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kidney donor recovery

alextim

Mar 22, 12 20:43

Post #1 of 22 (1744 views)

kidney donor recovery	Quote \| Reply

I hope to donate a kidney sometime around the end of April. I would love to hear from someone who has been through this and can give me some idea what to expect regarding the recovery time. I am an 52 year old age grouper triathlete. I did 5 tris last year (all sprints) and am planning on a sprint in mid June and my first international distance in mid July. I work out about 6 days a week and am in pretty good shape. I will discuss this with a doctor but frankly, would rather hear from another athlete.

Ultra-tri-guy

Mar 22, 12 20:49

Post #2 of 22 (1731 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

WTC is asking for kidneys to get to Kona now?!?!

Seriously though,I have no advice but just wanted to wish you and your donor recipient all the best of luck..

------

kaolelo

Mar 22, 12 21:03

Post #3 of 22 (1721 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

i agree, you have won more respect than finishing any race by donating a kidney. best of luck to both of you. btw, kidney donation is fairly major as far as healing goes. listen to your body.

J. Russo

Mar 22, 12 21:04

Post #4 of 22 (1721 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I'm in a similar position. I'd like to hear from an athlete who has donated too. I've been told its a long road to recovery though, I'd like racing withing 2 months would be out of the picture.

ericM35-39 wrote:

I love how everybody on ST complains about being slow and then when presented with the secret to not being slow they complain about that too

reg.dunlop

Mar 23, 12 4:06

Post #5 of 22 (1683 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

My mother in law received a kidney and
pancreas around 20 yrs ago.
She was the first bilateral transplant at Penn.
I highly doubt you'll be racing in the same calender year.
Good luck, you are a better person than I.
I would only do that for my wife or son.

I'd Rather Play Hockey And Lose, Than Figure Skate And Win A Gold Medal

Matthew

Mar 23, 12 6:30

Post #6 of 22 (1640 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I donated a kidney in Jan 2009. I was in good shape beforehand, mid-40's. I did my first tri 5 1/2 months later. I think I did 7 tri's that summer without problems. I was running about three weeks after surgery. I started swimming at one month, but I do remember feeling as though it was pulling on my incision area. If you're in decent shape and allow yourself some time to heal with gradual return to training you should do fine. Today I have no residuals whatsoever. I did several ultra runs last year and continue to do regular tri's and Xterras. I assume you'll have a lap procedure, perhaps "hand-assisted," which is what I had. My incision is vertical straight down under the bellybutton. It's really not noticeable when I wear shorts. Let me know if you have any other q's; I'll be happy to answer them. Feel free to pm.

Longboarder

Mar 23, 12 7:51

Post #7 of 22 (1606 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

No advice.

I'm a kidney dialysis nurse so I can tell you from experience what a great gift.

Train safe & smart
Bob

(This post was edited by Longboarder on Mar 23, 12 7:51)

npage148

Mar 23, 12 8:01

Post #8 of 22 (1595 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [Matthew] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

just wondering. With only one kidney do you need to worry more about electrolyte imbalances or dehydration during endurance events? Or using things like Advil which may cause acute renal failure.

Matthew

Mar 23, 12 8:12

Post #9 of 22 (1586 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [npage148] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

The transplant doctors told me to never take NSAID's (ibu, aleve, etc) again because they can hurt the kidneys. My family doc thinks that's too extreme. He says that an occasional Aleve wouldn't be a problem. I went for two years with no NSAID's, but in the past year I've taken some Aleve because of over-use injuries. I don't like the thought of taking stuff that will hurt my remaining kidney though, so I don't use it very often at all. I also try to really keep an eye on hydration, which is something we all should do.

Also, back to the OP, I could have "done" a tri two months after surgery, but I would have by no means been able to "race" it. Also, prior to surgery I had done a lot of tri's, including 10 IM's.

littlefoot

Mar 23, 12 10:12

Post #10 of 22 (1554 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I would not race at all for a good 3 months afterward. That is a major surgery, and you cannot see what is going on inside your body. Take a mandatory 2 months off at least, then move forward. No need to kill yourself or put yourself on the list of patients who need kidneys for a race a little over 60 minutes (or under) long.

spadddd

Mar 23, 12 13:20

Post #11 of 22 (1516 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [littlefoot] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

donating a kidney is actually comparable to an appendectomy. It involves a single incision, dissection of the back wall of the abdomen, and removal of the kidney. You can go home the morning after if everything goes well. You won't need even close to two entire months off.

