Believe them when they say you will be in pain.

[Sandog]

I was warned by the transplant staff that I would be in the hospital for four days and have a lot of pain.  I read on this website a man said he got up and walked the night of the surgery. LIAR!  I believed him because he was a priest. The truth is they had to drag me out of the bed the next day, more because of the drugs I was on.  I remember they kept telling me to open my eyes. I was so medicated, they wanted me standing AND my eyes open? At the same time?

I almost had to stay an extra day but a friend of mine who is a counselor came by on day 3.  She asked if she could do hypnosis on me.  At that point, I would have tried Vodoo.  I don't know if it really helped or it was just my mind thinking it would help, but that night I felt better.  They had taken my catheter out but left my IV in.  My kidneys were working great, so I was peeing like Seabiscuit so I begged them to take out the IV so I wouldn't have to keep dragging the pole to the bathroom. 

Anyway, good luck.  I did great.

[PastorJeff]

I walked the first night two laps around the unit.  Then the next I day did ten more to finish the Long mile and get the T-shirt.  So it's not unreasonable.  They let me go home two days after the surgery and I'm 60. Be well.   

[dodger]

I didn't do so well with the anesthetic. The first day of surgery doesn't count.  I was off the pain  pump the 2nd day.  Up and walking later on the second day. It wasn't the pain, it was the dry heaves that got me.  I kept trying the next day, still dizzy, and peuking.  They couldn't give me anything for that at that point because it can cause you to not urinate which, of course, you need to be doing.  Sigh.  I wasn't eating hardly anything, and drinking wasn't so great either. So no flushing the junk out of my system. Then at night I was spiking some high BP.  And, I couldn't sleep either. The binder was not my friend. Of course you can't really sleep in the hospital anyway, you just get to sleep and they wake you up, then you just get to sleep and they wake you up.  By the 4th day I was in tears, I just wanted to go home and sleep.  They were still very concerned about my BP, it really would only spike at night when I was laying in bed.  Of course it would. They did medicate me for it, and monitor it, again waking me up. But I told them I would follow up with my PCP that week.  However the transplant clinic got me in sooner with the neuphologist, so they did take care of me.  I just had a bad time with the anesthetic.  So, I am glad a lot of you had a good surgery, I really am, I just didn't.  And mine was almost 2 years ago and is still very fresh in my mind.  But, I would do it all over again if I had another kidney to spare.

[Fr Pat]

     One of the great values of this site is that everybody can post their experiences, whether they were very good, or very bad, or in between. That way potential donors can get a real perspective about possible outcomes, and also see the variety of experiences. I donated a kidney in the morning (by the large open-cut method), and did get up (with some pain) with the help of the nurse and take a walk around the corridor on the afternoon of the surgery, taking my I.V. pole with me, and was walking several times the next day. Reading over the many experiences posted here shows that there is a good deal of variety in experiences of pain and in effectiveness of pain meds (or bad reactions to the meds). So it is very helpful for everyone to be honest about their experiences (as I was), and also to respect the validity of the experiences of others. That way we can learn from one another. Name-calling is generally not very helpful.
     Best wishes.
        Fr. Pat

[Orchidlady]

I was pretty much the same, Sanddog. My surgery was about 7 in the morning and I don't remember anything until I woke up late in the afternoon about 4. I could barely figure out where I was, let alone walk. It was all I could do the next day to get up, with assistance, for the first time and walk down the hall to see my husband. Our surgery was on Tuesday, and they sent us home on Saturday. I could have gone home on Friday, but they coordinated it so we could go together, since we were geographically located so far from the center and had to have family come such a distance to get us. I am glad they did - I honestly did not feel on Friday like I could have gone home and taken care of myself.

As Fr. Pat said, everyone is different. It is always good to see all sides of the story so that you are not shocked if things don't go quite the way you expected.

[tjhurley]

Loved your writeup Sandog, had fun reading it. I remember opening my eyes after surgery, looking at the happy people in my room and thinking "I am so not up for this" and hitting the button on my pain pump for a fast escape.

Father Pat is amazing- he had the old "regular" version of the surgery and recovered like the best of "light" version people.

[Karol]

My kidneys were working great, so I was peeing like Seabiscuit so I begged them to take out the IV so I wouldn't have to keep dragging the pole to the bathroom. 
 

Didn't you donate one??

[SWB]

Sanddog,

I got up and walked around a few hours after I woke up from surgery; however, everyone reacts differently from the surgery.  In my case, I didn't even take any of the pain medication beyond the tylenol until the day AFTER surgery.  The only reason I started taking Loritabs the day after was because of the pain from the gas build up that kept me from getting comfortable from lying down.  Now, I will say that if I were to do it over I would take the Loritabs as well.  I was just afraid that they would cause me to become sick to my stomach which ended up not being the case.

I hate to hear about the pain you had (and hope you are not experiencing anything still).  However, I am glad you shared it since everyone needs to know that different experiences exist. 

