After the transplant

[mcclane]

After a long journey of testing, the transplant is now done ! 

The donor was my mom, and the surgery was scheduled for feb 7, 2012.  The hospital wanted us admitted on feb 6, 2012, so my mom and I had to stay the night, as they wanted to do the surgery first thing in the morning. 

My potassium level was on the high side, so they did a 3 hour dialysis run that evening.

On Feb 7, they wheeled my mom down to the OR at 7:30 am, but they didn't actually start the surgery until close to 9 ish.  My mom said they wheeled her back into her own room around 2 pm.  At around 9 am, it was my turn to be wheeled down to the OR.  I would guess my surgery wasn't until close to 10 am.  They prepped me for the surgery, started an IV, took BP readings, and had me breathe in a mask.  I thought it was just air, and I remember them telling me to take in deep breaths of air, the last thing I remember was saying 'nighty night' and that was it.  I was zonked out.

After the surgery, they wheel you to a recovery area, and the nurses monitor you there and after a while they will then wheel you back to your room.  I was told I didn't get wheeled back to my room until around 4 pm.

I didn't sleep much that night, as the anesthetic was wearing off and the incision site was starting to hurt, plus I don't sleep well on my back, so that first night I barely got any sleep.

I remember the next morning, my mouth was super dry, I was thirsty as hell, and all they would give me was ice chips and wet a lollipop sponge in club soda just to wet the mouth.  No fluids until gas was passed.  I also remember a nurse' aide came by and got me out of bed the next day after surgery, it was painful to get up but I'm glad they do that, as lieing around in bed isn't the greatest thing for healing.

I think it wasn't until thursday that they allowed a fluid diet.  I only had soup and jello, and I could drink water.  They fed me a liquid diet for about 2 days, then started on solids - only because a bowel movement was had.

My stay was pretty much uneventful, I went in with a creatinine level of around 1000, and left around 130.  A huge difference.  Plus, I'm also trying to stave off low phosphorous levels, which was completely opposite before.

One thing I did notice is they now pump each kidney transplant patient full of fluid.  I don't know how much saline they gave me during the surgery, but I would guess after they gave me 5-6 1L bags of saline continously for 2 days, so now I am about 8 kgs over my weight (when I was on dialysis) and I am super bloated and puffy from excess fluids.  Not only that, they also want each patient to drink at least 2.5 - 3 L of fluids each days, despite being overloaded with fluid already. 

I only had one shot of morphine and only took one round of tylenol for the pain.  I know that morphine slows down the bowels so I refused any pain medication after the tylenol, I would rather suck it up then have my bowels slow down.

On sat, my urine stopped showing traces of blood in it so the doctor ordered the pee catheter removed (thank goodness !!!).  Unfortunately, I now pee lots and pee often.  Until my bladder stretches out, I really can't stray far from the washroom. 

By sunday I was able to get in and out of bed easily and the incision site pain virtually subsided.  I made sure I did lots of walks and not stay in bed alot.  As of right now, I'm experiencing virtually no pain and can get around easier - the puffiness is making is difficult though.

My mom is doing well, she was able to get out of bed 2 times the day after surgery, and by the weekend, she was up and about, experiencing little to no pain.

They discharged my mom on monday, and I got discharged on tuesday, valentine's day !  Which was great, as I got to spend time with my wife. 


Overall, it was a hell of a journey.  Our first round of tests resulted in no surgery date, but a lifestyle change on my mom's part turned that all around and made the 2nd round of testing all possible.  I found since we didn't delay on the 2nd round of testing, it went much faster, it only took about 2 months to complete all the necessary tests.

I can't thank my mom enough, my quality of life now has changed for the better, and I am doing what it takes to make sure this kidney lasts for a loooooooong time.

[Cordelia]

Mcclane, thanks ever so much for sharing your transplant journey with us, congrats to you!!!!!!                 

I hope everything continues to go really well!     

How long before you both can drive?

How often do you have to get your blood checked? I hear its like 3 times weekly here post transplant.

Your Mom is super sweet to give the gift of life! Best wishes to you both on a speedy, healthy recovery!!     

[Joe]

Yes, thanks for the run down mclane, following your experience was very informative.
Recover quickly!

[willowtreewren]

Great news! Great news! 

Aleta

[Traveller1947]

Can't stop smiling!  All the best to you and your generous Mom.

[MooseMom]

That just fantastic!  Well done to you both!

I do have a question...why did they give you so much fluid?  I'm assuming that's par for the course, but why?  I understand why they pump you up with gas, but why fluid?  I don't like the sound of that!  Carrying 16 lbs of extra fluid?  Oh my!

[Cordelia]

That just fantastic!  Well done to you both!

I do have a question...why did they give you so much fluid?  I'm assuming that's par for the course, but why?  I understand why they pump you up with gas, but why fluid?  I don't like the sound of that!  Carrying 16 lbs of extra fluid?  Oh my!

I'm curious as to why too.