Matthew

Mar 23, 12 17:01

Post #12 of 22 (1486 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [spadddd] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

spadddd wrote:

I'm not saying it's mega-surgery, at all, but it's also no appendectomy. Mine lasted about four hours. I had extra vessels that they had to deal with though.

I agree that he (hopefully) won't need close to two months off from training after the surgery. I definitely wouldn't recommend hard racing during that two months though. I think the OP is wise to get info from athletes who have actually had the surgery.

G$

Mar 23, 12 17:26

Post #13 of 22 (1479 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Quote:

I hope to donate a kidney

This is no way to get to race weight!

Best of luck on the surgery.

ramafakal

Mar 23, 12 18:34

Post #14 of 22 (1455 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I am a kidney recipient 8 years out. Enabled me to finish Ironman Wisconsin in 2009, thanks to my sis. Her recovery was a little rough for the first week. Pretty uncomfortable and bloated etc.. after a couple of weeks she was good to go. I doubt she was in as good a shape as you are in. Alot of side bennies. You live longer and you get the best physical you can have. You will need to have a pretty clean bill of health to give it up.

Thanks for giving the gift of life.

BBB1975

Mar 23, 12 18:54

Post #15 of 22 (1443 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [ramafakal] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Hmmmmm. How much do adenoids, tonsils, kidney, appendix, gal bladder, and spleen weigh together? Think I can save a kilo?

alextim

Mar 23, 12 19:10

Post #16 of 22 (1435 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [BBB1975] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Thanks everyone for your comments. I think my basic question/assumption is something like this: I assume that there is some period of time, maybe a few weeks, that I would have to be careful so as to not actually hurt something. I assume the body needs time to mend. The muscles need to grow back together. Too much strain during this period might cause a hernia, pull out stitches, something like that.
After that though, I would like to think that while it may be uncomfortable, I won't actually hurt anything.
If this is the case, I should be able to just listen to my body and not push beyond my limits. Does this make sense?

Donjek

Mar 23, 12 19:32

Post #17 of 22 (1425 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

i have a friend who donated her kidney - still a pretty hard core athlete
she did a bike across canada a few years ago to raise money for transplant issues
she even competed in the transplant olympics
i think tri is a new event for this year?
best wishes to a fast recovery to you and the recipient

Jonathan22

Mar 27, 12 19:19

Post #18 of 22 (1297 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [Donjek] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Best of luck. You are awesome for doing that.

cycleguy0623

Mar 27, 12 20:02

Post #19 of 22 (1275 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I have not been through it buy my uncle did give my dad a kidney. He is not into tri buy is a marathon runner. He was down from the sugary longer than my father was. He did end up with an infection post sugary so his recovery was postponed by that but he was able to do some shorter runs two months after. He was up an running normal again after month three. This may be a bit of an extended schedule but its what it was for him. I will try and give him a call tomorrow to get you some more specific information.

alextim

Apr 26, 12 19:02

Post #20 of 22 (1065 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [Matthew] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Matthew,
I thought I would let you know that I am scheduled to donate next Tuesday at Mayo.
I am doing the first tri of the year this Saturday. It's an in-between sprint/olympic distance in Morris, MN. I am grateful to have that one to do as I will have a little down time after. It is nice to have something to focus on.
I was told that I need to take it very easy for at least two weeks and that after that I can probably go by how I feel. I am planning on a sprint in mid June and an Olympic in mid July. We'll see.
Thanks for your earlier reply.

Matthew

Apr 26, 12 20:55

Post #21 of 22 (1050 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Good luck with the donation. You won't need it though. I'll tell you how I added at least a day to my hospital stay. Once they told me I could start eating and drinking I drank way too much way too soon. It was not good and that's an understatement. When they tell you that you can eat and drink take it nice and slow. Test your gut before slamming down 50 oz of fluid. Give us all an update once you're back home.

jackmott

Apr 26, 12 20:56

Post #22 of 22 (1048 views)

Re: kidney donor recovery [alextim] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

weight reduction, you will be faster!

good luck man!

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