worked very well for me with pain management. Anyway, I'll be praying for you and like I said,staying in touch with the support on this site is very helpful as well.
All the best.
Denise

trulytall
Thank You for Your Prayers

puppetman

trulytall said:

hi puppetman
I know you must be feeling very anxious and feeling all kinds of other emotions as well. Keeping all kinds of support around is definitely going to help you get through all of this. I had my left kidney completely removed on January 17th. Although the tumour was cancerous the surgeon and team do feel confident that they got it all!! So far, a clean bill of health. My next checkup is scheduled for May 20th so I pray everyday for continued good health. In regards to pain control and because of my intolerance to pain med's, the team thought it best for an epidural. I was frozen at and closely around the incision site.it worked very well for me with pain management. Anyway, I'll be praying for you and like I said,staying in touch with the support on this site is very helpful as well.
All the best.
Denise

trulytall
Thank You for Your Prayers

puppetman

puppetman said:

trulytall
Thank You for Your Prayers

How long
I go into the hospital on the 4th of May to get all of My right kidney removed, I wonder how long will it take for Me to be back to being 100% again, also , I am trying to find out what I cant eat after I have My kidney removed, I have talked to a Lady at My Church that was born with 1 kidney and says She eats anything She wants, I was born with 2 kidneys and will have 1 removed, so will I be able to eat the same as I do now?

Jamie1.3cm

puppetman said:

How long
I go into the hospital on the 4th of May to get all of My right kidney removed, I wonder how long will it take for Me to be back to being 100% again, also , I am trying to find out what I cant eat after I have My kidney removed, I have talked to a Lady at My Church that was born with 1 kidney and says She eats anything She wants, I was born with 2 kidneys and will have 1 removed, so will I be able to eat the same as I do now?

100% and diet
Everyone recovers differently, of course. And it makes a difference whether they do an open surgery or a laproscopic surgery. I'm only familiar with open surgery, so I'll give you the worse-case-scenario. Your mileage may vary.

It will take at least a couple weeks to several weeks before you can find a comfortable sleeping position. Smaller pillows you can use support yourself may be helpful. (I use stuffed animals, but that's just me.) Moving around will be very painful for several weeks. The rule of thumb for open abdominal surgery is 6-12 weeks recovery for returning to daily activities. Um.... I hear more 12weeks+ than 6 weeks, so don't feel like a failure if you are still in pain at 6 weeks. Expect to be exhausted for several months. Some doctors even say that you won't be back to your pre-surgery energy for a year. Again, depends on a lot of things, including the surgery. Just take it slow. Let this be your slow year. Don't push yourself into a hernia, which is very common with kidney surgery.

There are a couple forums on diet with one kidney. My doc agrees with your church lady, saying that you can live a perfectly normal life. Some are more cautious and say you should be careful to protect the one kidney you have left by keeping your blood pressure as low as possible and limiting protein, which is hard on the kidney. I'm going to side with protecting the one kidney.

Hope that helps!

trulytall

Jamie1.3cm said:

100% and diet
Everyone recovers differently, of course. And it makes a difference whether they do an open surgery or a laproscopic surgery. I'm only familiar with open surgery, so I'll give you the worse-case-scenario. Your mileage may vary.

It will take at least a couple weeks to several weeks before you can find a comfortable sleeping position. Smaller pillows you can use support yourself may be helpful. (I use stuffed animals, but that's just me.) Moving around will be very painful for several weeks. The rule of thumb for open abdominal surgery is 6-12 weeks recovery for returning to daily activities. Um.... I hear more 12weeks+ than 6 weeks, so don't feel like a failure if you are still in pain at 6 weeks. Expect to be exhausted for several months. Some doctors even say that you won't be back to your pre-surgery energy for a year. Again, depends on a lot of things, including the surgery. Just take it slow. Let this be your slow year. Don't push yourself into a hernia, which is very common with kidney surgery.

There are a couple forums on diet with one kidney. My doc agrees with your church lady, saying that you can live a perfectly normal life. Some are more cautious and say you should be careful to protect the one kidney you have left by keeping your blood pressure as low as possible and limiting protein, which is hard on the kidney. I'm going to side with protecting the one kidney.

Hope that helps!

hi Jamie
I just wanted to quickly say hi and to let you know that your posts are so helpful to me!
Thanks....
Denise

Jamie1.3cm

trulytall said:

hi Jamie
I just wanted to quickly say hi and to let you know that your posts are so helpful to me!
Thanks....
Denise

Thanks!
Thanks, TrulyTall, that's nice of you to say. It feels good to think some good can come of this.

Has anyone heard from Darryl lately? I check in every night, hoping he would have updated us.

trulytall

Jamie1.3cm said:

Thanks!
Thanks, TrulyTall, that's nice of you to say. It feels good to think some good can come of this.

