Donating in a couple of weeks? I have Questions

[DebraValle]

Hi my name is Debra, I am donating in a paired exchange at Mayo in a couple of weeks.  I have a lot of questions:
- What should I take to the hospital?
- What is a realistic recovery time?
- What can I expect (in terms of pain, discomfort, tiredness - swelling)

[DebraValle]

Also, I would be interested in talking to anyone who has been a kidney donor at Mayo in MN! Who were your surgeons what was your experience.

[lawphi]

Take prunes, heating pad, loose clothing, lotion and lip balm.

Recovery depends on your physical shape, body size, experience with prior surgeries and what your daily duties are.  The more you walk, the quicker the co2 pressure will subside. You also need to drink lots of fluids.

I was lucky and had an easy recovery. Others take longer.  I received 17 pounds of saline the first 24 hours. It was gone in a week.  I did not have any lethargy after three days or swelling.

My pain was largely from co2 pressure and sore muscles.  My second week was more incision pain.  My third week was muscular back pain from sleeping propped up on pillows and overcompensating for my sore stomach muscles.  You can expect to wake up a little sore each morning for three months, but my soreness would disappear after my shower. 

[Fr Pat]

Dear Debra,
     Hi. Just to add that if you haven't already done so you might want to read the list of "helpful hints" that the National Kidney Foundation collected from past donors:
www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingdonors/infotips.cfm
     best wishes,
        Fr. Pat

[Aries7]

Welcome and congratulations on your upcoming donation!

I second the lotion and lip balm. I also brought a pair of comfortable, loose fitting sweatpants. (they were adjustable/tied at the waste) I also brought my favorite pair of comfortable slippers.

As far as recovery time, everyone is going to be different. I found I tended to tire easily for the first several weeks. As far as pain, I had pains in my chest and shoulder (from surgery the gas they use during surgery) that kicked in about a day and a half after surgery. This got better each day, but did take a few days to get rid of. Beyond that, I had the normal pain/soreness at the incision site. I also developed a rash on my abdomen that took several rounds of prednisone to get rid of. (I have not heard of this happening to very many donors).
You will want to make sure not to lift anything heavy until you are healed. (this will help avoid a hernia)
Walking is good, but don't overdo either. Listen to your body. If you are tired, nap.

I donated October 8, 2009 and my doctor wanted to me to be off 6 to 8 weeks. I ended up taking some extra vacation time and went back to work right after Thanksgiving that year. In my opinion, any pain or discomfort (and even the rash fiasco) was well worth it and I would do it all again, no question.

Best of luck to you. Please keep us updated and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. Everyone here is great and has so much good advice.


Linda