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Nephrectomy & Kidney Transplant: How long does it take to recover?

Transplants | Last Active: Mar 31, 2020 | Replies (5)
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@jolinda

Hello @stephanierp

Welcome to Connect! I am so excited for your new kidney, I also had a kidney transplant and a bi-lateral nephrectomy because of PKD. Like @danab mentioned there will be some bad days but they are part of healing. With PKD I was getting sicker everyday but after transplant I got stronger everyday.

I can relate to feeling isolated and weak during the healing process, you can't really do chores well, sort your closet or be productive and the transplant teams want to keep you away from other people for quite awhile. Good news is...The Connect Community is right here, filled with lots of people who can relate to your situation and keep you company while you heal. I remember after transplant I had to wait for my husband to get home from work to take the clothes out of the washing machine because I was too weak to lift them when they were wet. Once my wound healed physical therapy was really important for me to gain my strength and endurance, without it I would never have fully recovered.

I can't wait to hear more about your transplant! Was it preemptive or were you on dialysis first? Was it an open nephrectomy or was it laparoscopic? Do you have someone helping you at home while you recover? Feel free to share as much or as little of your journey as you like.

I'm so happy for you and the beginning of your new chapter

@jolinda

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Replies to "Hello @stephanierp Welcome to Connect! I am so excited for your new kidney, I also had..."
stephanierp | @stephanierp | Mar 31, 2020

Thank you Jolinda and Rosemary for reaching out. It is so helpful to hear directly for transplant peeps! Yes, Rosemary, I will try to fit in a nap and listen to my body telling me to slow down.

Jolinda - My transplant was preemptive - just barely before dialysis- and was an open nephrectomy that had some unexpected challenges once they got in. PKD kidneys can be a bit challenging, attaching to other organs, and then some challenges with ultra-thin artery walls. I am so grateful to have had a surgical team that was able to complete the surgery successfully. The challenge is they had to open me more (over a 13 inch scar from left rib to right crotch) and needed to do a lot of manipulating to remove the kidney. All of which left me feeling gutted and frightened of a second nephrectomy in 6 months. I am very interested in hearing from anyone with PKD, who has had a laparoscopic nephrectomy.

And I have a wonderful husband and 14 year old son, at home helping me and now my daughter is home from her senior year of college, as her school, like most, is closed due to COVID19. I don't know what I expected post-transplant life to look like, but safe to say, a pandemic was not in my vision:) It has definitely added to the sensation of feeling isolated and in a new world, in which the landscape is familiar, yet dramatically altered.

The good news is I am healing, and I suppose I just tried to jump back into exercise a bit too soon. I really like being active and once I hit my 6 week mark tried to start some elementary dance exercises my body just wasn't ready to support. Yesterday was painful. Today I feel better. I will just walk for physical therapy another week.

Again, thank you all for your quick responses. It feels good to be connected!

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