Well stalling and denial did not work...who wants to help me prep for a full nephrectomy?

foroughsh

Sorry you had to join. The

Sorry you had to join. The surgery is not a walk in the park but yet quite better that what it seems. Mine was open radical, I had one though night but thing got better since that day after.  Walk a lot, drink loads of water, do breathing exercises, use your recliner, don't hesitate to get in touch with your surgeon if it's something which makes you worried, have a list of questions and ask your surgeon before the surgery to be more emotionally ready for it, stay hopeful. 

sblairc

Listen to the Iceman

It will be worse if you re-lapse. That will be a longer recovery. My husband had the robotic surgery. He's a big strong fit dude. It still knocked him on his **** and was a huge wake up call for him to take it slow when in recovery. See what you can do to line up some help with the family. Netflix is a good babysitter too. No shame in that!!

Allochka

Good luck with your surgery,

Good luck with your surgery, and please do not ignore recommended breathing exercises afterwards. My husband did ignore and ended up with pneumonia

Jan4you

CCope81 said:

Thank you!

So many things I didn't think of! I was wondering if I should get a band like I did after having csections. I remember the support being helpful. I didn't even think to stock up before surgery. 

Remember, I just suggested you use a lumbar support around your abdomen. It is velcro and has an extra strap. I used it for both my surgeries, even to bed, and it helped me get uP as its truly supports those tender muscles.

You can get them at drug stores. I also put dry ice packet inside it, near the larger of the little incisions and it truly reduced the swelling naturally, cutting down the need for pain meds. Dry ice less messy,stays colder longer.

When I was in the hospital i BEGGED for ice bag and RN kept offering Opiates instead. finally the PT gal went and took a plastic glove, filled with ice cubes and brought it back to me. It helped!

Jan

Jan4you

CCope81 said:

Robotic?

I got a call today to pre-register which is stupid because they will still register me when I get there. But he said a robotic nephrectomy was what I was having. 

You need to be preregistered

You need to be preregistered so the pharmacy and staff have all your medications available for you, ( I take a lot) and they are ready for medical history.

Robatic arms that actually go into the abdomen and conduct the surgery, but the surgeon is across the room, running those robatic arms. Little incisions, inch lnog at most, while the larger one about 3-4  inches is the one where surgeon pulls out the kidney. I have had 2 laproscopic/robatic surgeries and recovered MUCH quicker with less pain. Its less intrusive. BUT remember that gas they use hurts when trapped. THAT was my only pain. Honest.

There is amazing video of this surgery. Show how the surgeon "bags" the kidney inside and pulls it out w/o the "cancer cells" touching other areas. Amazing!

Jan

todd121

Jan4you said:

Remember, I just suggested you use a lumbar support around your abdomen. It is velcro and has an extra strap. I used it for both my surgeries, even to bed, and it helped me get uP as its truly supports those tender muscles.

You can get them at drug stores. I also put dry ice packet inside it, near the larger of the little incisions and it truly reduced the swelling naturally, cutting down the need for pain meds. Dry ice less messy,stays colder longer.

When I was in the hospital i BEGGED for ice bag and RN kept offering Opiates instead. finally the PT gal went and took a plastic glove, filled with ice cubes and brought it back to me. It helped!

Jan

Dry Ice

You sure don't want that in direct or even close contact with your skin (if you like your skin and want to keep it)...

Todd

todd121

Nephrectomy - How Most of Us Started Here

Like you, my tumor was too close/involved with the blood supply for a partial, so I had to have a radical. My tumor was in the middle of my kidney. Because of that, they wanted to take the kidney out whole for pathology and not cut it up. So even though I had a robotic laparascopic surgery, I ended up with a 6" scar, plus the other 1" ones scattered from sternum to lower abdomen.

Narcotics make me nauseous, so I got off them very quickly. My doctor let me take tramadol (some docs don't like it as it can be hard on kidneys), but it worked for me. I was off it within 1-2 days of leaving the hospital and on just normal tylenol.

You should know that you will not really know what this is until you get the pathology report back. I thought they could tell from the images and I was completely wrong. Whatever they told you about staging, etc. are guesses. Don't assume. I was very unhappy when I got mine back because when they told me if it was RCC it was Stage 1. Wrong. Even though my tumor was smaller than 7 cm, it had grown into some of the blood vessels and that made it Stage 3. I had been hoping it wouldn't even be cancer (they said there was a 5% chance of it being something benign), then I got this news and I was just shocked. I wish I'd been told that the pathology is what decides what it is. It seems obvious now, but it wasn't to me then.

They are going to want you walking right away. Do it. It'll hurt, but you will be able to do it.

I live alone and my bedroom is upstairs. I have a large bathroom, so I got a small fridge, microwave, and stocked up on all the stuff I'd need before my surgery so I wouldn't have to do stairs every day. It turns out, I would've been ok with stairs. Still, I was glad the first few days to stay in my room.

