Have open partial and sooooooo scared

Poirier66 · November 2014

Like a lot of people one this forum my mass was found accidentally. I was passing a kidney stone and it was discovered on the ct. As you all have been through this you can imagine my surprise and shock when I found out. I am scheduled for partial on dec 1st. My mass was 3.8cm and from what i was told I don't have it anywhere else. They say I'm very lucky that it was found....unfortunately I didn't feel very lucky at the time. Can you tell me what I can expect after surgery.

icemantoo · November 2014

We were all scared

Poirier,

There is not one of us who was diagnosed with kidney cancer (usually out of the blue) that was not scared and to top it off told we were going to have major surgery right out of the gate. Most of us never heard of kidney cancer before we were diagnosed and things like that always happened to other people.

The surgery is not fun. There is no way to sugar coat it. It does however for most small tumors such as yours cure kidney cancer. Yes there will be scans. Yes there will be some downtime, and yes if you read the internet too much there are challanging outcomes, but with such a small tumor you can expect (the odds are in your favor) a long healthy life. My surgery was 12 years ago and I am now 71. My cement contractor. Liborio is the same age as me and his was 20 years ago. My neighbor, Faye across the street is only 84 and her surgery was at a young 64.

Things will get better and may you have an uneventful and painless surgery. OK it will not be painless.

Icemantoo

nsb748 · November 2014

Hi,
I had an open partial as

Hi,

I had an open partial as well (beginning of March 2014)

I had my surgery around 11:00am and it took about 3 hours from beginning to end.

I'm not going to sugar coat it... Right after you have the surgery, it hurts pretty bad. Take the pain killers every time they offer them.

Get up and walk around as soon as they tell you that you are allowed, and drink lots of fluids.

In my experience, the first and second days were pretty rough, but after that, each day I felt dramatically better.

After a couple weeks, I just had some aches and pains that were tolerable, and after a month I felt just about good as new.

With the open surgery, they may have to nip off one of your ribs. They had to take out one of mine, and the "rib stump" is really the only place I have any lingering aches.

Stock up on movies, books, and shows, eat lots of fiber, drink lots of water, and relax. Your mileage may vary, but I would reccomend you start excercising and stretching now (if you don't already). I think being physically active allows your body to heal up faster.

Do a lot of walking while you are healing and once you have the "all clear" from your surgeon, start excercising/stretching again. Getting back to a regular excercise routine really helped to get rid of the last of my soreness.

APny · November 2014

nsb748 said:
Hi,
I had an open partial as
Hi,

I had an open partial as well (beginning of March 2014)

I had my surgery around 11:00am and it took about 3 hours from beginning to end.

I'm not going to sugar coat it... Right after you have the surgery, it hurts pretty bad. Take the pain killers every time they offer them.

Get up and walk around as soon as they tell you that you are allowed, and drink lots of fluids.

In my experience, the first and second days were pretty rough, but after that, each day I felt dramatically better.

After a couple weeks, I just had some aches and pains that were tolerable, and after a month I felt just about good as new.

With the open surgery, they may have to nip off one of your ribs. They had to take out one of mine, and the "rib stump" is really the only place I have any lingering aches.

Stock up on movies, books, and shows, eat lots of fiber, drink lots of water, and relax. Your mileage may vary, but I would reccomend you start excercising and stretching now (if you don't already). I think being physically active allows your body to heal up faster.

Do a lot of walking while you are healing and once you have the "all clear" from your surgeon, start excercising/stretching again. Getting back to a regular excercise routine really helped to get rid of the last of my soreness.

I had an open partial in

I had an open partial in March and the anticipation and dread was a lot worse than the surgery and the recovery. The first day was a blur and really not too bad as I had a pain killer drip I could self administer as needed. They kicked me out of bed and had me walking that evening. I was a bit shaky but not really in pain. Next day was tougher but not horrible. I was off the morphine drip and taking pain killer pills every four hours. That was good as the morphine made me nauseated and I didn't like it. I walked and walked and walked some more and drank tons of water. Third day I went home and kept walking and drinking water. Not much appetite for a few days so just had soup and crackers. Off pain killers after a week. A couple of things I read about on this forum helped.

