is transplant really better??

[fuzzyL]

my hospital scared me off transplant but my renal doctor still pushes it--the hospital talked about kidney rejection-weekly doctor visits and expensive anti rejection meds-and also that my immune system would be compromised--also I had a hernia operation and had blood clots and almost died so now I am afraid of kidney transplant surgery-curious of any input

[corey]

Your immune system being suppressed only means that a normal cold that takes 1 week to shrug off, will take 2-3 weeks.

And no, you will not be getting sick all the time. Just don't go inhaling air near a sick person.

Doctor visits will eventually get more spread out. Eventually once every 6 months.

There are ways to treat acute rejection. Plasma exchange being the new breakthrough treatment. Doctors say that with the breakthrough in plasma exchange, kidneys are set to last a LONG LONG time. The longevity rates of transplants at the moment, aren't based off kidneys treated with the new method.

Post transplant meds are really expensive, nothing you can do about that though.

Don't be scared about the operation, just do what you have to do. Be a man as they say. There are little kids needing heart transplants.

But answering your title. Yes, a transplant is better in every single aspect.

Hope that helped.

Cheers

[jeannea]

I don't know what you mean that your hospital scared you off. Were you evaluated for transplant? Did doctors tell you not to get one? Could you explain?

[msf21]

I don't have a transplant yet, but I am on the list and will take it when offered. I think what your feeling is being afraid of the unknown. There is no way to tell what exactly the future holds, but you shouldn't be afraid of it. I am sure you were scared when you first started dialysis but once you started, the fear subsided and you got used to it. They are improving transplants and some of the problems they have had previously have been fixed for the most part.  Dialysis sucks and if there is a way to get off it you should take it.

[fuzzyL]

to Corey--"being a man" for surgery is not about being afraid of surgeries--if you read my post I almost died--they often slow down the blood flow for surgeries and that caused a blood clot and that could happen again for major surgery like a transplant--but thanks for your info--to Jeannea-what "scared" me is the ideal of going thru this and it may not last or my system may still reject it-expensive drugs and endless doctor visits don't appeal to me as well-I don't know how much Medicare or insurance will cover--don't want to go broke for this--it sounds like a lot of trouble and a lot of expense for too many maybes

[cattlekid]

And don't let the antirejection drugs scare you either as far as cost.  Yes, if you have to have the brand-name drugs and you don't have good insurance, then yes, they are very expensive.  However, depending on your situation, there are ways around it.  For example, I take all generic antirejection drugs and have been since I received my transplant in April of 2013.  All this means is that I have to have bloodwork monthly instead of less frequently.  Personally, I like having monthly bloodwork for general peace of mind.

I think that any hospital who tries to "scare" a patient off with talks about all of the risks of transplant without similar discussion about how they will work with you to mitigate those risks is doing you a disservice. 

[MooseMom]

to Corey--"being a man" for surgery is not about being afraid of surgeries--if you read my post I almost died--they often slow down the blood flow for surgeries and that caused a blood clot and that could happen again for major surgery like a transplant--but thanks for your info--to Jeannea-what "scared" me is the ideal of going thru this and it may not last or my system may still reject it-expensive drugs and endless doctor visits don't appeal to me as well-I don't know how much Medicare or insurance will cover--don't want to go broke for this--it sounds like a lot of trouble and a lot of expense for too many maybes

If you have had clotting problems in a previous surgery, a transplant center would want to know about this so that they could have drugs on hand should this happen during transplant surgery (or any surgery, for that matter).

If you are concerned about the cost of immunosuppressants, this is something that you can check with your insurance company about beforehand.  All transplant hospitals have a financial services department; part of the pre-transplant workup covers information about the financial side of transplant.  Believe me, you won't be listed if you cannot pay.  You can go to Medicare's website where there is information specifically about how they cover dialysis/ESRD/transplant.

With my insurance plus the fact that all of my tx prescriptions are generic, my out of pocket costs are $45 per month. 

Of course your hospital will talk to you about rejection and other possible adverse occurrences; it would be remiss of them not to.  I can't imagine any hospital, though, that wouldn't tell you how they would treat you should rejection occur.  It's the most fundamental issue that any tx center will discuss with a potential recipient.

The only time you'd be having weekly labs would be in the first month or so post-tx.  I certainly didn't see a doctor weekly!  I'm two and a half years post tx, and I see my transplant nephrologist once a year.  I get monthly labs and will do so during the life of this kidney, but that's just part of it.

Yes, your immune system will be "compromised", but not to the point where you will be infected by every microbe that comes along.  I've had one cold in the past two and a half years, and it really lasted only 3 days.  When you get your monthly labs done, you will see your white blood cell count, so you can monitor the degree to which your immune system is suppressed.  My WBC is normal.

Good luck to you!

[fuzzyL]

THANK YOU ALL!!!! for a lot of good advice