Hi all. Well I had my left kidney surgically removed 5 days ago. Luckily the cancer was completely confined to the kidney and hadn't travelled to lymph nodes etc. so should be all fine. Will know for sure in 6 weeks time. I'm now back at home feeling very, very sore, and barely able to walk. Worse than the pain from the wounds, which kind of settles once you stay still, is the pain at the back of my shoulders and neck, which is a sickening, agonising pain that occurs every time I have moved around upright, even for a short period of time. I've been told it has resulted from the position I was in during the operation. Wow it hurts. I have to put a heat pad on it to get any relief. Then, there's the pain relief. The Morphine made me itch all over. I was then moved to Tramadol, but that makes me feel really disoriented and nauseous. My GP has now moved me to Codeine and Paracetamol together with Lactulose to avoid constipation. I also have some anti-sickness drugs to hand as I occasionally feel so sick I just want to curl up and hide from the world. Sorry if this is too much information, but I had my first bowel movement in 6 days today. Euphoric! I expect to be off work for at least 6 weeks (I am not allowed to drive during this time) but most health professionals think 2 months is most likely. Apart from my consultant, who seemed to think it might be possible to be back at work within 2 weeks!!!! Ambitious to say the least considering how I currently feel. If anyone is about to go through this surgery and has any more questions, please send me a private message and I will happily respond. Hope xx