Get a garbage bag for the seat of your car when going home so you can slide easily and not have to twist your body. Have a pillow to put under the seat belt so it's not rubbing against the incision. Some people slept in their recliners and I bought one for that reason but did not need it. Someone recommended getting a long body pillow and a wedge. I used them and was able to sleep in my own bed. Getting in and out is no fun at first but you'll have plenty of practice in the hospital when they get you up to walk.

Best of luck to you and once it's over I think you'll agree that while no fun, it wasn't as bad as you feared.

Positive_Mental_Attitude · November 2014

Being scared is a normal part

Being scared is a normal part of the process. I remember reading a bunch of stuff on the internet prior to my surgery and I was a mess afterward. I look back on it now and feel silly about the whole thing. But for many of us, it is the dual shocker of dealing with the "c" word and fear of the unknown. Well, I am another person who will tell you the fear and anticipation are worse than the surgery and recovery itself. My situation was very similar to APNy (we went to the same excellent doctor). I remember going to the surgery room, having a conversation with the anesthesiologist, and waking up several hours later in recovery. I was forced to walk that same evening. Pain was managable the next day, and went home the morning of the third day. On the fifth day, I started walking 6 miles per day --I tend to take things to extremes. It was summer time, and I live 1.5 miles from the beach, so I walked back and forth once in the morning, and once in the evening. My teenage son walked with me almost every night, and it was a great time to bond with him. Probably the best part about the whole recovery period was getting away from work for 2-3 weeks. That was great! The only thing I remember that was difficult for 1-3 weeks was coughing (not too bad), laughing (worse--and I love to laugh), and sneezing (the worst!). But it was manageable. My hospital gave me a hug/squeeze pillow for coughing and sneezing.

The folks here are wonderful. An excellent on-line support group. Keep asking questions. We are here for you. Trust me, but the end of 2014, you will be giving advice to new members of the club.

Poirier66 · November 2014

It's great hearing of other

It's great hearing of other people experiences. I know everyone is different when it comes to pain and recovery but hearing that it's tallerable makes it easier. I Dr said recovery time was 3 to 5 month which kinda surprised me a bit. I just can't believe there are so many people going through this. I also suffer from panic and anxiety disorder so you can only imagine my anxiety. Also quit smoking October 18th after 30 years of smoking. My sleep quality is not that greaT which increasing my stress level. Anyway can't wait until this is over and I'm home.

Jan4you · November 2014

Poirier66 said:
It's great hearing of other
It's great hearing of other people experiences. I know everyone is different when it comes to pain and recovery but hearing that it's tallerable makes it easier. I Dr said recovery time was 3 to 5 month which kinda surprised me a bit. I just can't believe there are so many people going through this. I also suffer from panic and anxiety disorder so you can only imagine my anxiety. Also quit smoking October 18th after 30 years of smoking. My sleep quality is not that greaT which increasing my stress level. Anyway can't wait until this is over and I'm home.

A warm welcome to you! I know

A warm welcome to you! I know you are scared hon, but as you have heard that is normal.

I had prior surgeries so I was prepared, but worried about the open incision vs the laproscopic which I had before and it was much easier. Did your surgeon tell you WHY you are having an open incision? Does he/she do robatic laproscopic surgeries?

You'll have lots of meds. Make sure you tell the anesthesiologist about your anxiety. If you already take an anti anxiety med then that will be prescribed while in the hospital. So make sure you bring your list of meds. Actually the hospital RN calls prior to your surgery date and gets your history and meds at that time. But again, let anyone know who is treating you what you need, okay?

I also used a velcro lumbar wrap (used for back back support) to support my abdomen. Both my surgeons said it was okay to use. I even wore it to bed at first. It supports those sore muscles while you are healing and makes it easier to get up. You can also use a pillow and breath OUT whenever you are getting up.