They encourage walking and drinking lots of water and doing your breathing exercises. Do that.

For me, standing or laying down were the most comfortable positions. Sitting put pressure on the incision. I spent a lot of time watching tv and pacing.

If you can get away from opiods, do it. They are constipating and you may not have a bowel movement for several days following the surgery. Lots of people have strong opinions on this. I'm glad I can't take opiods. They are not only addictive, but constipating.

Get a mild stool softener with a mild laxative. My doctor recommended Senna Plus. Drinking plenty of water and walking will help get your bowels working normally. I started to get concerned by Friday when I still hadn't had a bowel movement (my surgery was Monday). The nurse told me if I wasn't nauseous or vomiting not to worry about it. She said it has to go somewhere, and if it can't go down, it'll come up. Odd, but that made me feel better since I wasn't nauseous. The next day things started to work. Stay away from harsh laxatives. You can end up with the opposite problem.

Of course don't lift anything. Don't drive for a couple of weeks till your doctor clears you to do it. It's not that driving normally is a problem, it's more about if you get in an emergency situation and need to react quickly you might hurt yourself.

Stock up on healthy, bland, non-binding foods for that first week until your stomach recovers.

There will be pain, but you'll do fine. It's not going to be as bad as you think.

Take care of yourself. Keep your stress low. Let others help you. Ask for help when you need it.

Hope it all goes very smoothly.

Best wishes,

Todd

P.S. Recovery takes a long time. Your outsides will heal before your insides. I took 6 weeks off work and I'm absolutely glad I did. Even when I went back, I was dead tired by 4-5pm and it was like that for a couple of months. It took a year or more for me to feel normal. I think it takes the body awhile to get used to not having that kidney. Be sure to monitor your blood pressure after your nephrectomy. Mine went up after my nephrectomy and I ended up needing BP meds where I never needed them before. Might want to follow up with a nephrologist (I still see one) and an oncologist if it turns out to be needed (I hope you don't need it). I felt more comfortable being followed by an oncologist with RCC experience rather than a urologist (who probably won't be treating it if it comes back).

CCope81

Bay Area Guy said:

Laparoscopic or Open

Do you know if the procedure will be one or the other.  Lap surgery should entail a little less pain and a shorter recovery time than the open.  If you do have an open and the surgeon goes in through the abdomen, have a pillow with you when you're sitting in a chair or lying in bed.  If you cough, sneeze or just try to get up, hold the pillow nice and tight against your abdomen for support.  While my kidney surgery was a robotic assisted laparoscopic partial, I have had experience with open abdominal surgery.  The pillow was my saving grace while the major muscles of my abdomen were trying to knit back together.

The nurse told me today to prepare for an open.....

I didn't even know what that meant! They plan on trying the robot first I guess. 

foxhd

do not

concern yourself with which procedure is used. It is ridiculus that people worry about a scar or a week or 2 longer recovery from total nephrectomy when the only concern should be, get it out, get it out now. Even if you get carved up like a jack o lantern.

Jan4you

todd121 said:

Dry Ice

You sure don't want that in direct or even close contact with your skin (if you like your skin and want to keep it)...

Todd

No, i don't place in on

No, i don't place in on direct skin. Its in a case and goes over your underwear.

Jan

Jan4you

CCope81 said:

The nurse told me today to prepare for an open.....

I didn't even know what that meant! They plan on trying the robot first I guess. 

The surgeon has to prepare

The surgeon has to prepare you in case necessary, to do an OPEN incision, vs laproscopic.

I was dreading an open one, but at time of pre-surgery, he said,, "of course I'll be doing a laproscopic/robotic."

Jan

Jan4you

CCope81 said:

52 incapacitated adult clients, 5 kids, 2 German Shepherds

a husband and a partridge in a pear Tree. I think I am less concerned about the actual surgery then I am about having to manage my life while trying to recover. I'm hoping to have my 4 new clients out of the hospital and settled into adult family homes or nursing homes before I go in. Difficult but not impossible. My kids range from 17 to 2 and 4 of the 5 are total a$$holes. I'm worried about the two youngest who are boys and want to crawl on me like I'm a jungle gym. My husbands taking 12 days off but he's a train conductor and will be gone again for 2-3 days at  a time by day 13. So I need to be better by then. I wonder if I can put this off a bit longer. 

Have meals prepared so your

Have meals prepared so your hubby can just heat it up.

ASK and plan for what you need post-surgery. Discuss this with your hubby, kids.

Ask neighbors, friends, folks from church to help out (laundry, babysitting, cleaning).

BUT you HAVE TO REST!! Many of us feel good enough to take a walk, and end up doing too much, too soon, which can hurt you in ternally. So tell your family what this healing entails!