Has anyone heard from Darryl lately? I check in every night, hoping he would have updated us.

No, I haven't heard from
No, I haven't heard from Darryl. I'm sure he's catching up on his well-deserved rest.
Have a great day Jamie.
Denise

babycakes11

puppetman said:

How long
I go into the hospital on the 4th of May to get all of My right kidney removed, I wonder how long will it take for Me to be back to being 100% again, also , I am trying to find out what I cant eat after I have My kidney removed, I have talked to a Lady at My Church that was born with 1 kidney and says She eats anything She wants, I was born with 2 kidneys and will have 1 removed, so will I be able to eat the same as I do now?

Hi there, I recently had my left kidney removed ( March 3rd) and it has been a long road for me since then. On the plus side I am able to move around much better this past week and a half. I have had a lot of back pain due to having open surgery on my abdomen and over compensating all my movement with my back, but it's not too bad. Mentally I am coping but knowing that my cancer may come back since the tumor was so large and stage3, I have had really bad anxiety for some time now. As for a diet, I am on a vitamin regimen and easy on the proteins and salt. Drink lots of water and when you do feel like having a drink, that's if you do at all, you should limit yourself to 2 drinks per day. Eat your veggies! You definitely want to take care of that other kidney and not make it work any harder then it already has to. I will be going back to work next Wednesday and I am a bit nervous. I am just going to take things slow and go at my own pace until I am up to doing things as normal. Best of luck to you and keep us posted on how your surgery goes. If you have any specific questions just feel free to ask and I will try to give you the best information that I can.

puppetman

babycakes11 said:

Hi there, I recently had my left kidney removed ( March 3rd) and it has been a long road for me since then. On the plus side I am able to move around much better this past week and a half. I have had a lot of back pain due to having open surgery on my abdomen and over compensating all my movement with my back, but it's not too bad. Mentally I am coping but knowing that my cancer may come back since the tumor was so large and stage3, I have had really bad anxiety for some time now. As for a diet, I am on a vitamin regimen and easy on the proteins and salt. Drink lots of water and when you do feel like having a drink, that's if you do at all, you should limit yourself to 2 drinks per day. Eat your veggies! You definitely want to take care of that other kidney and not make it work any harder then it already has to. I will be going back to work next Wednesday and I am a bit nervous. I am just going to take things slow and go at my own pace until I am up to doing things as normal. Best of luck to you and keep us posted on how your surgery goes. If you have any specific questions just feel free to ask and I will try to give you the best information that I can.

Babycakes11
Thanks, once They started, how ling did it take foy then to take the kidney out, and how long did You stay in the hospital and did they have someone come out to help You like a Nurse?

puppetman

babycakes11 said:

Hi there, I recently had my left kidney removed ( March 3rd) and it has been a long road for me since then. On the plus side I am able to move around much better this past week and a half. I have had a lot of back pain due to having open surgery on my abdomen and over compensating all my movement with my back, but it's not too bad. Mentally I am coping but knowing that my cancer may come back since the tumor was so large and stage3, I have had really bad anxiety for some time now. As for a diet, I am on a vitamin regimen and easy on the proteins and salt. Drink lots of water and when you do feel like having a drink, that's if you do at all, you should limit yourself to 2 drinks per day. Eat your veggies! You definitely want to take care of that other kidney and not make it work any harder then it already has to. I will be going back to work next Wednesday and I am a bit nervous. I am just going to take things slow and go at my own pace until I am up to doing things as normal. Best of luck to you and keep us posted on how your surgery goes. If you have any specific questions just feel free to ask and I will try to give you the best information that I can.

Babycakes11
Thanks, once They started, how ling did it take foy then to take the kidney out, and how long did You stay in the hospital and did they have someone come out to help You like a Nurse?

puppetman

babycakes11 said:

Hi there, I recently had my left kidney removed ( March 3rd) and it has been a long road for me since then. On the plus side I am able to move around much better this past week and a half. I have had a lot of back pain due to having open surgery on my abdomen and over compensating all my movement with my back, but it's not too bad. Mentally I am coping but knowing that my cancer may come back since the tumor was so large and stage3, I have had really bad anxiety for some time now. As for a diet, I am on a vitamin regimen and easy on the proteins and salt. Drink lots of water and when you do feel like having a drink, that's if you do at all, you should limit yourself to 2 drinks per day. Eat your veggies! You definitely want to take care of that other kidney and not make it work any harder then it already has to. I will be going back to work next Wednesday and I am a bit nervous. I am just going to take things slow and go at my own pace until I am up to doing things as normal. Best of luck to you and keep us posted on how your surgery goes. If you have any specific questions just feel free to ask and I will try to give you the best information that I can.

