driving after rsadical nephrectomy

siloman
siloman Member Posts: 9
in Kidney Cancer #1

i am 4 weeks removed from my laproscopic radical nephrectomy.....i drive truck regionally for a living.....i am still after 4 weeks having trouble riding in a car without pain.....was curious if there were any other drivers out ther that have gone through this also and could give me some feedback on ther recovery time and getting back in the seat........my job also reguires lifting and dragging 80lbs. numerous times a day...any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    Over the next month

    siloman,

     

    Over the next month you should feel more comfortable driving a car. Driving a truck and lifting is going to take longer. Even when you can do it, you are going to have to build up your endurance. Don't try too much for too long until you feel you are ready. RRemember the Doctor can tell you this or that, but he hasn't been nephed.

     

     

    Icemantoo

  • Bay Area Guy
    Bay Area Guy Member Posts: 620 Member
    #3
    I had a robotic partial and I

    I had a robotic partial and I did not lift at the gym for about 10 weeks, just to be sure.

  • klj15
    klj15 Member Posts: 38
    #4
    I had a radical nephrectomy

    I had a radical nephrectomy 03/20/2017. I didn't drive a car by myself for several weeks after surgery. I would drive my son to practice across town, which would only be a 20-30 minute drive round trip on "back roads". I used a small pillow between the seatbelt and my abdomen to absorb some of the shock/pressure from the seatbelt, and that helped a lot. I returned to work full time 8 weeks after my surgery. I still had a lot of difficulty turning from side to side (to switch lanes on the interstate), but I survived OK. Again, my little pillos saved me.

    As far as lifting anything heavy, there are still days now (and I'm 10 months post-op) where I feel a pull in my abdomen and things just hurt to push, pull, pick up, etc... Your body will tell you what you can and can't do.

    My incision is about 8" long going diagonal from my left lower abdomen up to the middle of my sternum. I'm sure the length of my incision and scar have a lot to do with what I could and could not do after surgery, and what I can and cannot do now.

  • DAC677
    DAC677 Member Posts: 59
    #5
    klj15 said:

    I had a radical nephrectomy

    I had a radical nephrectomy 03/20/2017. I didn't drive a car by myself for several weeks after surgery. I would drive my son to practice across town, which would only be a 20-30 minute drive round trip on "back roads". I used a small pillow between the seatbelt and my abdomen to absorb some of the shock/pressure from the seatbelt, and that helped a lot. I returned to work full time 8 weeks after my surgery. I still had a lot of difficulty turning from side to side (to switch lanes on the interstate), but I survived OK. Again, my little pillos saved me.

    As far as lifting anything heavy, there are still days now (and I'm 10 months post-op) where I feel a pull in my abdomen and things just hurt to push, pull, pick up, etc... Your body will tell you what you can and can't do.

    My incision is about 8" long going diagonal from my left lower abdomen up to the middle of my sternum. I'm sure the length of my incision and scar have a lot to do with what I could and could not do after surgery, and what I can and cannot do now.

    Driving

    I dont drive for a living, but i did drive the first time about 4 weeks after the radical Neph.

    I think someone else mentioned that you could probably do it for short periods of time but you wont have the endurance to do it for long stretches for a while. You know your body better than anyone else.

    My original concern would have been the drugs, but 8 weeks after you should probably only be on Tylenol.

    Biggest concern is again endurance. For weeks or months after the the surgery your body is still healing and replacing blood. That means you need more rest and get tired easier. You have to be aware of how fast fatigue will hit you for almost a year after and how much more rest you will need.

  • kiwi68
    kiwi68 Member Posts: 110
    #6

    Since they cut through all the muscles even with a robotic laproscopic they all have to heal.  I think people here have mentioned all the muscle fascia has to come back together.   I woudl start at 6 weeks with some very gently abdominal and stretching exercises and lifting some really really light weights and see.   I mentioned in another post today,  I am 2.5 months post op, not overly fit, but not unfit.  I started Pilates this week and those scars are not healed, they look beautiful on the skin, but underneath they are niggling me today.  You are going back to some signficant physical exercise so I think I would make sure that it wasn't going to cause any problems by working up to it in a controlled and slowly slowly methodical way. 

  • siloman
    siloman Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2018 #7
    thanks all for your comments.

    thanks all for your comments.....im a newbie at this....so any info is good info as far as im concerned and appreciated greatly

    thanks silo

  • DreamOnDeb
    DreamOnDeb Member Posts: 112
    #8
    My husband was told that he

    My husband was told that he could drive after he was off of pain meds.  He doesn't drive for a living though.

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