Living Donation Discussion and News > Living Donation Forum

3 weeks after donation

<< < (2/3) > >>

Fr Pat:
      I donated by the open surgery (9 years ago) so the recovery from that is different. But as noted above "feling pretty good, all things considered" and "feeling back to normal" are two quite different things! Be patient. YYou have had MAJOR surgery.
      I found that doing as much bending and stretching exercsies as possible was very helpful after the donation surgery. Things have been moved around inside you, and a big gap left to be filled up, so it takes a while for everthing to shift around and get re-settled.
             best wishes,
                Fr. Pat

littleone60540:
Thanks Fr Pat!
I can definitely tell that the insides have been moved around. They feel bruised! Thanks for the advice. I think stretching would help. Much like walking around soon after surgery, it is painful but makes you feel better afterwards. I really appreciate all the feedback. It is so nice to talk to people that have been through it!!

Sara

Prelude_Sarah:
Hey Sara!  We have a lot in common!  My name is Sarah, and I donated my left kidney to my sister just over three weeks ago as well!  I have also felt the pain you're describing, as well as some other mysterious pains in my chest and abdomen.  My muscles still hurt as well, almost like I did 1,000,000 sit-ups.  I have three scars, two on my left side that are small, and one 4 inch incision that goes through my belly button.  I developed a small infection around my main incision, but it seems to be under control with antibiotics.  I have found that at moments I'm trying to push myself too much too fast, and I have to remind myself that I'm still healing. 

Congratulations on donating to your sister!  I hope that your recovery goes smoothly -- I'm right there with ya :)

Sarah

Prelude_Sarah:
Oh, and also, I've found that walking really helps those weird random pains.  I walk really really slow, and focus on being relaxed and breathing deeply.  Don't push yourself too hard, but it seems like those achy pains diminish when I walk more. Works for me anyway! :)

Sarah

Aries7:
Hi Sara and Congratulations to you!

I donated to my husband on October of 2009. While I felt great for someone who had just donated a kidney, I most certainly had some aches and pains. In my case, about a day and a half after surgery, the gas pains started for me. That first day of the gas pains, oh my goodness, it hurt. This was from the gas they pump in during the surgery, and it was letting me know it was still there. The best thing to do to help this is to walk. Which I guess was good because I could not find a comfortable position no matter what I tried. The first day of this was the worst. Each day got gradually better and finally after several days, that subsided. I also developled a very stubborn rash that took quite a while to clear up. Then, about 2 weeks after the surgery, my left arm just above my wrist became very sore. Then the next day, I noticed I had a bump there. Turns out I developed thombophlebitis, This is a blood clot in the vein, in my case they said was from the 2 IV's I had in that arm while in the hopsital. This went away on it's own and I am fine. I also want to say that none of this ever made me regret donating even once. I would so do it again in a heartbeat.

Your body has gone through a major surgery, and is adjusting to now having one kidney verses two. It is very normal to have some pain and discomfort. I would definitely suggest keeping in close contact with your medical team, and most certainly ask about anything that seems unusual, but otherwise, pamper yourself. You deserve it!

Linda

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page