I am now on day 10 post open nephrectomy on my right side. I have noticed a difference in healing since I've got home and now I'm only taking paracetamol because the oramorph they sent me home with was causing really bad constipation and making the pain worse. My question is when were people able to lie in a bed/on their side in a bed? I have been sleeping on a recliner as every time I lay down it really hurts on my right side (inside) the same if i try and lay on my side there's a stabbing pain inside. I totally understand that its going to take time to recover just wanted some people's stories on when they were able to lie down again.
I know how distressing it is when you're in a lot of pain when trying to lie down or get comfortable in bed.
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi,
So sorry you are still in a lot of pain. I had a robotic partial, so not as invasive as yours, and they do say that open surgeries take longer to heal than keyhole. I didn't really have any pain at all with mine but I did sleep on the opposite side just in case. I have seen others here who have said that they find it more painful to lie down than to stand or recline.
The only thing I can say is that patience is needed. You are only ten days in, and in a few weeks this will all be a distant memory. My personal problem was one of my incisions that refused to heal. I had an allergic reaction to the surgical glue, and came up in a debilitating itchy rash. One incision was worse than the others because it was low down in a crease. I was distressed because that one just didn't seem to be healing and various nurses and GPs kept telling me it would heal eventually but I somehow couldn't see that it ever would! Well, fast forward twelve weeks and I went off on holiday having stopped applying antihistamine etc and suddenly I was aware that it no longer itched and was actually forming into a scar instead of an open slit!
So, hang in there. Everyone heals at different speeds and your open surgery is going to take a little longer yet to settle down. If you feel you cannot get good quality sleep due to your sleeping position, just try and grab a nap when you can. Your body will let you sleep when you need to, even if it's in increments. Adopt a position that isn't causing pain, if you can. There's no rush to recover. Take things slowly and you will find that gradually the pain will ease - I was told that the amount of healing that happens in the first two weeks is nothing compared with the huge amount of healing that happens in weeks three and four. I remember how frustrating it was, though, that I didn't seem to be healing as quickly as I thought I ought to! and I can only reassure you that in a few weeks time, you will feel immensely better than you do right now.
Hi Luciana, I'm doing really well...thank you for remembering, and for asking! The surgery is just a distant memory now, five months on. I am due a first follow up scan in November and will probably get a bit nervous then but given that I went 2 years before having the lesion removed, and my surgeon saying that my histology showed me in the lowest possible risk of return or spread, there's no real reason why I should be anxious come November.
I have learned that quality of life doesn't just mean, being completely healthy (as I had been for 62 years!) but getting on with what hand you have been dealt, and living your best life regardless. It feels good to be able to see positive things in the face of something that could be deemed a very negative thing 
