question...

[bleija]

i have done so much research on transplant and almost anything i can think of regaurding it. as most of u know i am scheduled for my live donor transplant next tues. my question is was there anything u wish u would have known going into it, that u know now? i guess thats how i wanna word it. anything that you ddnt htink of prior...
also i know ur not allowed grapefruit, are there any other strict no no foods that interfere with the drugs...not sometingi wanna find out the hard way .
i am excited, terrified and nervous, but i think im ready.

[lainiepop]

You'LL be Fine! I think I was pretty informed Im 5wks post transplant tomorrow cant believe how quick Its gone.

tons of LucK please Let us know how you & donor are doing When you can X x

[amanda100wilson]

I would,have no hesitations about having another, other than the fact that my husband will,have to 'sacrifice' one of his for me to get another, as I am on a pooled donor list.  You will realise how bad you felt once you've had it done.

[WishIKnew]

Wishing you the best.

I think the main mistake I made was expecting to feel too good too soon.  I'm 5 months out now and doing great!  But those first several months I thought I should feel a lot better than I did and I worried about it a lot.  Give yourself the time your body needs to adjust.

 

[jeannea]

Foods: no grapefruit or pomegranate. Keep your salt reasonable. I still can't eat sauerkraut. It is very important to stay hydrated after transplant. Drink about 2 quarts a day.

You can't lift more than 10 pounds for a few months after. You need stretchy pants for a few weeks because your abdomen will be a little big at first and your wound will be sensitive.

You need to stay on top of your meds. Keep up on refills. Take your meds about 12 hours apart.

Many people have another hospital stay in the first few months after transplant. This is normal. Mine was for a virus I couldn't fight off. Also if you need help in the middle of the night, call the coordinator on call. That's what they're there for. Actually, call them whenever you have a question. (During business hours if it's ok to wait.)

Good luck! You'll be fine.

[highway61]

I agree with wishiknew.

My donor and I recovered at very different paces as different times. Initially I recovered from the surgery faster. My body found itself with a new organ to replace a pair of barely functional ones. In her case her body was reacting to the lose of a fully functional organ.

I was up on my feet sooner, my body was partying! It was like Whoo Hoo, we have working kidney. Hers was like Whoa! where did that other kidney go? Later on she started to recover quicker, once her body adjusted to having just one kidney.

She went back to work much quicker than I did. And she felt better sooner than I did. I had to deal with two battles with rejection, as well as having my ole pal the PD catheter removed.

As always with this type of stuff, everybody's experience is different. So you mileage may vary. Just keep a very positive attitude, be positive, everything will work out fine. I am almost 4 months from my transplant and I am back to work. I am feeling better than I have in two years. As much better I felt getting on PD from from ESRD I feel much better going from PD to the new kidney.

[SugarBear]

I agree with what everyone has posted so far, the one thing I can add is to check ingredients in drinks and food that may contain grapefruit and pomegranate.  One such drink is the soda Fresca which has grapefruit juice.

Good luck. 

[bleija]

what about drinks that are citrus flavored, such as mountain dew?    i would have never thougth abotu fresca, but i dnt really care for it anyway

[smcd23]

I didn't go through the transplant personally, but Tony says be prepared for your whole world to get turned upside down. The first 6 to 12 months are difficult - adjusting to new meds, adjusted to changes in your body chemistry while also healing from major surgery.

The medications can make you feel pretty yucky. He had some side effects but they go away over time he was told once you adjust.

OH! And be prepared to be up peeing every hour or two when you get home. They didn't tell him that the first time but since he never made it home, it didn't matter. They told him this time around, and they were not kidding! If you can, get yourself nice and organized before hand because you will have to keep track of input and output for the first few months. They gave us a nice binder to do this with sheet so he could write the times and amount he drank or urinated. If your facility doesn't give this to you, it would be simple enough to make yourself sheets like that. We used to take the daily sheet out and carry it around the house with us and then at night put it back in the binder and take out the one for the next day (he was tracking from midnight to midnight). And invest in a multi time pill planner. He was on meds 6x a day so we needed 2, but I think most people can get away with 1.

I am so happy for you, I will be thinking about you hoping everything goes to plan!

[bleija]

i have read tons of experiences on here. and read about the peeing a lot lol. not looking forward to that after abdominal surgery... but yeah thanks everyone for the responses

[MomoMcSleepy]

Hey, I heard no raw fish, no sushi.  You could probably have California rolls, though.  I don't know if you care, but I love sushi and I DO care, so I am having it whenver I can now, since it's risky after transplant.  Also along the same lines, watch out for undercooked meats.

It's amazing how much our bodies protect us from, huh?
 Good luck, girlie!

[lainiepop]

I feel pretty good now & had no pain after a Week but Dad Still has bit 5Wks Later just remember people recover at different paces. my scar Is Small & neat Is healed already Looks better than my Section scar from a year ago ! I feel ready to drive but haven't however dad has & is Fine. I've also been picking up my 1yr old daughter wh o Weighs 16lbs  & lts been Fine & dad has too.

We did both have minor hiccups tho. Dad was discharged day 3, Me day 8 I was re admitted day 13 creatinIne risen Slightly due to blood & urine infection which they Sorted & it Went town again i came out day 16 then dad went back in with infectIon day 21 back out day 24 & took a few days to recover.

I got quite down when I was readmitted & Worried Loads but Looking back it wasn't that big a deal & We are both doing well now!

Not long to go now tons OF luck & best wishes x

[cassandra]

Yeah lots of luck for the both of you.

love Cas