Introducing Nathan

hello, i have also recently been diagnosed and am not much older than you are (35). it all hit me like a ton of bricks as well. everything else in me is completely healthy and i was FUC$ING pissed when i found this out and still am. but have recently realized it does no good to be upset, and to focus all of that energy to getting fixed and back to normal and for me that is a transplant. i too had a bunch of live donors lining up for me and i quickly got my testing completed and now my live donors are starting theirs. if all goes well i will have a new kidney by the end of the year. all in all it will be 6 months from being diagnosed to getting a transplant which is not bad when you think about it.

im going to give you 2 things to consider when you read things online as well as on this forum:

1) the thing on "expected" life and "expected" kidney function. you have to understand that when they say your new kidney is expected to last 20 years that that is the AVERAGE. we are young. there are people who are 60-70 that get a transplant, do you think they last the average??? no... so that essentially brings the average down. which means someone else has to bring the average back up. so lets say the 65 year old has a TX and it lasts 10 years and he dies of something OTHER than kidney issues. well, the average is now 10. which means someone HAS to have a kidney thats lasts 30 years in order to bring that average up to 20. thats a positive for young people like us

2) i have found that people who have issues with the immunosurpressants are in the SMALL MINORITY. you have to think that last year there were over 13,000 kidney trasnplants done in the US. out of those, most are 100 percent successful and most you will never hear about. the people who do have issues are usually the only ones you hear about. i compare it to people who leave reviews on hotels... most of the time people dont go out of their way to leave a POSITIVE review, but if someone has a bad experience they will most definitely go ahead and make it a point to post their experience. thats what i found is most common even on this site. there are some 10,000 members but only 50 are active? that means that most people who get the transplant get on with their lives and dont have a need to come here and post anymore. AND THAT IS A POSITIVE THING

so keep these things in mind when thinking about a transplant. there is a reason the doctors will push for you to get one, it will give you your life back. and you cant worry about the side affects, people every day are diagnosed with cancer and bone density issues who are not a kidney transplant recipient.

my advice is to look at this as temporary. get proactive about it, get your testing done to get on the list and then get your donors tested and move on with your life. my surgeon told me that i will be "fine" afterwards. i am 35 years old. i am going to Tampa to get my TX and the AVERAGE from a live donor is 20 years. lets say i make it the average, even though i am young no other health issues and am hopefully it lasts longer. that brings me to 55 years old. 20 YEARS IS AN ETERNITY IN THE MEDICAL FIELD!!! they could very well have a "cure" or other advanced meds by then to make it last longer. but worst case, i get another transplant at 55 and take the average of 20 years up to 75. thats not a bad deal if you ask me. again, that is 40 YEARS FROM NOW!!! advancements in 40 years?? who knows, but its a good outlook to have

sorry for the long post, but bottom line is try to take that anger that you have built up and put it into the effort of going through the transplant process. i think you will be pleasantly surprised by the support you will receive by the doctors, your family and everyone else around you. you will have a retirement, you will live a normal life. take a look at the celebrities that recently came out. selena gomez, sarah hyland, alonzo mourning, sean elliot. all in their 20's and 30's when transplanted and all doing just fine afterwards, just LIKE THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE YOU DONT HEAR ABOUT!!!!

PM me if you want my # i would be happy to speak with you as Bruce did with me and it really made a HUGE difference. thank you bruce