Hugs, Jan

mrou50

CC

I am sorry you have to go through this but you need to get that out.  I had a radical neprectomy thrust upon me, I had two tumors one fairly large and one medium and my kidney shut down.  So denial and waiting are not an option, my doctor told me when I went to the hospital in exteme pain my kidney was 24 hours from bursting so have it removed.  There was very little pain for me most came after being home for a few days and quitting the pain pills. Your team will make sure you are completley out and then they will give you pills for the pain.  You will be fine.

 

Mark

Footstomper

CCope81 said:

The nurse told me today to prepare for an open.....

I didn't even know what that meant! They plan on trying the robot first I guess. 

Maybe

My surgeon wanted to try lapriscopic surgery, but then everything was too big and complicated they went open. I dont know that it makes much difference towards you, the patient apart from maybe a slightly longer recovery time.

Footstomper

sblairc said:

Netflix, headphones and earplugs

In case you have sleep issues (hospitals suck) and earplugs to help you get a good night sleep if you are particularly restless. My husband was the acdtual patient, but I was grateful for the earplugs, lol!!! 

It can truly be the little things that make the BIG differences. Like soft ice packs for back pain (or any muscle pain/gas shoulder pain)

Or there's PBS

Leave it on while you sleep. It blocks out all the background clutter and is guarunteed to lull you into unconsciousness

Iggyrip

Hi CCope

Welcome to the club. There are a lot of great people here with a lot of experience. I was in your shoes not too long ago; however, I did not want to delay my surgery. I wanted my tumor out as soon as possible.

On 10/12/16, I had a radical nephrectomy. I was in the hospital for two days and spent three weeks at home. I too was worried about the pain and what position to sleep. I had lapriscopic surgery,and had little pain. For me, the first week was the hardest, especially sleep. I slept propped up on pillows for the first couple of nights, then I slept on my left side. It would have been nice to have a recliner, but you can do without it.  You will get stronger  each week and your movement will improve. Make sure you walk and do the breathing exercises they give you.

Everyone reacts differently to the operation. I have not had much pain, but cannot sleep on my right side (they took out my right kidney). I am now back at work and feeling pretty good.  I did go through a depression after the operation that still lingers, but I feel lucky my cancer was found early. My tumor was Stage One and had not spread. I will need future CT scans to make sure things are good, but I am ok with it. I hope things turn out well for you too.

I wish you well on your operation and recovery.

 

Iggyrip

 

 

CCope81

Thank you!

You all have been a huge help. I feel ready. Did anyone pack a bag for the hospital stay? I'm going in Thursday and Im not sure when they will release me. My hopes are that they do it quickly.  Herbert is about 7cm at this point and has to come out while still enclosed in the kidney capsule. I have always had a pain under my ribs on the left side. Did anyone else have pain with their growths? Or is it all in my head?

Footstomper

I think all I took

Was a copy of Dante's inferno and some loose clothes for going home in. Good luck, enjoy the nap.

 

PS. Dante's Inferno was a terrible idea!

hardo718

I took....

my own robe, because I didn't want any "southern exposure" when roaming the halls and hate the hospital provided ones and my toothbrush.  Can't be without my SonicCare. 

Best wishes and God Bless.  Soon Herbert will be out and just a bad memory.  I didn't have pain, but I did experience a pressure and that's what sent me to the doctor.  Every night when I slept if I rolled to my left side it felt like I was rolling over a tennis ball and it would wake me.  Glad I listened to my body.  "Bob the Blob" was introducing himself.  Post surgery: make sure you do those breathing exercises, that's key in avoiding the complication of pneumonia.

Donna~

todd121

CCope81 said:

Thank you!

You all have been a huge help. I feel ready. Did anyone pack a bag for the hospital stay? I'm going in Thursday and Im not sure when they will release me. My hopes are that they do it quickly.  Herbert is about 7cm at this point and has to come out while still enclosed in the kidney capsule. I have always had a pain under my ribs on the left side. Did anyone else have pain with their growths? Or is it all in my head?

Hospital

I didn't even take clothes to go home in. As soon as you get there, you'll be changing out of whatever you came in anyway. I'd suggest something with a stretchy wasteband like sweats.

All I packed was my cell phone and the charger. I wouldn't even take anything to read if I were you. You aren't going to feel like doing anything for a day or two but resting, eating (as soon as you can) and visiting the bathroom.

Somebody mentioned earplugs/headphones. Probably a good idea. Maybe one of those things to cover your eyes. They are AWFUL about noise and light during the night in the hospital. I wanted to shoot someone by my second night there. I get the feeling the nurses think "If I have to be awake, then you have to be awake." I sent my son home the second night. He couldn't sleep. I told him to go home. One of us might as well get some sleep...

Good luck to you. You'll be fine. Let us know please.

Todd

P.S. I'm wondering if I missed you already and you've already checked in...Either way, I hope it goes well/went well. Get well soon.