Waiting for surgery re: Kidney removal

gramma512 said:

Hi DarrylPe
I had hand assisted laparoscopic removal of my right kidney seven weeks ago for a baseball sized tumor. It was found accidentally on December 16, 2010 and removed February 16, 2011. I barely had time to think about it before it was over. The worst part pre-op is that horrible cleansing, but the good news is it will help your doctor move your colon around during surgery. I was told it would make the initial days after surgery more comfortable, too. So as bad as it is, just plan to do it and stay at home. I think I was told that surgery took about 4 hours. I know I woke up in my room around 11:30 pm and was up walking the next morning at 5:30 - on my own, just me and the IV tube. I only made it two doors down in the hallway, but it was a start. Force yourself to make those walks two or three times a day while you are in the hospital. If my doc's resident had had it his way, I would have been walking constantly any time I was awake - but that isn't realistic. You will be very tired. I wasn't prepared for how much I slept the first few weeks. I spent 4 days in the hospital, but that was mainly because I was 5 hours from home and they wanted to be sure I had started passing gas before they would allow me to leave. The colon is the last body part to "wake up" after this surgery (maybe all surgeries, I don't know). As gross as it sounds, the gas lets them know that the colon is once again functioning. I wasn't given any meal restrictions after the first day, but be aware that if you eat many solid foods before your colon is "awake" you may regret it. I did. I wanted to go home so bad I sent my husband out for Krystal burgers...little southern goodies that are full of flavor and never fail to send me running for the bathroom under normal circumstances just a few hours after indulging. Needless to say, they didn't work their magic and I was miserable. If you want to help yourself reach this little milestone so you can get out of there, ask your nurse to bring you warm prune juice. Choke it down, it works. My husband was worried sick about making a 5 hour drive back through the mountains with me, but I just took a Percocet every 3 hours and kept a pillow behind my back and on my lap to cushion any bumps he failed to miss. Hopefully you won't have that kind of drive to deal with. Once home, I spent the first week propped up on the couch - slept there and ate there. I got up only to walk several times a day. When I wasn't up walking, I was sleeping. I was finally comfortable lying flat in the bed about 10 days post op and could sleep on my left side by the 3rd week post op. By 4 weeks, I could sleep on my right side. I went back to work part time after 4 weeks, and full time at 6 weeks. Yesterday was 7 weeks since my surgery. I still don't have 100% of my energy back, but was told by my urologist that I probably wouldn't until 12 weeks. Don't push yourself too hard, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, exercise as much as you can through walking those first weeks, and enjoy your recovery time the best you can. Regular life starts back soon enough. Thank God that if you had to have cancer, you got one that they can easily remove. I'll be praying for you.

puppetman said:

Still waiting
Hi, I found out 3 weeks ago that I have a 4cm cancer on My right kidney, after seeing 2 doc's about it, they send Me to a 3rd Doc that wants His own Cat scan of My right kidney, He says from the report from the 2nd Doc that it is at the top of my kidney, and He might be able to take only half of the right kidney, I go get the new cat scan on the 6th of this month, and go see Him on the 11th , I heard that I will be in a lot of pain after "I can take a lot of pain real good, pain don't bother Me" I am not bothered about the cancer, I have 100% Fath in God to know I will be ok, what I want to know is how many Weeks after I get out of the hospital before I can do stuff , I play the Easter Bunny for a store around this time of year "in a few days", I wear a bunny suit, I am not bothered by pain, I just want to play the bunny as soon as I can after I get out of the hospital, can anyone let me know how soon I can start doing stuff? Seeing and making Children happy is all that matters to Me.


Thanks
Gary

puppetman said:

Thanks, that stuff I will
Thanks, that stuff I will have to drink to clean me out, will it make me sick?

icemantoo said:

Puppetman
The liquid plumber should not make you sick. You will be uncomfortable. You probably will not feel well enough to use the iPod in the day or two after surgery. The one good thing about this is that surgery is better than the alternative. With a small tumor the odds are that the surgery will be a cure although you will have follow up tests for years.

Best wishes,

Icemantoo

DarrylPe said:

Keep your spirits up
I like that joke may I use it? it's good to see that you have a sense of humor. My surgery is on April 13th this site has helped me alot with invaluable info let me know whens your surgery so I can pray for you .
Good Luck
Darryl

puppetman said:

When I get my right kidney
When I get my right kidney out, I will have one left, lol that was a joke "one left", but I will have my iPod with my in the hospital, so after my kidney is removed. I can still be on here in the hospital.

antjeanne said:

You will be on some heavey
You will be on some heavey meds after surgery, be carefull with the ipod. lol. My wife took my blackberry from me to prevent me from posting on facebook while hitting the morphine button.