Kidney removal op - any advice?

[raspberryjuiceandpompoms]

I’m scheduled for a partial (or full, depending on how it goes) nephrectomy on Tuesday. Now freaking out slightly… has anyone got any stories to share about recovery or surgery please? I’ve had a c-section before so I’m not completely in the dark about pain but I’m wondering how different is this going to be… sneezing after c-section is not an experience I want to re live haha

My dad is a wimp who can’t even cut his toenails without a big fuss, but he had a kidney out and said it wasn’t too bad at all. Healed well and was walking around within a few days (he’s a lot older than you too and unfit etc). He did have to have a catheter in for a few days longer than expected but it was removed without issues.

@fourelementary thanks for your reply 🙏 That’s really reassuring to read!

I had a laparoscopic nephrectomy a few years ago in my early 30s.
The pain was much more intense than either of my c sections, I did need the pain pump the first night but was up the following day and only stayed in hospital one night, consultant said I was only the second patient he'd had to go home the day after.
I did need the max dose codeine for about a week and was on quite a bit of pain for a few days at home, needed the bed to myself etc. Mine was pre kids but probably best to have a child care plan in place.
Good luck!

I prepared to be a kidney donor and was told
It's not dissimilar to a c section (but at least you don't have a baby to look after).

I've had a kidney removed,but no Cs to compre it to. Um, it did hurt. So I took pain relief, and ended up with hellish constipation.

So my advice is get constipation remedies in hand BEFORE. Get lactose, get suppositories, get prune juice, get whatever will help you to stay hydrated... I had bad referred wind too, so my shoulder hurt. They recommended peppermint tea for that but I don't think it does anything.

Why did you sneeze? Eradicate that, so get someone to clean and hoover regularly if it was dust, or ban flowers and check if you can have antihistamines if you have hay fever.

Hi OP, I had my kidney out nearly a year ago because of cancer. It was a full nephrectomy done with keyhole. In fact my surgeon (crazy, lovely genius of a man) took my kidney out through my c-section scar.

I think he did this because he didn’t want me to have any extra scars (also used some previous keyhole scars too).

The pain from the former c-section scar was awful for about a week but settled down.

If you want to chat, PM me.

Top tip- come home from hospital holding a pillow over your scar to support and protect it. Avoid sneezing and coughing if you can.

Ok, thanks everyone for sharing first hand experience! So it’s likely not going to be a walk in the park. My DH is taking a week off to look after DC so that should be handy.

@Wishihadanalgorithm my op is to remove cancer too. Your surgeon sounds incredible!

right, no sneezing… I had a cold last time, hope my little germ factories aka children hold their bugs to themselves then for at least a week 🙈

super nervous now but also feel more prepared.

Maybe up your children's hand hygiene for a bit in that case? Eg hands washed when back from school, in from playing, that sort of thing.

I found lifting the kettle really hard,but you probably know that if you've had a Cs. So you'll need someone else to do that for you, to Bath the kids etc.

As well as pillow for the journey home, try and avoid road humps and potholes. Ouch.

Best of luck for tomorrow!