[KarenInWA]

They pumped me up with fluid also. I think it is a way to test the kidney and how it removes that excess fluid. It can take a week or 2 for it to go away, but ideally, you should be able to get back to your normal weight. I did in about 2 weeks time, then went to a little below my weight due to a decrease in appetite. That, however, has since been resolved, and I think I've gained a little due to the prednisone. Not a lot, but enough for me to notice that some of my pants fit more snug than before, and others I can't wear at all! Good thing I started buying bigger sizes lately...

KarenInWA

[Poppylicious]

Congrats, mcclane! So exciting!

 

My mom is doing well, she was able to get out of bed 2 times the day after surgery, and by the weekend, she was up and about, experiencing little to no pain.

Am I the only donor in the world who had lots of pain for nearly three weeks post-op?!  Grrr ... But yay! for mum! You must be so proud of each other!

I do have a question...why did they give you so much fluid?  I'm assuming that's par for the course, but why?  I understand why they pump you up with gas, but why fluid?  I don't like the sound of that!  Carrying 16 lbs of extra fluid?  Oh my!

Blokey was pumped full of fluid too.  Unfortunately it really affected his 'boy area' (balloons!!!) and he was most put out when the neph told him that the fluid would most likely not disappear from there till last and it could be MONTHS!  It wasn't, but it was uncomfortable for him for a couple of weeks and he was annoyed that they'd pumped him so full of fluid. 

[jbeany]

Yup, the fluid overload seems to be SOP.  It took me three years to get off 60 pounds, and they poured so much fluid in me during my complications that I gained it all back!  I could barely move for a while.

[mcclane]

Mcclane, thanks ever so much for sharing your transplant journey with us, congrats to you!!!!!!                 

I hope everything continues to go really well!     

How long before you both can drive?

How often do you have to get your blood checked? I hear its like 3 times weekly here post transplant.

Your Mom is super sweet to give the gift of life! Best wishes to you both on a speedy, healthy recovery!!     

so far things are going well, i did a boneheaded thing yesterday and forgot to take my evening immunosuppressants.  I am making sure that never happens again.

As for driving, I'm not sure about the donor, but for the recipient, they say 4-6 weeks, as long as you can safely shoulder check. 

for the first 6 weeks, bloodwork must be done 3 times a week, I go m w f (unless monday is a holiday, then it is just tues and thurs).  After the bloodwork, I have to go see the nurse.

[mcclane]

That just fantastic!  Well done to you both!

I do have a question...why did they give you so much fluid?  I'm assuming that's par for the course, but why?  I understand why they pump you up with gas, but why fluid?  I don't like the sound of that!  Carrying 16 lbs of extra fluid?  Oh my!

The doctors never really explained to us why, but I was only told that they want to keep the new kidney extra 'wet', if it becomes dehydrated then it can cause the kidney to become stressed, and that is what they are trying to avoid.

They put me on a prednisone tapering schedule, I started off at 90 mg and by the end of the month it is down to 15 mg.  One of the side effects of prednisone is water/salt retention, I am currently taking 35 mg, and the extra fluid is slowly draining off - not as fast as I'd like 

For my first transplant, I don't recall them ever giving me sooo much fluid, I was pretty much the same weight before and after the transplant, except being in the hospital for 10 days and eating hospital food, I wound up losing weight.

[mcclane]

Congrats, mcclane! So exciting!

 

My mom is doing well, she was able to get out of bed 2 times the day after surgery, and by the weekend, she was up and about, experiencing little to no pain.

Am I the only donor in the world who had lots of pain for nearly three weeks post-op?!  Grrr ... But yay! for mum! You must be so proud of each other!

I do have a question...why did they give you so much fluid?  I'm assuming that's par for the course, but why?  I understand why they pump you up with gas, but why fluid?  I don't like the sound of that!  Carrying 16 lbs of extra fluid?  Oh my!

Blokey was pumped full of fluid too.  Unfortunately it really affected his 'boy area' (balloons!!!) and he was most put out when the neph told him that the fluid would most likely not disappear from there till last and it could be MONTHS!  It wasn't, but it was uncomfortable for him for a couple of weeks and he was annoyed that they'd pumped him so full of fluid.

as for the pain, I learned alot from my first transplant.  At that time, I didn't move around too much.  During my hospital stay I just stayed in bed most of the time.  After I was discharged, it took over a month before the pain subsided.  This time around, I forced myself out of bed and to walk around more, pain or no pain.  I found that helped immensely, as by the time I was discharged there was some pain but nothing to write home about.  I find now that if I sit around too long, it hurts more, while on the other hand, if I stay active the pain is virtually non existent.

Yeah, my *ahem* area is bloated too.  While it doesn't prevent me from peeing, it does prevent me from aiming properly    To avoid getting my pants and the toilet area soaked with pee, I grabbed a pee bottle from the hospital, so I pee in there and then dump the pee into the toilet after.  It is abit of hassle, but at least I don't have to worry about aiming properly