Pain after transplant.....

[angela515]

How long before your incision pain went away? I dont recall my first transplant, but I know it wasn' very long... However, this time I'm still in pain, but I also have a little leakage I just notice this evening, so I called the dr, they said since no redness i should be ok till tomorrow and to call back if it stilll hurts, they will probably wanna see it. So dunno if is just regular pain I should still be having or infection starting.

PS I am in my 3rd week post transplant.

I also forgot to mention I put gauze over the incision tonight with Gentamicin cream on it just in case.

[kitkatz]

Are you doing too much?  That can be why you are still in pain. The boy takes time to heal, ya know!

[angela515]

Idunno... I try not too.. I do have to go up and down stairs alot cuz we have the living room and my bedroom downstairs and kitchen upstairs and kids bedroom upstairs... I try not go up unless I have to.

[angieskidney]

How long before your incision pain went away? I dont recall my first transplant, but I know it wasn' very long... However, this time I'm still in pain, but I also have a little leakage I just notice this evening, so I called the dr, they said since no redness i should be ok till tomorrow and to call back if it stilll hurts, they will probably wanna see it. So dunno if is just regular pain I should still be having or infection starting.

PS I am in my 3rd week post transplant.

I also forgot to mention I put gauze over the incision tonight with Gentamicin cream on it just in case.

As long as there is no sign of infection, you are fine. Also remember that when you were younger you healed faster (ever see those kids that have transplant? Boy they bounce back fast!). It will take longer for you this time around. Just give it time and don't do ANY heavy lifting what so ever!

My incision from my first transplant leaked because I was a teen and not used to all that brand new energy did too much too soon. Take it easy and it will heal. The more you do the longer it will take and your scar will be larger.

[angela515]

True angie... I don lift anything, even my kids... and like I said I pretty much sit around all day except the stairs which i got no choice but to go up.

[angieskidney]

True angie... I don lift anything, even my kids... and like I said I pretty much sit around all day except the stairs which i got no choice but to go up.

Well stairs are good because exercise that doesn't require any lifting or straining your back is good because it keeps your lungs clear. After any surgery you have to make sure of that. Especially if you have ever had any pneumonia like I have had.

[okarol]

I just took a look at Jenna's incision, since she's very close to you as far as surgery date. The incision is about 6" long, right near where a typical appendectomy scar would be. She had hidden dissolving stitches with glue over the top (no staples and no dressing.) The incision looks good, no weeping or pulling apart. The glue is peeling off and they said that's ok now. It's still very sensitive to the touch, but does not hurt when she sits, walks or stands. She's 21 years old and never had children, so that would definitely make a difference.
The transplant team insisted that she walk at least 30 minutes a day and eat a lot of protein to facilitate the healing. She's been doing really well so far.
I am sure you know to check your temperature for fever if you ever suspect an infection. It may just be slow to heal. I hope you feel better over time Angela!

[angela515]

True angie... I don lift anything, even my kids... and like I said I pretty much sit around all day except the stairs which i got no choice but to go up.

Well stairs are good because exercise that doesn't require any lifting or straining your back is good because it keeps your lungs clear. After any surgery you have to make sure of that. Especially if you have ever had any pneumonia like I have had.

Yah... I have had double pneumonia, wass in the hospital over 45 days straight for it.

[angela515]

I just took a look at Jenna's incision, since she's very close to you as far as surgery date. The incision is about 6" long, right near where a typical appendectomy scar would be. She had hidden dissolving stitches with glue over the top (no staples and no dressing.) The incision looks good, no weeping or pulling apart. The glue is peeling off and they said that's ok now. It's still very sensitive to the touch, but does not hurt when she sits, walks or stands. She's 21 years old and never had children, so that would definitely make a difference.
The transplant team insisted that she walk at least 30 minutes a day and eat a lot of protein to facilitate the healing. She's been doing really well so far.
I am sure you know to check your temperature for fever if you ever suspect an infection. It may just be slow to heal. I hope you feel better over time Angela!

Yah, I must be a slow healer... I will try to eat more protein, no fever, so.. I think maybe it's just a slow healing thing going on.  I dunno if I walk 30 minutes a day or not, but I tell ya when my kids get home from school, up and down the stairs I gotta go.. lol. I'm fatigued due to my HGB and HCT being so low, I started epo Saturday. Hope that helps!

Glad to hear Jenna is doing so good... I was also 21 and no kids the first transplant and I healed faster and didnt have these probs im having now, so yah, age and such definately plays a part!

[angieskidney]

I'm fatigued due to my HGB and HCT being so low, I started epo Saturday. Hope that helps!

