Pre-Donation Tips???

[MrsFishy]

   I will also check with the tx coodinator but thought I'd also check with you knowledgeable folks, too!

NSAIDS: I know they should be avoided post donation but what about now?  Will the occasional Excederin for a head ache or Ibuprofen for my mildly arthritic knees be a problem?  I can certainly live without them but if they won't have an impact on my ability to qualify, then I'd prefer to not live with the pain if I don't have to.   

Physical:  I have it scheduled and I know my Dr. will order blood tests....as I will want her to.  I'm going to request she order fasting labs to check my blood sugar, cholesterol, TSH (my sister has thyroid disfunction).  Anything else I should request that would be helpful in the qualification process?

Fluids:  Should I make a point to try to drink more clear liquids and eliminate pop/soda entirely?  Or will that not make much of a difference? 

Last one isn't a Q but just a little celebration for an accomplishment.  I need to lose a total of 24 lbs. to get my BMI under 30.  I am shooting for 2/week.  I lost 3 this past week.  YAY!   

[okarol]

Good luck with your goals! Sounds like you're committed to making this happen!
I cannot recall if I posted this before so please disregard if it's a repeat - but you can ask many questions on the forum over at Living Donors Online and get feed back and support from other living donors http://livingdonorsonline.org/ldosmf/index.php
If Tylenol is not sufficient to help with chronic pain, it's possible you'd be turned down as a donor. My husband had back surgeries but is still in pain, and because NSAIDS are needed he is not considered suitable as a donor for our daughter.
Are you being evaluated by the transplant team or your own doctor? In most cases the recipients insirance/medicare covers the tests and labs so the donor has no financial responsibility.
Hope all moves forward! 
 

[MrsFishy]

I was told to get a general physical by my own physician which should be covered by my own insurance (which it will be because I'm over due anyway).  I just figured it would help with the preliminary process if I also request that my Dr. check for as much as possible for my own health concerns via the blood work I know she will order.  The reason I know she'll order it is because she ordered it my LAST appt. (18 months ago) and I forgot to ever go in and do it.   

Tylenol does work fine.  I just didn't realize that wasn't an NSAID.  I thought ALL OTC pain relievers were NSAIDS.

[cariad]

I hate to confuse everything by saying this, but I just gave a presentation on public health and kidney failure and found that tylenol (parecetamol/acetiminophen) is actually more dangerous than NSAIDS. By a lot. When I told this to the class, the paramedic said that this was not news in medical circles. So, I answered that the word was not reaching the people who need it. I posted an article with the stats and they are quite frightening - something like 7% of kidney failure is down to frequent tylenol use. However, you have to understand that with any of these, we are talking about fairly regular use. My husband took high doses of NSAIDS for his post-surgical pain from donating a kidney to me. This was what was prescribed by the transplant hospital, but the pharmacist said it was safe because it was only for a brief time.

After my research, I think I would aspirin as a first-line remedy, then NSAIDS. NSAIDS are the more powerful pain reliever anyhow, so I don't reckon I will ever take a tylenol again.

[Poppylicious]

Fluids:  Should I make a point to try to drink more clear liquids and eliminate pop/soda entirely?  Or will that not make much of a difference? 

Last one isn't a Q but just a little celebration for an accomplishment.  I need to lose a total of 24 lbs. to get my BMI under 30.  I am shooting for 2/week.  I lost 3 this past week.  YAY!   

I didn't change my drinking habits at all and I drink lots of Pepsi Max!

Well done on the weight loss.  I only lost half a pound this week ... grrr!

[MooseMom]

MrsFishy, to whom are you donating a kidney?  Do you envisage being the start of a chain?  Have you discussed this with your husband?  I've read in your past posts that you and he are caregivers to his mother; will he be able to look after both of you after your surgery?  (Forgive me if I have missed a chapter in your story!  I'm just assuming here that you are vying to be an altruistic donor...is that right?  I apologize for my ignorance.  LOL!)

[MrsFishy]

No worries, Moose Mom,  I'll give you a litt e run down. 

My husbands mom lives in her own home 1/2 mile down the street from us. We check on her every day and take her to Dr. Appts, hair appts, etc.  We do her shopping and cook all of her meals for her. We have medical transport that takes her to and from dialysis and we have in home care providers who come in twice a day to help her with personal care, house keeping, laundry, etc.  My husband won't have any trouble caring for us both as we have a great support system of friends and family who will help the first few weeks post op, too. I'm also very lucky to have several very close friends who are RN's and I have no doubt they will help, as well.

As of now, I am not entirely sure who I will be donating to. I am in the process of trying to see if I would be a good match for a young man that I became aware of thru LDO. I have never met him and I have asked his coordinator to not even let him know I am being tested. I do not want to get his hopes up if it turns out I would not be a good match for him or would be disqualified for some unknown medical resason.  If it all does work out, his hospital where the surgery would be is only 90 minutes from where I live and I travel there frequently for various reasons so it would be nice and convenient and cost effective. If I can be approved to donate but not to him specifically, I will see if I can still help him by participating in a paired donation.

When my MIL started dialysis, I found this site almost right away and after reading things here and on sites such as LDO, I was astounded at how many people NEED a kidney and further discovered that a living donor transplant is far more successful than a cadaver transplant.  I was also very moved by the excessive wait there is for those on a transplant waiting list. I've never been one who thinks, "Gosh! What a shame. Someone should do something to help". I AM someone and if I have something to give anyone that would improve their quality of life, I do it. Granted, not usually to this extent but.......why not?,

My husband thinks I'm crazy but is also supportive of the idea and said if this is something I truly want to do, he'll back me 100%.

[MooseMom]

How wonderful that you are empathetic enough to consider donating!  If you are indeed cleared to donate to this young man, you simply must tell us how he is told!  Will his coordinator tell him, or will you get to?  I can just imagine his joy and his surprise!  Oh, I do envy you...to have the opportunity to almost singlehandedly change the course of his life.  How fabulous!  I wish you all the luck in the world and hope that you will share more details of this story with us as it unfolds.  Good for you for DOING something to help as opposed to just blathering about how sad it all is.   

[MrsFishy]

That's funny that you asked that, MM!  I do not know how he will be told yet. I'm trying not to let myself get to excited about this until I get theball clear that I pass the full gauntlet of tests. I did have a dream last night though that he and his family were having dinner in a Chinese Restaurant and at the end of the meal, he opened a fortune cookie that said, "The woman sitting behind you in the red dress has been approved to donate her kidney to you and the transplant will be next week.". He turned around, looked at me and I smiled a reassuring smile that it was true and nodded my head.

Funny thing is, I would NEVER eat in a Chinese restaurant and from I have read, HD patients wouldn't likely be eating there either and lastly, I wouldn't be caught DEAD wearing a DRESS!!!!   

I will keep updating here as I progress thru this process and hope it ends by this fall or next winter with a final report of a successful kidney adoption!