Calling all PM-Forum Members!
Hopefully, ONE of you has some insight or experience or knows someone that knows someone that knows someone, and can help me with the question I'm about to ask...
After years and years of countless thousands of kidney-stones, 100's of procedures (both invasive & non), many thousands of CT's, X-Rays, KUB's, Nuclear-Medicine Tests, etc, etc... my urologist has finally stepped up and offered me a left-side Nephrectomy (kidney removal). It's a radical solution to my problem, but if my body reacts the way he thinks it's going to react, I'll not have a kidney-stone problem any more, as I won't have a kidney for the stones to form in. Problem solved, right?
*****
Lead-In, to my question:
I currently have chronic-pain associated with my history of stones, and renal-cysts & lesions, the multiple 'cutting surgeries' I've had on my left-side kidney, etc, etc, the list goes on as to WHY I have the pain that I have. My pain-level, on any given day, is between a 5 and a 7 (on some days it's lower, but the "norm" is a 5), and I just "deal with it". As I'm in 'recovery' (as most of the regulars know) and am not able to just keep narcotics hanging around as I'd just gobble them up, I'll do pretty much anything at this point to get rid of this pain (not to mention getting rid of my need to constantly go to the hospital).
Question:
Once my kidney is removed, am I likely to experience 'ghost pain'? Has anyone here ever had an organ removed and experienced this? Or do you know someone that's experienced this?
*****
I've been doing a little reading on the interwebs, and from what I've read, I'm almost assuredly going to still experience the same level of pain as if the kidney was still there, only there won't be anything in there to cause the pain. Some call it a 'Phantom', some call it a 'Ghost', but I think you guys know what I'm getting at.
Any & all feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance Brother & Sisters!
LMNO