I have heard that sometimes the body doesn't make new Erythropoetin with a new kidney transplant (the thing that tells your bone marrow to produce red blood cells and raises your HGB and HCT).

[angela515]

I never heard of that.... my last kidney started producing it right away, they tell me this time it just may need a lil while to kick in.

[BigSky]

Pain is different for everyone.

When I had my first transplant I had no pain at all.  Just had stiffness and tightness over the incision.

[renal30yrs]

Unforunately pain is our constant companion.

[angela515]

I spoke with my dr over the phone (clinic is tomorrow), he said since my first transplant I was like Jenna (he didnt say that part I added that here, LOL), 21, no kids, young... you heal faster. NOw i'm 28, I have had 2 kids, and so I will heal a little slower... so, I'm taking it slow, and eating my protien to help the healing process. My pain seems to be becoming less and less each day, I noticed that.. so thats good! 

[angieskidney]

I spoke with my dr over the phone (clinic is tomorrow), he said since my first transplant I was like Jenna (he didnt say that part I added that here, LOL), 21, no kids, young... you heal faster. NOw i'm 28, I have had 2 kids, and so I will heal a little slower... so, I'm taking it slow, and eating my protien to help the healing process. My pain seems to be becoming less and less each day, I noticed that.. so thats good! 

That makes sense but now with the confirmation from you I know now to expect my next time to be more difficult than the last (except the next time I won't be cut front AND back like last time but only in the front). I was only 16 but next time I will be either in my 30's or 40's at this rate lol ..

It is true you do heal slower as you age. I remember it was someone from the Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto who told me this as my mom and I even noticed the little kids who had a transplant at the same time as I did were up and running around 3 days sooner than I was.

[angela515]

  angie.. yah... I wish I healed the same as 21, by this time the last time I was already up and exercising and running around! Now I know how my mom felt last time (kinda), cause she was 45 last time and healed way after me and was in pain way longer than me...

[angieskidney]

angie.. yah... I wish I healed the same as 21, by this time the last time I was already up and exercising and running around! Now I know how my mom felt last time (kinda), cause she was 45 last time and healed way after me and was in pain way longer than me...

Guess that is why they encourage all dialysis patients to get in shape and be active. So they heal faster after their transplant! 

How is the pain for you now? (I could do as they do. What is the pain on a scale of 1 - 10? lol)

[angela515]

  I have noticed each day the pain gets a lil less... so thats a good sign. I dont really know what it would be on the scale of 1-10.. different times of the day and different positions in bed and such all make it different. 

[Pianolion]

It's now a week and three days since my transplant...and I'm feeling better every day.  Walking for more than short distances is still problematic for me, as is standing for more than a few minutes.  But I think by this time next week things will be much better.  When I got home I couldn't even make it up the stairs by myself, but I'm now actually using one step at a time now like everyone else 

I do get a lot of interesting types of pain; the newest one happened in the shower yesterday, and it felt like a bunch of little needles in and around my incision.  My surgeon didn't seem concerned - I suppose the pain is an important part of healing. But has anyone had a really, really BAD episode of incision pain?  The day I was released from the hospital it got so intense so rapidly they had to give me some morphine, and my checkout was delayed a couple of hours.  My dad seemed to think it might be my intestines or other muscles stretching and trying themselves out...but I definitely don't need it to happen again!

With exercise, I'm thinking about heading out to the green belt and walking every day, when I'm able.  I just don't want to overdo it or anything...I guess I should start out pretty slow.  And Angela, my iron is low too, so Lord have I been craving greens lately!  I have an appetite for the first time in six years, so I hardly know what to do with myself. 

Hope everyone's having a wonderful day 

[livecam]

I really don't remember how long the surgical pain took to go away because that wasn't the worst of it.  I still have two full bottles of Vicodin that are largely ununsed. Transplant patients of both genders have a catheter placed to elminate urine after the surgery.  The pain from it was some of the worst I've ever experienced.  Just shifting an inch in bed or anything that caused that thing to move even slightly was pain city.  There was an intern working up on the transplant floor that was visiting often, I guess it was part of his training.  One day I asked him to take that thing out and he did...more pain...but the end result was good.  Beyond that I remember the incision area being a bit tender and being able to feel the graft for quite a while.  Just doing things like walking down the street I was able to detect it quite easily.

[angela515]

Thanks everyone.. they did an ultrasound last Wednesday to see if they could find something causing the pain, nothing was found, which is good. The pain I get is mostlyfrom the bottom area of my incision, thats the part I can see is still healing even from the outside.