Side effects to meds after transplant

[skuch65]

I was wondering what some of the side effects are to the meds after transplant.  I work outside in the cold and heat and was wondering if I need to worry about any meds in these conditions. I'm a Letter Carrier for the PO. So there is not much shade or shelter. Thanks for any info. I'm currently listed and planning on transplant in Jan.

[Wenchie58]

I don't notice too many side effects...a bit of weight gain from the prednisone (but weight has always been an issue anyway).  Best advice I can give you as a letter carrier....SUNSCREEN.Several of the meds I am taking list "avoid exposure to the sun" and I have already had one episode of skin cancer in three years on the drugs.
Best of luck!

[Chris]

I'll have to look for post I made that has a document that list potential side effects fo most of the anti rejection meds used. The thing to keep in mind is that we all react differently to them while there may be some common effects, we may not get them all. Since being a leter carrier, suncreen all year around, keeping hydrated are important things to do.
 
Give me a couple days and I'll find the post or the file (on old pc back up hard drive).

[natnnnat]

Yes absolutely be careful with sun.  I am not sure where you are located, here in Australia the sun is no joke and I lost one friend with a transplant to skin cancer which began on his eyelid, even though he wore sunglasses, hats and suncream.    Gregory used to wear a baseball cap (the yankees) and has skin cancer above his ear.  I should say "had", he had it removed.  He calls it his "tile", he has a tile missing there.  Because your medications lower your immunity, cancer can spread more easily.  I'd suggest if you work outdoors, to wear long sleeves (like a cotton shirt or something? and wide brimmed hats, like cricket hats, and stay in the shade where possible.  Sunblock I guess, I hate that stuff.  I'll post a picture of gregory's tile.

and also one of the kind of hat I mean.  A not-mucking-around hat.

[Brightsky69]

I know one issue that sucks is Prograf (I think is the culprit) or Myfortic, gives me stomach issues.....diarrhea.  It's not an all day thing for me but it can be bothersome. I am almost at 1 year ( ) with my 2nd transplant and I am still on high doses of meds thanks to my super human immune system.  All the immune suppression and my immune system still tests at a pretty normal function.

[Riki]

Cellcept was a bad one for me (is that Prograf?I'm not sure).  My doctor wanted me to try it while I had my first transplant.  I'd been on Cyclosporin for years and it caused a lot of facial hair growth (a beard don't look that good on a teenage girl. *L*) and he wanted to try to wean me off of it.  I tried the Cellcept, but I was so sick.  I had stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting.  Another doctor stopped it.  I'd only been on it a few months.  When I got my second kidney a few years later, I took Cellcept in the beginning, and it didn't bother me as much.  I was still mostly on Cyclosporin, though

[mcclane]

i'm pretty much re-iterating what has already been said, stay out of the sun as much as possible.  You're much more prone to skin cancer.  If you have to be out in the sun slather on the sunscreen or cover yourself from head to toe.  I'm not a hot weather person so I try to avoid the sun or stay on the shade.  If I wore a long sleeve shirt in a hot sunny day I'd have a shirt soaked in sweat.

The meds may cause your blood sugar to elevate, so be careful on your sugar intake.

On my first transplant, they gave me a cocktail of cellcept and fk506.  They switched it to sirolimus and prednisone later on.  I'm just on prednisone now (temporarily).

[Riki]

My doctor wanted me to go on fk506, I think, when I was 18.  After reading the side effects and the miscarriage rate for women on the drug, I said no

[jeannea]

Let's see: serious risk of skin cancer, diarrhea, neuropathy (pain) in feet, nightmares, blood pressure and triglyceride issues, possible diabetes from the prednisone. Those are the worst. There are many other minor ones. They'll make you memorize all your drugs, what they do, and what the side effects are before you can leave the hospital.

[skuch65]

Thanks for all the info.

[Chris]

Here is the information sheet I was given when I hqad my transplant on side effects from each type of anti rejection med. Other file shows what the meds look like (brand name form).

[mcclane]

Here is the information sheet I was given when I hqad my transplant on side effects from each type of anti rejection med. Other file shows what the meds look like (brand name form).

that's odd, the pdf says hair growth if you take prednisone and sirolimus.  I'm balding up top and have no eye brows left (guinan from star trek  )

[stuman413]

Well I had some weight gain, (about 35 lbs), I had sensitivity to sunlight, (I burned a lot easier than I used to), so I had to start wearing sunscreen every where I went, had some diarrhea from the cellcept and prograff, and i had hair growing everywhere, and I mean everywhere, even my ears.  But I think the worst side effect of these meds were the fact that I got sick very easily and it took much longer to recover than others around me.  For instance, one time my nephew wanted me to hold him, (he was 3 at the time) so I obliged, and he promptly sneezed in my face.  I got sick that evening and was sick with some kind of flu like symptoms for almost a week.  Others in the house had the same exact symptoms but they were better within 2-3 days.  So be careful about being around children who are sick.  The best defense I had against this was to wear a surgical mask around children if I couldnt avoid it.  Kind of awkward, especially if you have to go into public, but it was worth it to prevent getting sick all the time.