I always do my labor breathing to relax myself or whenever I am about to have something intrusive done that could be uncomfortable or scary. It really works!! ALWAYS breath OUT at the time you are having something doen to you that could be careful.

Again, I would find out why it is an open incision vs robatic=laproscopic.

Keep us informed hon and ask as many questions you need to. We'll be here for you!!

Here's a gentle hug,

Jan

Poirier66 · November 2014

Jan4you said:
A warm welcome to you! I know
A warm welcome to you! I know you are scared hon, but as you have heard that is normal.

I had prior surgeries so I was prepared, but worried about the open incision vs the laproscopic which I had before and it was much easier. Did your surgeon tell you WHY you are having an open incision? Does he/she do robatic laproscopic surgeries?

You'll have lots of meds. Make sure you tell the anesthesiologist about your anxiety. If you already take an anti anxiety med then that will be prescribed while in the hospital. So make sure you bring your list of meds. Actually the hospital RN calls prior to your surgery date and gets your history and meds at that time. But again, let anyone know who is treating you what you need, okay?

I also used a velcro lumbar wrap (used for back back support) to support my abdomen. Both my surgeons said it was okay to use. I even wore it to bed at first. It supports those sore muscles while you are healing and makes it easier to get up. You can also use a pillow and breath OUT whenever you are getting up.

I always do my labor breathing to relax myself or whenever I am about to have something intrusive done that could be uncomfortable or scary. It really works!! ALWAYS breath OUT at the time you are having something doen to you that could be careful.

Again, I would find out why it is an open incision vs robatic=laproscopic.

Keep us informed hon and ask as many questions you need to. We'll be here for you!!

Here's a gentle hug,

Jan

Thank you for all the advice.

Thank you for all the advice. I really feel like I have made lots of new friends that know exactly what I'm going through. They are doing open because of where the tumour is located. It's at the top of the kidney opposite adreal gland but behind so he side it would be easier to do open

Positive_Mental_Attitude · November 2014

Poirier66 said:
It's great hearing of other
It's great hearing of other people experiences. I know everyone is different when it comes to pain and recovery but hearing that it's tallerable makes it easier. I Dr said recovery time was 3 to 5 month which kinda surprised me a bit. I just can't believe there are so many people going through this. I also suffer from panic and anxiety disorder so you can only imagine my anxiety. Also quit smoking October 18th after 30 years of smoking. My sleep quality is not that greaT which increasing my stress level. Anyway can't wait until this is over and I'm home.

3 to 5 months seems long, but

3 to 5 months seems long, but it depends on your overall health and level of activity. Some people are back at work (desk jobs) within 1-3 weeks of the surgery. That may be pushing it. Like I said, I was walking a lot of miles 4-5 days after surgery, but I was doing so because I was motivated to help my body heal as quickly as possible. I did not start jogging until 2 months after the surgery. I am now 4 months post surgery, and I really don't have any limitations. I still have some numbness around my incision when I press on it, but there is no need for me to press on my incision.

APny · November 2014

Positive_Mental_Attitude said:
3 to 5 months seems long, but
3 to 5 months seems long, but it depends on your overall health and level of activity. Some people are back at work (desk jobs) within 1-3 weeks of the surgery. That may be pushing it. Like I said, I was walking a lot of miles 4-5 days after surgery, but I was doing so because I was motivated to help my body heal as quickly as possible. I did not start jogging until 2 months after the surgery. I am now 4 months post surgery, and I really don't have any limitations. I still have some numbness around my incision when I press on it, but there is no need for me to press on my incision.

Don't be afraid to ask for

Don't be afraid to ask for some anti-anxiety medication like Xanax. I used it, and still do at times when I feel anxious. Also, this was an excellent time to quit smoking because healing after surgery is much quicker and better if you don't smoke. The long recovery period suggested by your doctor is really more the time frame for being back to the way you were prior to surgery. You'll feel fine much sooner than that but will tire easier, and so forth. Make sure you take your time doing things especially in the beginning. The outside heals a lot faster than the inside and you don't want to end up with a hernia by rushing things.

Have open partial and sooooooo scared

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