Transplant

[annekat]

I'm glad to hear it's not all bad and some things, like your vision, have improved. As Alysia said earlier, all your descriptions of what you are going through show how much you've learned about the whole process, and you are giving us a great education, in case it ever happens to us! Best wishes for better news soon.!

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[gilders]

I had my third and final steroid infusion today.
Biopsy did not occur today as I'd expected for 2 reasons - 1. I had been told to cease warfarin on Saturday, but carry on with heparin jabs. I followed this plan, but was told today that the heparin has to cease the night before the biopsy (I had taken my heparin jab at 6pm yesterday) 2. The main reason - The biopsy had not even been booked.


As a day/outpatient the earliest they could book me in for biopsy would be Thursday. The problem with this is that biopsy results are ready the next day, except weekends and bank holidays. This Friday is Good Friday and results wouldn't be ready until next Tuesday, i.e. after Easter Monday. This is leaving it too long in my and the dr's opinion.
As an inpatient you can jump the queue as an urgent case. I was due to be admitted tonight ready for biopsy on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. BUT there is definitely no beds available on the renal ward. They are trying to get me on a general surgery ward, but as it stands there's is no bed available for me and unlikely that one will become available by tonight. This is a bit of a national crisis within the UK's NHS and has been going on for a few years now. I don't want to come across as anti-immigration and can't say for a fact that any of the beds are been taken up by immigrants, but realistically it is putting a massive strain on the NHS.
They have even said that a bed can't be guaranteed for me tomorrow.


I hate spending the night in hospital, especially when it's just to "jump the queue", but I really need this biopsy doing before Thursday, so appropriate treatment can commence this week, not from Tuesday next week!


My kidney function has been stable at 35% (it had dropped from 46% within 5 days) since I started IV steroids (500mg) each day for the last 3 days, but from tomorrow I will be on oral steroids at a MUCH lower dose. I don't know if this lower dose will keep my kidney function stable, or if it will begin to rapidly decline again.


If only there was an available bed and a slot for my biopsy, I would feel much safer!


Thank you for showing interest and wanting updates. It helps as a release to report what I'm going through and hope it helps anyone else in a similar situation now or in the future.
I'm still happy that I chose to have a transplant and hope my story doesn't put people off. I am a complicated case and most patients won't go through these difficulties. Even if the worse happens and I have to go on dialysis, I will know that I gave transplant my best shot!

[Masha]

You are definitely giving everything your best shot. I wish I could say and do more than to tell you my husband and I keep you close to our hearts and in our prayers.
Masha

[gilders]

You are definitely giving everything your best shot. I wish I could say and do more than to tell you my husband and I keep you close to our hearts and in our prayers.
Masha

The prayers help thank you.
I'm being included in the weekly prayer list at our local church. I'd only just told them on Thursday how well I was doing and then the day after I found out it was likely that I'm rejecting the kidney.
Perhaps it's all the prayers that is currently helping to keep my kidney stable and hopefully buying enough time for the treatment to fully begin and become effective.

[gilders]

Some EXCELLENT news!

Went in for biopsy on new kidney yesterday. They did bloods to check my coagulation level and all the other bloods they usually take 3 times/week.
Amazingly my kidney function had shot up to 51% from 36%. I haven't had a function that high for many years. I hate the side effects of steroids, but if the last 3 days of IV steroids is the reason for this improvement, I'll have to stop seeing them as the devil's pills.

I asked if the biopsy was now necessary as the treatment seemed to be working. They still wanted to do it to get answers and confirm it was a rejection episode. If there's no sign of rejection, then steroids can stop, but I can't see what else it could have been.

The biopsy itself was much better than the previous ones I had in my back, on my original kidneys. But for 10mins to 2 hrs after, I was in a lot of pain. After lying flat on my back for 7 hours they let my wife bring me home at 10pm last night.

I just hope my function remains around 50%!

[Masha]

Sounds all good. When we didn’t hear from you for a day, I was ready to put an all out alert in search of our hero. Use keep the prayers coming your way.
Masha