Open Radical Nephrectomy on Tuesday

Bugs Bollox

Thanks

I appreciate all the encouragement. This is going to take some time and patience. Just pacing myself, taking daily walks in the woods and lots of naps.

One step at a time.

Madame Y

Bugs Bollox said:

Thanks

I appreciate all the encouragement. This is going to take some time and patience. Just pacing myself, taking daily walks in the woods and lots of naps.

One step at a time.

Best of luck Bugs

Hi,

The very best of luck with your recovery Bugs. Taking daily walks and lots of naps sounds like exactly the right approach. I think it's also really helpful to have a forum like this where you can find support and encouragement from people who have been through a similar experience because I think it's quite difficult for others to entirely understand what this feels like. Once you have got the pathology results, you will be able to process stuff and hopefully gradually start to regain your strength. The way I thought about it coming up to my partial nephrectomy was I have got to get this in the rear view mirror and you have done that by having the op. Wishing you well. 

Bugs Bollox

Pathology Report

The pathology report came back. The kidney tumor turned out to be cancer. They removed it completely along with the adrenal gland. Cancer was contained; margins were clear. Whew.

I'm getting various aches and pains, including frequent back pain, that are probably normal surgery-related things. But two weeks after surgery I'm also feeling heavy fatigue much of the time. I wonder if that has to do with the adrenalectomy. I did lose a lot of weight. Has anyone experienced this? Does it pass?

eug91

Bugs Bollox said:

Pathology Report

The pathology report came back. The kidney tumor turned out to be cancer. They removed it completely along with the adrenal gland. Cancer was contained; margins were clear. Whew.

I'm getting various aches and pains, including frequent back pain, that are probably normal surgery-related things. But two weeks after surgery I'm also feeling heavy fatigue much of the time. I wonder if that has to do with the adrenalectomy. I did lose a lot of weight. Has anyone experienced this? Does it pass?

fatigue is totally normal-

Everybody goes through the fatigue. In the weeks after my neph, I took more naps than I probably have since I was a toddler. 

My post-neph back pain came and went. It definitely freaked me out at first, and my mind always wandered back to "maybe it's the cancer". In the end, it's just the body healing up. You've been through a lot, so try to take it easy. If the discomfort continues, don't be afraid to mention it to your doctor. But everything you're describing sounds normal to me.

 

APny

Two weeks is nothing. Your

Two weeks is nothing. Your body underwent major trauma. It'll take to heal and get back to normal. So aches and pains is natural. I did lose weight as I had zero appetite after suregery but then gained it back. And I also had a lot of fatigue. It takes a while (I want to say about a month) to start feeling somewhat like your old self. 

Bugs Bollox

Whew!

Whew!

So the weight comes back?  Crap!

WeAreWarriors

Bugs Bollox said:

Pathology Report

The pathology report came back. The kidney tumor turned out to be cancer. They removed it completely along with the adrenal gland. Cancer was contained; margins were clear. Whew.

I'm getting various aches and pains, including frequent back pain, that are probably normal surgery-related things. But two weeks after surgery I'm also feeling heavy fatigue much of the time. I wonder if that has to do with the adrenalectomy. I did lose a lot of weight. Has anyone experienced this? Does it pass?

You'll know it when you feel it...

Good Morning Bugs,

My radical Nephrectomy was April 21. Six weeks and I finally almost feel like myself. Fatigue was overwhelming and still hits me hard after a long day. My Dr. warned me not to overdo it but it seems like I overdid it at least once a week. He told me I'd know I'd overdone it when I felt it! Man he was right. At 5 weeks I went to a BBQ thinking no problem I got this! I ended up laid out on the couch for 24 hours. Worst I had felt the entire recovery! So take it easy. Enjoy the chance to slow down if you can. It's so hard though all I want to do is go for a run and ride my horse but I know that could set me back weeks. Remember it's not just the surgey our bodies are trying to figure out how to function with one kidney too... you got this!

WeAreWarriors

Bugs Bollox said:

Whew!

Whew!

So the weight comes back?  Crap!

Oh and

yep, the weight comes back! And right now other than walking there is nothing I can do about it. 

Bugs Bollox

So much for the silver lining

So much for the silver lining in this big cloud...

a_oaklee

Your back pain is most likely

Your back pain is most likely surgical pain, and also muscular strain from how different you are holding your body when you move, walking, sitting, sleeping.  That being said, if you are very concerned that the back pain is not going away, or getting worse, you should call your doctor and ask for an MRI of your back.  It's going to take a couple months to feel alot better, and perhaps six months to feel almost normal.  My husband worked half days for awhile.  On days he felt great, he would do too much and end up having a couple pajama days.  He had to learn to pace himself and not overdo.  He still struggles with overdoing it.   I hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery.  (Make sure you get your own written reports of the scans, operative report and pathology report).

Bugs Bollox

a_oaklee said:

Your back pain is most likely

Your back pain is most likely surgical pain, and also muscular strain from how different you are holding your body when you move, walking, sitting, sleeping.  That being said, if you are very concerned that the back pain is not going away, or getting worse, you should call your doctor and ask for an MRI of your back.  It's going to take a couple months to feel alot better, and perhaps six months to feel almost normal.  My husband worked half days for awhile.  On days he felt great, he would do too much and end up having a couple pajama days.  He had to learn to pace himself and not overdo.  He still struggles with overdoing it.   I hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery.  (Make sure you get your own written reports of the scans, operative report and pathology report).

I agree. The pain is probably

I agree. The pain is probably from the surgery. I’m not freaked out about it, but it is annoying. I have a follow up with the surgeon on Monday so we’ll see what he thinks. Sounds like the next couple months won’t be terribly productive.  Thanks for chiming in.