Lower right quadrant (LRQ) pain 2yrs post kidney transplant

@littlek welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Congratulations on your transplant. I’m sorry you are still experiencing pain. What is LRQ? I don’t always know abbreviations or acronyms. I think whenever there is pain present it is important to find out why and if anything can be done about it. You mentioned several possibilities: the hematoma, the surgical clips, the nerve damage, the retractors, the surgeries themselves / scarring. Do you still have a transplant coordinator involved in your follow up care? Could you discuss your concern about this pain with that provider?

Hi, @littlek, and Welcome to Connect. I had my Liver/Kidney transplant in 2009.
I was quite concerned and confused when I learned about visible surgical clips a few years later when I read it on an X-ray report! You can be sure that I asked about it at my appointment later that afternoon! They are quite normal and harmless. They were used to clamp the joints where blood vessels were attached.
As for your mention of pain, I am also not sure of LQR and I agree that medical abbreviations are confusing. Anyway, I have had my own 'time' with abdominal pains. I have a kidney in lower right quadrant, and a liver in upper right quadrant. After complaining to my transplant team, my PCP, I scheduled an early colonoscopy. All was normal - except for some diverticular pockets and possible constipation - Bingo! The gastroenterologist told me to Metamucil regularly (daily) whether I needed it or not. And as a result I have no pain with a bonus of regularity! You might want to ask your transplant team about trying it.

LRQ is lower right quadrant. I have told the entire transplant team for the last 2 years about this pain, and every Dr I have seen since. Urologist, GYN, PCP, Neurologist, OT, all with no answers just ordering imaging which only looks at the kidney. It's very frustrating because this is a constant pain. 3/5 scale. I was left with nerve damage in my right leg, (right kidney was transplanted), so it must be nerve damage in my abdomen as well. The clips were put on when they evaluated the large hematoma 3 days after transplant. I just found out in the last 3 months they were there.

@littlek, Have you spoken to the transplant team about relief from the pain?

Yes they say take tylenol. I also have polycystic liver disease and my liver is so enlarged I thought it was putting pressure on my transplanted kidney. Imaging shows its close but not touching it. My GFR is 36 and creatinine 1.58. They won't prescribed pain meds with those numbers. I thought I would have a much higher GFR with a perfect living donor kidney. I am now 66 my donor was 57.

Years ago I had a career where I needed to take responsibility for passing medications to my clients. I went through a certification program called TMA (trained medication administration) to give me the credentials to do so. I learned about NSAIDS ( non steroidal anti inflammatory) medication for pain relief. Generally speaking there’s a handful of OTC (over the counter) options. Each has drawbacks. Aspirin is bad for the stomach and can lead to ulcers. Ibuprofen is hard on kidneys. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) in excess is hard on the liver. Was it the kidney transplant team that told you to use Tylenol? Do they know about your liver condition? At 2 years post kidney transplant is the coordinator and team still actively following you? Can you inquire about your GFR and creatinine numbers?

Hi thanks for the response. They were giving me Tylenol in the hospital when I came off pain meds. I had a nephrectomy to remove a 12lb kidney, 3 weeks later the living donor kidney transplant, then 3 days after transplant back in surgery to evacuate a huge hematoma. They know about my liver because surgeon called it ginormous. I am only followed for bloodwork, every other month, by transplant nephrologist. I have complained about this pain for 2 years and they have no answers. I received 6 transfusions, plasma and ha to undergo months and months of Nivestym and Retracrit shots 3 days in a row, because my bloodwork was so off. Its been very frustrating. I'm trying to find drs outside of this network for second opinions.