*Mods - please move this if it's in the wrong place, thanks*This question might seem a little backwards, as I'm aware that diabetes is a major cause of kidney failure, I'd just like to come at it from the other side, and ask the experts a question:I received my transplant just over six months ago. When I was on dialysis, my nephrologist (top bloke, by the way) told me that transplant patients have a roughly 50% chance of contracting type 2 diabetes after the transplant.Since the transplant, my glucose levels have skyrocketed - up to the point of being 7.8. My understanding is that once the glucose level goes over 8, you're considered to be a diabetic.I feel totally ripped off by this, I feel like I've just got my kidney after over five years on dialysis, and now I face a whole new slew of dietary restrictions. I almost feel like the restrictions on dialysis were in some ways a little easier to deal with. It's really easy to avoid that chocolate coated banana split when you know it could leave you dead in six hours from hyperkalemia. It's not so easy to watch what you eat as far as glucose levels go because it won't kill me straight away.I'd be lying if I said I hadn't over-indulged in the "finer things in life" since the transplant (I've put on about 8Kg), and I understand that this would be a contributing factor to the rise in glucose levels, as well as the drugs I'm now taking. I'm getting better at watching what I eat, and starting to exercise, so hopefully this will help.The questions are thus:1) Are there any other people on the forum who've contracted type 2 diabetes post transplant?2) If so, how did it affect your lifestyle, and how did you deal with it?3) What are the dangers of post transplant diabetes, and have you suffered from any of them?I'd really appreciate any feedback on this subject, as I'm a complete n00b when it comes to diabetes.
The results were good but there were many ups and downs with some hard crashes added in.
Quote from: livecam on August 15, 2007, 04:58:09 PM The results were good but there were many ups and downs with some hard crashes added in.Thanks Livecam. Could you tell me about these "crashes" you've written about? Are they similar to a BP crash on dialysis? What are the symptoms and what did you have to do when you crashed?
I just received my transplant 4 weeks ago and I'm diabetic now where I wasn't before the transplant. They told me mine would most likely go away once when the taper down my prednisone medicine.
They also have insulin pumps out now that are practically an artificial pancreas - they will even continuously monitor your blood sugar and automatically dose you if you are high and sound a warning if you are low. (Someone I know just got one, and she loves it - no boluses, no shots, no finger sticks.) It stinks that you might have to deal with diet restrictions again, but diabetes is a lot easier to deal with than it used to be!