Thanks Babycakes11, once
Thanks Babycakes11, once They started, how ling did it take foy then to take the kidney out, and how long did You stay in the hospital and did they have someone come out to help You like a Nurse?

puppetman

puppetman said:

Thanks Babycakes11, once
Thanks Babycakes11, once They started, how ling did it take foy then to take the kidney out, and how long did You stay in the hospital and did they have someone come out to help You like a Nurse?

Dont know why it put it on
Dont know why it put it on here 3 times, but did You have to drink anything the day before , I got Me a bottle of magnesium citrate to drink

DarrylPe

puppetman said:

Thanks Babycakes11, once
Thanks Babycakes11, once They started, how ling did it take foy then to take the kidney out, and how long did You stay in the hospital and did they have someone come out to help You like a Nurse?

Surgery and Recovery
Hi Puppetman I believe the length of time the surgery takes varies from patient to patient. My surgery took about a hour and ahalf in total and was done hand assisted laproscopic. As far as my pain right after surgery it wasn't bad but after the meds from surgery wear off you might become sore in the area of the surgery.Walking helps alot and my pain meds kept the pain down and allowed me to sleep at night. My doctor wanted to send me home the next day but I asked him to let me stay for one more night. You'll do fine and it will be over quickly I'll keep you in my prays God bless.

Darryl

DarrylPe

Jamie1.3cm said:

Thanks!
Thanks, TrulyTall, that's nice of you to say. It feels good to think some good can come of this.

Has anyone heard from Darryl lately? I check in every night, hoping he would have updated us.

Here I am
Hi everybody. All is going well. I'm recovering slowly and still don't don't feel very hungry. Boy am I tired I took the dogs for a short walk and, then had to take a nap as soon I got home. Seems like whenever I sit I fall asleep. Is that normal? My creatnine level was kind of high after I came from the hospital 3.9 last Friday so we checked again on Monday and it has started to go back down the doctor thinks it was due to the antibiotics. Any how it's great to be alive and cancer free today. God bless you all your all in my prays everynight.

Talk to you soon
Darryl

DarrylPe

puppetman said:

Dont know why it put it on
Dont know why it put it on here 3 times, but did You have to drink anything the day before , I got Me a bottle of magnesium citrate to drink

Night Before
Hi puppetman my doctor didn't give me anything the day before or the night before to take but I've heard others on this site who have. I would suggest after the surgery a glass of prune juice to help get you going to the bathroom after surgery.

Darryl

puppetman

DarrylPe said:

Surgery and Recovery
Hi Puppetman I believe the length of time the surgery takes varies from patient to patient. My surgery took about a hour and ahalf in total and was done hand assisted laproscopic. As far as my pain right after surgery it wasn't bad but after the meds from surgery wear off you might become sore in the area of the surgery.Walking helps alot and my pain meds kept the pain down and allowed me to sleep at night. My doctor wanted to send me home the next day but I asked him to let me stay for one more night. You'll do fine and it will be over quickly I'll keep you in my prays God bless.

Darryl

Thanks

Thanks

babycakes11

puppetman said:

Dont know why it put it on
Dont know why it put it on here 3 times, but did You have to drink anything the day before , I got Me a bottle of magnesium citrate to drink

Procedure time
Hi Puppetman. My surgery lasted 4 and a half hours and I stayed in the hospital four days after. My husband was off from work for a few days and he took care of me along with my children. For the first week all I wanted to do was sleep and didn't have an appetite at all but as the days progressed it got better. I stopped taking the pain meds three days out of surgery because I was tired of the way they made me feel. I managed the pain ok on my own. The day before I had to drink the same stuff you have to and was on a clear liquid diet. It wasn't fun ( it was my birthday) but it wasn't the worse thing either. Are you having the open surgery?

puppetman

puppetman said:

Thanks

Thanks

Pre op
I went for My pre-op today, just wondering , I have kidney cancer and they going to remove My right kidney on May 4th, so I am wondering why would they xray my chest today, has this been done to any of You before You had Your kidney out?

icemantoo

puppetman said:

Pre op
I went for My pre-op today, just wondering , I have kidney cancer and they going to remove My right kidney on May 4th, so I am wondering why would they xray my chest today, has this been done to any of You before You had Your kidney out?

Chest Xray
A chest Xray is part of a general physical before undergoing major surgery. In the case of Kidney Cancer they wznt to rule out any metastisizing to the lungs which would be one of the first evidences if Kidney Cancer has spread, but not likely for a small tumor. That being said I as well as I believe many members of our club had a chest Xray before our surgery.

Jamie1.3cm

puppetman said:

Pre op
I went for My pre-op today, just wondering , I have kidney cancer and they going to remove My right kidney on May 4th, so I am wondering why would they xray my chest today, has this been done to any of You before You had Your kidney out?

chest xray
Yep, it's required before any major surgery. I always thought screening for TB.