Warmest Regards

-Scott

[GuitarGirl4Gsus]

My surgery is April 11th. I'm giving my kidney to an awesome friend. I'm a hyper one whos very active and can't sit still long. I am so praying Im up walking teh same day. I've been stubborn and still think I can master all my tasks even though Ive been warned on this wedsite that my expectations are rather unrealistic. I know they say teh first week stinks. I'm also planning to be home quickly. They say go in Thursday be home Saturday. All y'all's posts have certainly given me alot to think about. Although I don't want to relinquish my unrealistic expectations, due to this we'd site, Living Donor. I won't be freaked out should I be forced to re assess

[CK]

I was up walking a few hours after the surgery and discharged by noon the next day. I certainly had pain but not 1/8th of what I expected. I think everyone is different and you shouldn't go into it expecting anything.

[SWB]

GuitarGirl4Gsus - Please be sure to post about your experience.

On a side note - a former pastor's brother just did a donation a few months ago.  I inquired about how he was doing about a week and a half after donation and was told he was still in the hospital and was in a lot of pain.  As previously posted, I had the complete opposite experience.

As already noted, I think you have to go in expecting nothing.  However, you really have to do everything you can in advance to make the recovery process go as smooth as possible.  That means, eat right, find healthy ways to deal with the stress, exercise (and for many of us lose some weight), EDUCATE yourself as much as possible, etc.

At the end of the day each of our bodies are very different, but equally wonderful miracles from God.

-Scott

[GuitarGirl4Gsus]

I'm dyslexic so my spellings stink...I like to explain that often cuz spell correction usually turns my words Ito something crazy I've been doing Jiliian Michales core work out for 6 weeks now. I'm very athletic. I also like to raod skate on quad lines. I've been on a low carb diet for two yrs. I'm doing all I can to bounce back. My nick name is Tigger, cuz I jump around alot on stage and just have an awesome time. I'm praying my Tigger skills don't fail me now. We have started recording our third CD. There's a delay right now because teh man we like to do it is a movie composer. So he's busy. I'm praying we get it all done before Apr 11th. What if We domt and I can't play as well as mentioned in previous posts, what if singing hurts and I can not hit teh notes in teh studio. No big deal if ya tank a note while playing out live. I do know worrying about all these what it's is sooo silly. Until I got on here, I really didnt know all these things. I really had it in my head that Id be playing teh wednesday service at church 6 days afterwards. Only modification being having to sit on a stool, so I won't jump and my guitar is heavy. I've been telling my leader what Ive read on here. Seh seems to think like I did. Can anything really keep me down? Which only adds to my fears of letting people down. As long as I don't let my receipiant down, I can deal with it.

[SWB]

In the end each of us heal differently.  The weight of the guitar is the biggest concern I would have.  I believe I could have been ok with the other items you mentioned on day 6.  But, you have to remain open minded to the other possibilities.  I have done amazing in my recovery - it has been less than 4 months and I just finished running a full marathon (26.2 miles) in little over 5 hours without walking any of it.  So there is no way anyone can guarantee how you will feel.  BUT - the weight limit is an absolute.  Find a way to overcome that obstacle with the guitar and see what happens for you!

[GuitarGirl4Gsus]

Wow! Most I like to run is a 5k my Les Paul is heavy. My friends handed it to me a few yrs ago when I had bladder surgery. I sat on a stool. I wasn't allowed to carry anything. I still have daycare littles that walk backwards and sit on my lap at book time. I'll be really strict on lifting. Last thing I was is a second surely to repair a hernia  

[Dora76]

Sandog, when I read the subject of your original post I laughed to myself and nodded my head.  As you can imagine, I agreed with your statement.  Before I donated, I kept hearing about people who took laps around the hospital the day after surgery and went home after that, which made me feel like a loser for having to be in the hospital for a total of 3 days.  I tried to sit up 8 hours after surgery and I could not even manage that because I was in so much pain!

Yes, the moral of this thread (and many others) is that everyone responds differently.  Recovery occurs on a spectrum; a donor may fall anywhere on that spectrum.  I've actually felt BADLY because I've been on donor panels where I felt I was the only one who mentioned this type of experience and I felt I was being belittled (especially since I was 27 when I donated and in general expected to have an open-shut recovery).  Obviously, I know that not to be the right thing to do, nor is it representative of how the majority of patients or people in the medical profession should behave.  I guess the point I'm trying to make is I don't think my experience is necessarily an "outlier."  Some people recover very quickly, and others do not.

But I actually disagree with the notion to "Go in without expectations."  Everyone has a different personality, and I thrive when I a better prepared and know in general what I can expect.  For me, it was a mistake to be presented with only one side of the story.  I'd recommend instead to be aware that everyone reacts differently and that there are a myriad of possible responses/scenarios and you should trust your body.  Wherever you end up on the spectrum of recovery, it's ok, and once you figure it out you can respond accordingly with the right combination or treatment/rest/medication, whatever it may be. 

As a side note regarding the catheter.  I had to keep my catheter for 3 DAYS I was in the hospital as a precaution because they "nicked my bladder" in surgery (!)  Apparently it is common after a catheter is removed for that to prompt frequent urination, which is yet another thing that I was not advised of...my mom happens to be a nurse and told me that was normal.  So add that on to the list of items one can expect after donation?

Thanks for hearing me out.