New to forum, new diagnosis need help for post surgery

O-girl,

The first week at home is tough. Make sure he has stool softeners when the big day arrives. Don't have him push himself too much in the begining. Each day will get a little better with maybe a bad day in between.

Icemantoo

I also had robotic.  I spent 2 nights at the hospital.  As Bay Area Guy said, make sure he uses the incentive spirometer.  As a former Respiratory Therapist, getting those lungs back to normal lung expansion is critical so he doesn't have a pneumonia complication.  Due to sedation, pain meds, laying around more than usual and post-op pain one tends to breathe more shallowly.....not good for the lungs.  Short walks are important, so multiple times a day, with lots of rest in between.  Drink plenty of water, helps flush things out, keep that body temperature down in the normal range and help with the bowel activity....eventually.  Again, between being sedated and pain meds, usually takes a bit of encouragement to get those bowels moving again.  I also used a velcro lumbar support to give the feeling of everything being held together.  Helps a lot with moving from one position to another.  Another poster (Jan) always says she used dry ice with hers.  I wasn't aware of that addition or I may have tried it as well.  Personally, I did not have a lot of post-op pain, but I was VERY weak.  I typically am not the lay around type, so that was difficult for me to accept.  In time the discomfort eases and the strength comes back.  I literally didn't have much of an appetite after surgery for probably a good 2 weeks.  I would eat a few bites and feel so full.  It was nice that I lost a few pounds but the appetite returned and so did the weight.  Oh well.  Other than the above mentioned, have things for him that he may enjoy while laying around, books, movies, computer games, whatever.

Best wishes,

Donna~

Agreeing with advice to drink lots of water and do as much walking and as soon as possible. I also hugged a pillow when coughing, laughing, or sneezing. I even hugged it while walking. Yes, the breathing apparatus is a must. I used it every hour. A couple of things suggested on this forum worked great for me, such as bringing a large garbage bag on the day he's going home. Put it on the car seat and this way he can easily swivel in and out without moving his torso. Bring a pillow too to cushion the seat belt. Get a large body pillow to prop up against the incision side when in bed. I was lucky to be able to sleep in my own bed thanks to the body pillow. My surgery was open but not nearly as bad as I had feared. So the robotic/lap should be even easier on him. All the best to both of you.

I had to take stairs real slow. Moved a gravity lounger into living room for first week as I had hard time getting into and out of bed.the chair helped a lot. Watched a lot of tv, and caught up on some reading. When not napping.The surgeon limited lifting anything over a gallon of milk for 6 weeks. I moved slow and tried not to lift anything!

This is the start of my second week after having a partial nephrectomy on my left kidney. I am 36 years old with a history of testicular cancer. I am relatively good health but I am slightly overweight. The first week was very rough. I found that it was easiest to get confortable in a recliner (just be careful that it doesn't take too much effort to recline or to sit up after reclining). Most of my big pain came from moving and trying to initially sit down or stand up or lay down and get up. I stopped taking the pain meds I was prescribed on Sunday evening after having the surgery on Tuesday. I felt it was time to switch to something not as heavy. Be prepared to aid him to get comfort in whatever way he can get it. He may not feel like eating and drinking as I had no urge to do so but it is important to hydrate and to keep soomething down as his diet allows. Even broths and jello are better than nothing. Do not eat anything that could cause him to be nauseous other anything heavy. That can cause discomfort and if vomiting can cause severe pain. I dry heaved a few times I think from the pain meds and mixture of anasthesia and it was extremely painful. I found having a pillow or something to squeeze when coughing or riding in the car home was good to help to absorb the pain or keep it down. Gatorade and water are good to have on hand. I took time to walk each day around the house or whatever I could do. I started walking down the driveway to get the mail. Then I went a little farther to walking down my block. Just be careful not to over exert him. It can be more harmful than good. He may get to feeling better and think he is alright. He still needs to take time. Time is the biggest thing I am finding is the thing. Take time to rest, to take care of yourself and him, and take time to feel okay that it's alright to not do anything if that makes sense. I work a lot and tend to puch myself. I had to learn it was okay to not do ANYTHING. Sleep is good and it helps the body heal. If he can walk once every hour or so then thats good. I do not mean miles, but rather trips around/through the house. Do what you can and take it one day at a time. I hope that helps and I wish you and he a safe journey.

JMGateley said:

Take It Slow And Steady

This is the start of my second week after having a partial nephrectomy on my left kidney. I am 36 years old with a history of testicular cancer. I am relatively good health but I am slightly overweight. The first week was very rough. I found that it was easiest to get confortable in a recliner (just be careful that it doesn't take too much effort to recline or to sit up after reclining). Most of my big pain came from moving and trying to initially sit down or stand up or lay down and get up. I stopped taking the pain meds I was prescribed on Sunday evening after having the surgery on Tuesday. I felt it was time to switch to something not as heavy. Be prepared to aid him to get comfort in whatever way he can get it. He may not feel like eating and drinking as I had no urge to do so but it is important to hydrate and to keep soomething down as his diet allows. Even broths and jello are better than nothing. Do not eat anything that could cause him to be nauseous other anything heavy. That can cause discomfort and if vomiting can cause severe pain. I dry heaved a few times I think from the pain meds and mixture of anasthesia and it was extremely painful. I found having a pillow or something to squeeze when coughing or riding in the car home was good to help to absorb the pain or keep it down. Gatorade and water are good to have on hand. I took time to walk each day around the house or whatever I could do. I started walking down the driveway to get the mail. Then I went a little farther to walking down my block. Just be careful not to over exert him. It can be more harmful than good. He may get to feeling better and think he is alright. He still needs to take time. Time is the biggest thing I am finding is the thing. Take time to rest, to take care of yourself and him, and take time to feel okay that it's alright to not do anything if that makes sense. I work a lot and tend to puch myself. I had to learn it was okay to not do ANYTHING. Sleep is good and it helps the body heal. If he can walk once every hour or so then thats good. I do not mean miles, but rather trips around/through the house. Do what you can and take it one day at a time. I hope that helps and I wish you and he a safe journey.

If we have no appetite I tink we should not eat. It is our body communicating with us. I had no food for 4 days after my surgery and still recovered perfectly. If we're well nourished then we have reserves to get us through.

If I had to go through that again I would eat a very light diet for a couple of days before surgery.

Steve.

Reiterate what others have said. Drink LOTS of water, and as soon as able to do so--walk as much as possible.  I pushed myself on day 3 after surgery to walk 2 miles and on day 4 upped it to 4 miles, and it was worth it, as I recovered quickly from OPEN surgergy (not laparascopic or robotic).  I had a beach near me, so walking was a pleasure.  But we are all different, and recover at different rates.  I had a cough/sneeze/laugh pillow too. Sneezing was the worst.  Good times!

I like your screen name.  Good luck!