Please Help....

Hi All,

Well, I got my kidney out on Tuesday.  Everything went perfect.  The mass was malignant but totally contained within the kidney with no evidence of any spreading to the surrounding tissues.  This was GREAT news!!!

Here is my problem, chronologically:

7/7 LARGE Loose BM @ approx 9:30pm

7/8 Kidney removed @ 9:30am - no BM

7/9 Watery, milky BM @ approx 10:30 pm (49 hours!!)

7/10 Small "scraps" throughout the day.  None big enough to call a "real" BM.

7/11 Discharged @ 1:30 - no BM

    Terrible gas pains throughout the entire day - no BM

    Call my GI-recommends Pepcid AC - didn't work.

    Early evening-terrible bloating. Look like I'm 6 months pregnant. No BM.

    Mid evening-called urologist (surgeon).  Recommends dulcalax supp.

    Insert supp @ approx 9:45

    11:00pm-after much struggling and an hour on the bowl, nice BM.

I have had no appetite all day long.  The gas seems to have decreased a bit but the bloating is still there.  I haven't had any urges to go since 11.  My stomach is gurgling up a storm.  There is no pain, just discomfort because of the bloating. 

While I was in the hospital, I was given morphine, a fentenyl epidural and a cillin anti-biotic.  I did not take my probiotics while in the hospital.  They administered my normal dosage of asacol and I felt fine.  They stopped the antibiotic on Wednesday night and the fentenyl on Thursday afternoon.  I was only given one dose of morphine after the surgery.  I received a saline drip from the moment I got there until the moment I left.

Could these feelings be from the anesthesia or the pain killers?  I came home and took my probiotics and it seems like all hell broke loose.  I took one Culturelle and one Asadopholous Pearl.  Is it possible my system is so fragile that I'm experiencing a negative reaction to the probiotics.  I was FINE in the hospital.  Is there a possibility that the removal of the saline drip could cause me to feel this way?  I feel like I've had either too much caffeine or too much sugar and I've had neither.  The only thing I ate all day was a scrambled egg, 1 saltine cracker and a tiny piece of Italian bread, just to try and get something in my stomach to take away the jitters.

I'm soooo scared and my doctors are assuring me that what I am feeling is normal, but I'm uncertain as to whether or not what I am feeling is due to the surgery or the UC.  I need advice from the experts on this board - and I mean that literally.  If you don't have UC, then there is no way to possibly know what we are feeling.  Anyone can look up symptoms and treatments for a disease, but experiencing the disease is a whole different ballgame.

It's now almost 3:45am and I'm wide awake and still jittery.  Gas is calmer but bloating is still bad.  Please, if there is anyone out there, please give me your input.  I'm desperate and scared to death.

Thank you so much,

Lisa E.  

Thank you so much Quincy for responding. As far as I know, they don't disturb the intestines. I never took the prednisone because of the surgery. I've eaten very little. The day of the surgery, I was not allowed to eat solid food. The next day, I had an egg, three bites of a roast beef sandwich and a couple of pieces of roasted potatoes for dinner. The following day was pretty much the same. The only thing I've eaten since I got home is an egg, a cracker, and a couple of tiny pieces of Italian bread. My stomach is very upset and I'm afraid that I'll puke if I try to eat something. I have absolutely no appetite and the thought of food makes me feel even more nauseous. I'm sure it would be absolutely excruciating if I threw up, so the though of thowing up is terrifying. The incision is in a very sensative spot, right under my left rib cage. You have no idea how much those muscles are used!!!! LOL I can hardly move!! LOL

I can deal with these symptoms if they are normal post-op symptoms. I'm just concerned that it is the UC flaring up or worse.

I credit my surgeon for my early discharge. He was incredible. A seamstress could not have done a better job closing my wound. I have a 6 inch incision that will be virtually invisible once it heals. I did a search on nephrectomy incisions and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'm very lucky and I'm so thankful to God for putting this wonderful man in my path.

Thank you so much for your response.

Lisa E.

I don't know much about kidney removal, but anytime you have surgery, you have air entering the body that doesn't belong there.  It had to be reabsorbed by the body and released.  If your gas and bloating is getting less and less everyday, I would think that is part of the normal post surgical symptoms.  If it is not getting better, your doc should definately know about it.  Also, due to the antibiotics they gave you in the hospital, your "good" gut bacteria has probably been disturbed, and the probiotics you took when you got home may have been trying to repopulate your gut, so you may have an effect from that as well.   I am so glad that your tumor was contained, that is great news.  I know after you have been through something like that it is hard (at least for me) to not worry aobut every little thing that is going on with your body, but if I were you (and I am not, and only you know what you need) I would give it a couple of days post surgery to work itself out.  But again, only you know what is right for your body and if you don't feel right, a call in to the doc is always warranted.  Good luck to you and I hope you feel better soon.

Hi Guys,

Thank you so much!!! Much, much better today!!!! After a horrible night, I finally feel "empty". I had two eggs for breakfast and a half of an english muffin. I feel like a new person.

I was so scared last night because I was thinking of toxic megacolon. I literally looked like I was six months pregnant. I was so scared of it that I was even afraid to say that that was what I was fearing!! LOL But, everything is working pretty well right now. My surgeon called me this morning to see how I was doing and I asked him a bunch of questions. He told me that the intestines weren't really disturbed but they were kind of shoved aside a bit to get to the kidney. I told him my concerns of toxic megacolon and he assured me that I would have literally been minutes from death had it been toxic megacolon. I was just scared of everything and a bit hysterical to say the least.

Right now I'm trying to stick to a bland diet. I'm not taking any pain medications because I was addicted to opiates years ago and I really don't want to go that route again, so I'm toughing it out. The pain is tolerable and as long as I can tolerate it, I will. I took the morphine and the fentenyl in the hospital, but I didn't fill the darvocet. I actually gave the prescription to my mother because I didn't trust myself!! LOL So right now, all I'm taking is the Asacol and the tylenol when needed. I haven't taken any today because the pain isn't bad. Actually, the only time the pain is really bad is when I try to sit up in bed or if I try to twist or God forbid cough. No pain killer would relieve that kind of pain. Even the epidural didn't help with that.

But, thank you so much for your advice. This board has been a Godsend. You've all helped me more than you can imagine.

Lisa E.

Do you have a belly pillow to support your incision when you move or cough? If not, just fold a hand towel up into a small square, put a pillowcase over it then use some tape (adhesive tape is good) to fold and fit the case. If that's too much trouble, just use the folded towel. Press it firmly against the incision to help support the muscles. It'll help a lot.

The pillow idea is great. Every time I have had surgery in the stomach area I always used a pillow getting up & down, in & out of bed. The pressure does the trick. My brother was given a teddy bear by the hospital when he had open heart surgery. They hugged the teddy bear when moving around or if they came in and made him cough. Hugs, Susie

Hi Lisa....I do know how many muscles are in that area..I had lung surgery with a long recovery. My incision is from under the right breast to between the spine along side the right scapula.

I was going to suggest the pillow as well (it works like a support)...just take a normal sleeping pillow and wrap it around your body over the surgical area, and over that holding it with a scarf or a towel that's long enough so that you can bring it in tight for when you cough or (heaven forbid) you throw up.

It's good you're eating....do so in small means but more often...keep your body nourished, healing will be better. Are you supposed to limit or increase the fluids?

Keep us updated as to how you're doing. I hope you have someone to help you at home.

quincy

So happy you got such great news!!!