Pain and numbness

[Jean]

Hello. I'm new here and hoping someone can help. I donated a kidney about 6 weeks ago and have numbness and pain in my left thigh. I also have pain in my lower left abdomen (just below the incision) and halfway across my abdomen from there to the pubic area.  The numbness and pain aren't too bad first thing in the morning but as the day goes on it gets worse and by the end of the day it's pretty severe. It's much worse if I walk or stand for any period of time. By the end of the day my abdomen below the incision feels very heavy, like I'm carrying something inside there.  Also, I am getting what feels like little electric shocks in my thigh occasionally throughout the day and more at night. I saw the surgeon last week and he said to give it 4 more weeks to see if it heals.  It's obviously a nerve issue and I'm just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. Thanks so much!

[Fr Pat]

You might ant to post this also at the FaceBook page of Living Donors on Line, as more donors check in there these days rather than here.
     best wishes.

[elephant]

Hi Jean,  I have a similar nerve issue in my left thigh.  It did not come from my kidney donation, but from an unrelated abdominal surgery last August.  The 'shocks' and pain stopped, but the numbness is the same after 3 months.  It affects the upper front of my thigh to the edge of my pubic area. 

So I discussed this with a good friend who is an anesthesiologist.   It is called Meralgia paresthetica and is caused by compression of the nerve from the body position during long surgery.   *Fortunately*  this is a sensory not a motor problem.  Steve told me it may go away over the next year, or may well be a permanent problem.  He did say I'd get used to it...not terribly comforting, but true. 

I should think your abdominal pain is not due to the nerve compression, but to the surgery which was only six weeks ago.  I found that getting back into my workouts (I run and lift weights) actually helped resolve my pain.  Gentle stretching helped too - I suppose it eased up the tightness from scarring. 

If your pain is very bad, if you have motor problems, or fever you really need to get medical attention.  You said 'pretty severe' - in my mind, severe pain requires medical care and maybe a trip to the ER.  I'd say at six weeks out my abdominal pain when I was tired at the end of the work day was a 4 or 5 out of 10.  Irritating, but I wasn't calling 911, just taking Tylenol and trying to get some rest.

Love, elephant

[Jean]

Thank you, Elephant.  I'm glad to hear that your pain has stopped.  I'll just be patient.  If the pain goes away, I can live with the numbness.  Also, you are correct about the pain near the incision being a separate issue. That already has improved somewhat since I posted this last week.  Thank you for taking the time to reply.  This has been very helpful.
Best, Jean