Anxiety and pain controlsince

Hi ,

Goodness, I'm not surprised you are anxious not having had the opportunity to talk to anyone about what is going on.

I would suggest that you need to make an appointment to see your GP.  Firstly, they may be able to prescribe something for your pain.  Secondly, your GP gets copies of all the reports from the hospital and may have more information about what they have found and what the process is from here.

Did the letter you received have an appointment for you to see the consultant?  If so I hope it is not too long before your appointment.  If it is you can always telephone and see if they have an earlier one.  They don't like to send appointments with a very close date in case you don't have time to move any commitments but if you ring them they can sometimes fit you in sooner.  If you have not yet received an appointment I would also ring them and try to arrange it directly as this would be quicker.

Whilst kidney surgery is major surgery it is also a routine operation and the surgeons will have conducted many such operations.  The hospital generally aims to have you discharged as soon as possible after the operation and I was in hospital for 5 days after my operation.  I have heard people being out as quickly as three days after the operation.  Recovery takes some time as, like I mentioned, it is major surgery and your body will take some time to recover and you will sleep a lot whilst it does.

Whilst you are always welcome to post here, if you wanted to talk to someone the Macmillan helpline on 0808 808 00 00 is excellent and the people on it are very supportive and well informed.

I am pleased that you have found this group although sorry that you have had to do so.

Please keep us informed about what is going on and don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have although at the moment it is difficult to give too many answers until you get some more information.

Wishing you all the best,

Gragon x

Thank you for your reply. I have a date for my surgery in early May. The only thing that they say I can have for the pain is paracetamol.  It just takes the edge of.  My main thing is the anxiety.  It grips me like a vice. I am going to make an appointment with the GP to see what I can take. 

I get very frightened and tearful. 

Sillikersthree 

Hi ,

It is only natural to be anxious and I think seeing your GP is the best thing to do at this time.  Hopefully they will be able to help with the anxiety and the pain.  One of the things that one of my friends recommends is a mindfulness app called "headspace" but you may be able to access a local mindfulness group.  It helps you to stop thinking about what might happen and focusses you in the here and now so gives you a bit of a break from your circumstances.

Also if you need to, don't forget that you can call the Macmillan helpline.

I find that waiting without knowing what is happening is one of the worst things for building up the anxiety.  Hopefully now that you have a date for your operation you can start to plan towards that.

Have you had your pre-op assessments yet and have they told you much about the operation?

Wishing you all the best,

Gragon x

Hi Sillikersthree 

So sorry you've found yourself here. I'm not at all surprised that you are anxious and tearful, it's very difficult news to be given, let alone not to speak to someone to have your questions answered.

If paracetamol isn't sufficient speak to you GP about alternatives. We can't have ibuprofen, but I have 30/500 co codamol and I find that really quite good when I need something.

It's 5 years since I had my kidney out - and whilst I do now have mets, I'm really well. My friend had kidney cancer two years before me - he's now been clear for 7 years! There's a great deal of hope, please know that.

Will be thinking of you!