My Time Has Come!!

[Laurie]

I am having surgery on Tuesday, August 7th to place my PD Catheder. I have been dreading this day for a couple of months. I am still a little worried that it won't work because of previous surgeries I've had, but my Surgeon doesn't think there will be any problems.

Can anyone tell me what the pain is like afterwards and about how many days I should plan to take off work? 

[goofynina]

Hey Laurie,  They will give you some pain killers after surgery (which i only took maybe once)  there is some soreness but as far as pain goes, it wasnt thaat bad   As far as taking off from work, i think that depends on how YOU feel, some heal faster than others but they do advise not to lift anything heavy.   I wouldnt worry about it working if the surgeon thinks it will be ok, my neph said it wouldnt work due to my size but when i talked to the surgeon, he said yes, it would work, and thank God it is working    Good luck to you and please keep us posted k, take care girlfriend 

[KICKSTART]

Hi Laurie and GN  i dont mean to argue with you for a minute or worry Laurie, but how you feel after depends on how fit you are , sorry but the fitter you are the worse it is ! I was very fit , good stomach muscles from riding all my life and it was hell . The nurse forwarned me this would happen . I was actually in pain for 2 weeks and couldnt walk upright at all. I dont mean to scare anyone but it was bad for me . You can lift anything for 6 weeks either and then nothing to heavy at all after that . But honestly once i got through it , i was fine . Hope it goes ok for you and that your not to fit !

[Sluff]

Laurie I just hope all goes well...think positive. I will.   

[Joe Paul]

Best of luck Laurie, hope it goes well.

[st789]

Hope everything goes well.

[goofynina]

Hi Laurie and GN  i dont mean to argue with you for a minute or worry Laurie, but how you feel after depends on how fit you are , sorry but the fitter you are the worse it is ! I was very fit , good stomach muscles from riding all my life and it was hell . The nurse forwarned me this would happen . I was actually in pain for 2 weeks and couldnt walk upright at all. I dont mean to scare anyone but it was bad for me . You can lift anything for 6 weeks either and then nothing to heavy at all after that . But honestly once i got through it , i was fine . Hope it goes ok for you and that your not to fit !

Oh Yikes, goes to show you how "fit" i am huh?  

[Wattle]

Good luck Laurie. Wishing you a speedy recovery.   

[mariannas]

Hi Laurie and GN  i dont mean to argue with you for a minute or worry Laurie, but how you feel after depends on how fit you are , sorry but the fitter you are the worse it is ! I was very fit , good stomach muscles from riding all my life and it was hell . The nurse forwarned me this would happen . I was actually in pain for 2 weeks and couldnt walk upright at all. I dont mean to scare anyone but it was bad for me . You can lift anything for 6 weeks either and then nothing to heavy at all after that . But honestly once i got through it , i was fine . Hope it goes ok for you and that your not to fit !

I was in the same boat.  I don't know how *fit* one could really consider me, but I'm really small (and look fit...even if I'm absolutely not  ) so maybe that was part of it.  I could barely get around for 3 or 4 days and had to go back to the hospital because my pain med dosage was too low.  My  words of advice would be...know your pain threshold.  If you are taking your pain meds and still getting breakthrough pain, don't be afraid to either ask for something else or a higher dosage.  It's not worth it to be in that much pain when it can so easily be controlled. 

Anyways, for me it was worth the few days of pain to not have to go on hemo.  Despite dealing with this my whole life, I do not deal well with IV's so hemo would have probably sent me off the deep end.

Best of luck with your catheter insertion!!!

