Long Term Recovery Healing

Tesla1
Tesla1 Member Posts: 46

I am a 56 year old male and 10 weeks post robotic partial left nephrectomy to remove a 4 cm oncocytoma. I see lots of accounts of recovery in the hours or weeks following recovery but little about long term. My recovery has been very good in that my strength and stamina are probably 80-85% of what I was before surgery. When I over do it I get the usual fatigue that goes with it but I also get mild pain in my abdomen at the surgery site but not in the kidney area. This usually mostly goes away after a nights sleep but this last bout of pain is slighty more painful and is lingering after doing my normal interval training and calisthenics a few days ago.  It's not a constant pain but I can easily create the pain when in a sitting position and bending over like when putting on my socks. 

Anyway, my questions are:

How long did it take for you to be 100% pain free?

Any chronic pain that sticks around indefinitely?

How long to get all of your stamina and strength back?

Thanks

Barry

 

Comments

  • Bay Area Guy
    Bay Area Guy Member Posts: 619 Member
    I had similar surgery last

    I had similar surgery last year.  In anser to your questions:

    1.  I was probably relatively pain free in about three months.  I got back to the gym in about six weeks and back to normal weight lifting (normal for me, that is) in about eight weeks.

    2.  The only chronic condition I've had is numbness in my right hip.  It started after the surgery and has been fairly consistent.  It doesn't affect walking or running and it doesn't hurt at all.  It's the same feeling as if my arm fell asleep.

    3.  My stamina and strength came back probably about three or four months after surgery.

  • DreamOnDeb
    DreamOnDeb Member Posts: 112
    Tesla1,

    Tesla1,

    Just a thought.....make sure you don't have a hernia.  My husband hasn't had his surgery yet, but the surgeon told him to make sure he doesn't lift anything heavy for eight weeks after his surgery to prevent a hernia at the incision sites.

  • Tesla1
    Tesla1 Member Posts: 46
    edited July 2017 #4
    I think it might have been

    I think it might have been the interval training where I do a walk/run protocol. My theory is there is a whole lot of jostling going on in the area where connective tissue was damaged during surgery.....connective tissue that secured the organs. When I first started a power walk or very light short jog I would have to hold my abdomen at the surgical site because it felt "loose".

    Deb, when is your husbands surgery? Will he have an open or laparoscopic? 

     

  • DreamOnDeb
    DreamOnDeb Member Posts: 112
    edited July 2017 #5
    Tesla1 said:

    I think it might have been

    I think it might have been the interval training where I do a walk/run protocol. My theory is there is a whole lot of jostling going on in the area where connective tissue was damaged during surgery.....connective tissue that secured the organs. When I first started a power walk or very light short jog I would have to hold my abdomen at the surgical site because it felt "loose".

    Deb, when is your husbands surgery? Will he have an open or laparoscopic? 

     

    Hi Tesla!  My husband's

    Hi Tesla!  My husband's surgery is August 21st.  He will have a robotic, laparoscopic nephrectomy.  I'm getting nervous (more so than he is), but I can't wait until it's over and he's on his way to recovery!