2 weeks out - Nauseous and frustrated!

[Linda]

Hello all,  I donated  a kidney on Oct.  28th to a dear friend and am recovering well except for persistent nausea.  I thought it was the narcotics, so I discontinued them, switched to tramadol, then switched to tylenol.  But the nausea and lack of appetite actually got worse!  I have taken phenergen at night but had to take it during the day yesterday.  I had a laproscopic procedure, but was not told that the procedure would cause nausea.  My doctor said to give it time, but I am wondering why I would still be nauseous!  I feel great otherwise.  Incisions healing well, less pain every day.  But I am losing weight and can't eat anything.  Thanks everyone for sharing your stories.  It helps. 

[Jewels]

Hi Linda - Congratulations on a successful surgery!  What you are going through sounds a lot like what happened to me.  The first week I was slightly nauseous with no appetite.  I stopped using any pain meds hoping that would help and like you after 1 week I felt so sick I couldn't sleep.  At 10 days it was so bad I called the transplant center and the surgeon had me go to the ER.  They found my body wasn't re-absorbing the CO2 from surgery and that was making the nausea worse.  They gave me Zofran via IV and it was a miracle.  I was actually hungry for the first time since surgery.  They sent me home with some oral tablets and while they didn't work as well as the IV they still helped a lot.  You might want to contact your transplant center and see if they can give you something to help.  You are probably very close to feeling better.  At 2 weeks and 2 days my nausea starting going away.  I had a very light appetite for another couple weeks and now, 4 months later I have no problem eating everything on my plate!

Good luck! Hang in there...I can totally relate to how frustrating it is to feel so icky.  You insides will regulate soon.

Take care-
Julie

[Donna Luebke]

I have a friend who donated 2 years ago and is living with chronic nausea and pain.  If the nausea does not subside, consider that nerves could be injured.  Nausea is a symptom--they need to get to the cause. 

[dodger]

Hi Linda, My GI tract took about a month to straighten out.  I had Zofran but it made me dizzy, I was told later I should have tried 1/2 a tablet.  Oh well.

Remember your insides were moved around and they don't take very kindly to that in some cases.  I was one of them.  Keep walking, drink at least 2 quarts of plain water a day and eat what you can.  Protein is very important towards your healing. I know we need to watch our protein intake, so be sure it is good quality protein. Try to get 25 grams per meal with some protein snacks in between.   Veggies, fruit, and all the leafy greens you can eat. 

Best wishes, and please stay in touch,   Janice

[pilotjjc3]

I had a horrible reaction to the narcotics in the hospital and with the drugs I was sent home with.  Once I switched to Tylenol, it took about 4 days for the pain and nausea to go away.  I'm guessing it just took some time for the narcotics to work their way out of my system.  How long have you been off of the narcotics?  If it doesn't go away within a week after your last narcotic, I'd call the doctor.  I lost about 8lbs, but got it back after a couple of months.

[Linda]

Thanks everyone for the support and ideas!

Today I finally feel better!  and have not taken zofran since 10 last night! I have been off narcotics since 11/1 and off tramadol for over a week.   I ate some real food yesterday and have been drinking more water.  I am not nauseous except I gag really easily while brushing my teeth which never happened before surgery.  I'm hoping that goes away too! 

Incision pain is a little worse today because I have allergies and have been sneezing (OUCH!)  I try to curl up before I sneeze and hold a pillow on my incision but it still hurts. 

[pilotjjc3]

Glad to hear you are doing better.

[Jewels]

Great news...sounds like you are headed in the right direction.  Eat what sounds good and keep drinking plenty of water.  YAY! 

[Snoopy]

I have allergies and have been sneezing (OUCH!)  I try to curl up before I sneeze and hold a pillow on my incision but it still hurts. 

Hi, Linda.
  Yes, ouch indeed.  I sneezed once, when I wasn't expecting it, and deeply regretted it.  Try this:  the next time you feel yourself about to sneeze, hold your finger against your upper lip, horizontally, under the nose, and press hard.  That will probably stifle the sneeze, if you catch it in time.
   Good luck,
   Snoopy

[Linda]

Great idea Snoopy! It reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons, with someone sneaking up on someone else and doing that to stifle a sneeze!  I have never actually tried it!

My appetite is VERY slowly returning.  I am eating about 1/4 what I used to at a sitting, so I am trying to eat more often.  The nausea has been better this week but yesterday was a bad day again.  I am hoping I begin to feel MUCH better soon.  I am just really tired and weak from not eating much.  It is slowing me down far more than the actual surgical incisions.

Tomorrow is 3 weeks and I am hoping that today begins a serious improvement in mood and appetite!  

You all are the greatest!  Thanks for all the wisdom and support I get here.  

[Snoopy]

Hi, Linda.
  I hope the sneezing trick helps.
  About appetite--I know exactly what you mean. I probably haven't had to be reminded to eat since the 1960s, but since the surgery I'm almost never actually hungry.  At first, I found myself "running out of gas" pretty quickly, just like you.
  On the other hand, a couple of days ago, when I was distracted by a work assignment, I absent-mindedly ate a decent-sized (but normal) meal--and suffered for the rest of the day from having over-eaten.  That hadn't happened to me for maybe 10 years.  I think my stomach has shrunk, so that I fill up much faster.  Whatever.  I've been cutting my portions, and not missing the extra food.  It's cheaper this way, too!
  What is pretty important, though, is to remember to drink.  It's always a good idea to drink a fair amount of water, but I think it's even more important for us now that we've joined the one-kidney crowd.
  Beyond that, I'm currently paying a lot of attention to sodium intake (my BP may be approaching borderline); this has altered my food habits, because previously I'd been more concerned about cholesterol.  Either way, I kind of like needing to eat a lot less.  I hope it lasts.
  Good luck with your recovery, and congratulations on your donation!
         Be well, Snoopy

[Linda]

It is now 4 weeks.  I have more energy but am  still very very tired.  I am starting to feel like I will never feel healthy and energetic again.

Very happy to say that the nausea is completely gone!  I am sleeping much more than usual and seem to have about 2-3 hours of energy a day.  I have not been walking much, which is probably a mistake, but it seems that when I walk I then don't have energy to do much else.

I am about 45 and had been walking several times a week before surgery and had done almost daily pilates.

I lost about 20 lbs before and after surgery.  I had an intestinal bacteria in Sept-Oct that postponed surgery twice, that caused me to lose 10 lbs, then lost another 10 with the nausea post-surgery.  Feels like I have no strength or endurance.

Any thoughts?

[Orchidlady]

I was 50 when I donated. I think everything just takes a little longer the older you get. At 4 weeks, I was still taking one, sometimes two naps a day!  The walking definitely helped - just getting up and moving around made all the difference. We usually would take a walk both morning and afternoon to get out of the house. Just as with anything else, donation or not, the more you sit around, the less energy you will have. Your body slows and muscles relax & begin to atrophy.  Each week, my energy seemed to improve. I would say that by the 8th week, I finally felt close to normal. No fatigue. No need for naps. Do try the walking. No matter how tired we were before, a walk seemed to energize us. If you still have issues, don't hesitate to call the center and let them know there are problems.