Question for kidney transplant patients
How long before you was able to drive again?
Question for kidney transplant patients
How long before you was able to drive again?
I think it was four weeks.
For me 10 days
I drive after 4 weeks
I was just given the ok to drive at 3.5 weeks after my transplant. My labs are excellent and I have no other health issues. My doctor ok’ed it because I’m not on any pain meds, my scar has fully healed and I can wear a seatbelt comfortably. But, every transplant team protocol is different.
As others have suggested 4 to 6 weeks. It depends on your healing process. Your doctor and your own body Will let you know. However I understand your concern. Not able to drive for a while can be a bummer.
My surgeon said 8 weeks.
As soon as I was off prescription pain killers - so about 10 days after I got home. No one ever gave me a time limit - maybe they should have, I don't know.
If I may ask, how long have you been on pain killers after the surgery?
A week and a half after I got home, I think (it was 12 years ago). Once I realized I didn't need the opioid painkillers anymore I switched to Tylenol and started driving (just short drives around town). No one ever gave me any restrictions; the amount I drove was only limited by discomfort.
Thank you for the reply. I’m just surprised how many people stayed on pain killers for so long. I got off opioid pain killers on the third day after the surgery so it is very shocking to me that many people stayed on for 3-4 weeks.
I also got to drive about 2,5 weeks after surgery. Basically after I stopped feeling pressure from the incision when in bended position.
My incision got infected so I had to be readmitted to the hospital 10 days after going home and stay until a wound vac arrived, which was 3 days later. That puts me at roughly 2 two weeks. My (now ex) husband went back to work after another week and I was still having labs twice a week, so I drove myself. The only time I ever took the pain meds was an hour before they came to change the the vac, which was done at home. Nobody ever gave me a guideline about driving because they assumed my husband would stick around like he committed to do. Oh well.
Hello, My spouse had his kidney transplant Nov 2018 and was driving late January 2019. He kept a flat pillow between his body and seat belt all the time when he was the passenger.
I was driving 5 days after surgery. There were no restrictions in my program's release guidelines other than the need to be totally off pain meds. I transitioned to tylenol only on day 2 at the hospital and did not take any pain meds after that point.