[charee]

Good Luck laurie hope all goes well

 

[MyssAnne]

Laurie, I agree, do NOT suffer. Demand painkillers that will work. Percocet did NOT work for me, just made me nauseous.  You won't want to eat for several days, don't try. Soups are good. Liquids are good. Whatever worked for you whenever you had flu, that's what will work for you. It will HURT when you try to move around the first week or so. IF you don't have to go anywhere, don't.  Cars might make you carsick, they did me, still do, to a slight extent.  I simply make sure I don't eat before going on a longish car ride any more. I found bending my knees in bed made it a bit more comfortable.  As everyone else is saying, it IS worth it. Make sure you have loose pants/drawstring or elastic waist pants, you'll find that ordinary pants will rub against the incision, possibly the exit site  as well.

[Laurie]

 Thanks for all the replies. I am so glad I found this site. My Surgeon made it sound like it was no big deal and I would be in no pain and would be able to return to work the next day. It's nice to hear from people who have actually experienced it so now I can better prepare myself.

[MyssAnne]

Laurie I had to laugh when I read about your surgeon's remark, my doctor said the same thing!!!! Boy was I shocked.  Another tip...lie as flat as possible, still with your knees flexed up. That will control the nausea/pain somewhat, too.  I think, if you expect pain, it always turns out to be less than you thought it would be.  I hope it turns out that way for you!  I would also strongly advise that someone be in the house to change your dressings for you, and to help you up to the bathroom. You will be weak and shaky and lightheaded. 

[Laurie]

MyssAnne, thanks for all the info. My husband will be at home with me after the surgery, but the next day he will have to return to work. I might have to see if my mom can come over if I need help.

[KT0930]

Laurie,

I'm not going to address the surgery issues, because most already have. I can, however, help with the previous surgeries and whether PD works in spite of them. I have had two transplants, a previous PD cath, a c-section, and several other minor abdominal surgeries. I've been doing PD (this time) for about nine months, with very few problems. I have had some pain with putting the fluid in, which some people (myself included) have theorized might be due to scar tissue. You can check out this thread http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=4145.0 to read more about it. I will say that although the cycler hasn't eliminated the pain, at least I'm asleep for most of it now!

[Amanda From OZ]

good luck, i hope all goes well.

Amanda
xxoo

[KICKSTART]

Oh one thing i forgot !!!! Dont know if anyone else had this problem ? Watch out for constipation !!!!! Because you wont eat properly or want to move around a lot , plus the pain , i found  got really badly constipated !!!!

[rimbo74]

Hey Laurie, sorry to hear the time has come.  Where will you be having your procedure?  I took a couple of days off from work but the pain is manageable but do ask for pain medicine.  Let me know if there is anything that I can do for you and keep us posted. 

[Laurie]

I'm having it done in Corsicana. I was a little hesitant to have it done there because I don't know anything about the hospital, but my Neph recommended the Surgeon and set up the appointment. I hope it goes ok. I will definetly make sure I get some pain medicine.

[Laurie]

Well, the surgery went well today. The pain hasn't been as bad as I thought it would. I can definitely tell when the pain medicine is starting to wear off. As long as I'm still and don't move, its fine, but the minute I move OMG it hurts. I'm just glad its over.

Thanks for all your support 

[okarol]

I pray you don't sneeze or get tickled... but don't be shy about taking more pain stuff!!

[tamara]

Yeah! The op is done! 

Glad to hear your doing OK

Take Care Tamara xxx ooo

[KICKSTART]

Sit back and be pampered for a few days now ! 

[highlite36]

Hang in there, baby!!!  Things will really get better.  I found that when I started to get achy, it helped to have my legs up on a few pillows for short periods of time just so the fluid didn't build up there and my feet didn't swell as badly.  Ankle circles helped quite a bit in relieving the stress.....  When I got my PD cath placed, I had problems with severe chest pain due to having air in my abdomen.  What I found worked really well for that was simply just laying back on a couple of pillows with a warm wash cloth....and that took care of the problem....

Good luck with this cath....  I know it'll work FABULOUSLY!!!!!

[MyssAnne]

How are you doing now? Feeling better? I agree, the first few days, no moving is the best thing to do!!  Don't overload your tummy with food, it will rebel!!!  Just take it easy, as easy as you can!