Kidney Donation Recovery

[JamesNYC]

(I am new to this site, so hopefully In am posting in the correct area).

In 2010, I tried donating my kidney to a good friend who was in need of one. I was a close match, but not close enough. (He this was to be his second transplant).  We tried several hospitals throughout the US over the last three years, but no luck. He remains on dialysis.  Four months ago, I walked into a hospital here in NYC and offered to donate a kidney altruistically. So next week, I am donating my kidney and starting a chain that currently has 5 recipients getting a kidney.  Pretty exciting - and what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving, right?

My question is about recovery. How long should it take?  Here are some facts: I'm male, fit, and in excellent health. I am in my fifties, but am a competitive athlete (Ironman triathlons).   I am expecting to be back at work in two weeks, working out (light workouts) in three.   Is that reasonable?

[Fr Pat]

Dear James,
     It sounds like that time frame is reasonable to HOPE for, but you can't really count on it. There is a lot of variation from one donor to another as far as recovery time is concerned, plus of course the danger of complications. I myself was able to return to light work in 2 weeks, but many donors have needed longer. Lingering fatigue is a problem for many donors, so returning to a lighter schedule at first can be prudent, and you may need some naps and an earlier bed time for a while. Listen to your body during recovery, and take the time YOU need for recovery.
    Please let us know how it goes.
               Fr. Pat

[sherri]

Welcome, James from NYC,

Glad to hear things are working out for you to become a living kidney donor. Which hospital are you donating at? Just curious, I'm originally from NYC and my brother/recipient is a patient at Columbia.

The one piece of advice I can offer is plan for worst and hope for the best. You may do just fine, get discharged after 2 days and feel great. However, you may end up with an unforeseen complication that may set you back. It could be from something that just requires more rest and down time to something that lands you back in the hospital like bleeding an infection or a clot. One never knows so that's why it is important to plan for more time off if necessary. Personally, I would not have been able to return to work after two weeks. It also depends what type of work you do. I am on my feet, responsible for making important medical decisions and my brain and body were just not ready to do that. also if you are still taking narcotic pain medications you will not be able to drive. I also found just turning my body to look out the rear view mirror a little difficult after 10 days. For some patients, it takes time for their body's to recover from general anesthesia. I took off 4 weeks which was a good amount of time for me. Some people need more some less. Hard to tell until you are post op. Also no heavy lifting (more than 10 lbs) for at least 6 - 8 weeks so be careful with the weights.

Wishing you an uneventful recovery. Looking forward to hearing how things work out for you and chain participants.


Sherri

[elephant]

Dear James,

You have made a wonderful offer!  I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

I was in the hospital two nights, and returned home on day 3.  I probably should have spent another day resting first.  Once home, I began taking walks immediately.  By the time of my two week checkup I was able to walk/jog maybe three miles.  Before the surgery I was running up to 10 miles on a good day.  I resumed light workouts about that time, and kept to the lifting restrictions.  So, yes I was back to easy workouts in about the time frame you are hoping for.  That said, I did not return to work until 3 1/2 weeks, and really could have used one more week.  My primary problem was crushing fatigue.  I would go jog then need to sleep several hours to recover. 

I think I fell for all the cheery descriptions of recovery in the donor literature the hospital provided, and expected that I'd be back to normal in two weeks.   If I could redo it, I would lower my expectations and baby myself more.  There is only ONE recovery period. 

Love, elephant

[JamesNYC]

Thank you to all who have responded. It seems that most who have gone through this have similar experiences as far as recovery goes. I was hoping to responded sooner than this, but at least I have a clearer idea of how my recovery is progressing.  (I will try and answer your questions as well).

I had my surgery at NY Presbyterian last Friday. The surgery took 2 1/2 hours, and was in the ICU for another 4 hours. I admit I was feeling pretty out of it at in the ICU, but was able to get up and do a short, slow, few laps around the ICU the day of surgery.  I was moved to a standard room and as expected, had a hard time getting 2 hours of consecutive sleep. With some effort, I was able do some laps around the hospital floor walking with my IV stand.  I did about 1/2 mile (which exhausted me), and then about 1 mile at 7am.  I was feeling pretty good by this time, albeit tired.

By the time the doctors came around, they said I may be able to go home that first day. (I wanted to get out of the hospital, knowing that I can come back easily if I wasn't feeling well).  I was home by 4pm, less than 36 hours later.  I took hard painkillers the first night, and was able to wean myself off them completely in 2 days.
I am not trying to be a hero, and am careful not to overdo it.  But by Tuesday (surgery +4 days), I was in pretty good shape, walking a couple of miles a day, working from home.  I was fine over Thanksgiving (surgery +6 days), eating, driving - although I wouldn't dare run, workout or lift anything heavy..   

The only pain I feel is when I cough, or worse, sneeze.  Apart from that, I  seem to be healing well ahead of schedule.  I am going back for a checkup later this week. I am cautiously hopeful that my recovery continues to go well.  I do have some sore muscles around my stomach, but the discomfort is negligible.

I realize I am certainly not out of the woods yet, but it's looking pretty good at the moment.

James

[Fr Pat]

Congratulations! Keep listening to your body. If perhaps it all catches up with you in a day or two, don't be shy about taking some more rest if you need it. Play it safe. Be careful with the driving, as the left-over anesthetic in your system may make your reaction timer slower without you noticing it.
   best wishes,
       Fr. Pat