Kidney Update- Successful Transplant! May 23

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:04 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:31 am I pick bad eats? I am a good cook though just a terrible shipper. And yes I said shipper...not stripper.

I have no idea how you are as a chef. I just know that some of the myriad "foodstuffs" you post here that you found at the store are, perhaps, questionable for a recovery diet.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:49 pm

Thanks for the update. From everyone in the Moat_Family, we send best wishes and hope things go smoothly!

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:07 am

Yes, thank you for the update. The days must be a tangle of emotions. Keep on breathing through and accept you are loved.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:17 am

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:04 pm
Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:31 am I pick bad eats? I am a good cook though just a terrible shipper. And yes I said shipper...not stripper.
I have no idea how you are as a chef. I just know that some of the myriad "foodstuffs" you post here that you found at the store are, perhaps, questionable for a recovery diet.

Tomorrow I make my homemade banana pudding. You would be surprised just how good it is. And if you compare it to BP made with Jello brand vanilla pudding its like heaven itself

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:30 pm

I'm approved as a good candidate for kidney transplant. Woo-hoo! One final hurdle as they coordinate with my insurance and then I'll get my recipient ID. Once I have that, we can start the RNA and crossmatch testing with the potential donor. She's already started general health testing (mammo, pap, blood work, physical) and her GfR (the standard by which they measure kidneys) is 113, compared to my 16. Those are some quality, grade A, premium kidneys.

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:36 pm

Fantastic MHS! Thanks much for the update, continuing to keep you in my thoughts.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:37 pm

I'll betcha she wishes she had your lungs, though........

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:37 pm

Excellent news!

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:40 pm

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:47 pm

stimpy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:37 pm I'll betcha she wishes she had your lungs, though........

She bikes 8 miles round-trip back and forth to work each day. I...do not. I'm guessing her lungs are way better than mine. But I'll settle for just getting her kidney. Muah-haha.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:47 pm

Woohoo!

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:01 pm

MHS wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:47 pm
stimpy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:37 pm I'll betcha she wishes she had your lungs, though........
She bikes 8 miles round-trip back and forth to work each day. I...do not. I'm guessing her lungs are way better than mine. But I'll settle for just getting her kidney. Muah-haha.

For now. One step (body part) at a time . . . .

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:17 pm

She seems a very active athletic person. Im curious what giving up a kidney does in the way of limiting her. Im guessing no alcohol and such but no idea what else.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:26 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:17 pm She seems a very active athletic person. Im curious what giving up a kidney does in the way of limiting her. Im guessing no alcohol and such but no idea what else.

From kidney.org

How does living donation affect the donor?
People can live normal lives with only one kidney. As long as the donor is evaluated thoroughly and cleared for donation, he or she can lead a normal life after the surgery. When the kidney is removed, the single normal kidney will increase in size to compensate for the loss of the donated kidney.

Physical exercise is healthy and good for you. However, it's important for someone with only one kidney to be careful and protect it from injury. Some doctors think it is best to avoid contact sports like football, boxing, hockey, soccer, martial arts, or wrestling. Wearing protective gear such as padded vests under clothing can help protect the kidney from injury during sports. This can help lessen the risk, but it won't take away the risk. Talk to your healthcare provider if you want to join in contact sports.

Donors are encouraged to have good long-term medical follow-up with their primary care doctors. A urine test, a blood pressure check and a blood test for kidney function (GFR) should be done every year.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:35 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:17 pm She seems a very active athletic person. Im curious what giving up a kidney does in the way of limiting her. Im guessing no alcohol and such but no idea what else.

The only real long term issues are that they recommend giving up NSAID pain medications (Advil, Aleeve, etc.) and they aren’t fans of contact sports afterward. Alcohol isn’t an issue. The period of time immediately following transplant is MUCH harder on the donor though. I’ve had years (decades) to gradually acclimate to feeling like crap, so (apparently) I don’t realize just how bad I feel. The donor will go from 113 to probably about 70 gfr immediately. She’ll gradually go back up a bit as the remaining kidney learns to do the work of two, but she’ll never be as high as she was. Whereas I’ll go from 16% function to above 50%, which supposedly makes me feel like god compared to how I currently feel. Her biggest concern is that she loves Advil, but she’s prepared to make that sacrifice.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:37 pm

She was told to expect her one-kidney function to drop by about 15%. Her GFR has her somewhere around an average 28-year old, so with a 15% reduction, that'd put her around an average 47-year old.

She's 42 FWIW.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:41 pm

Alcohol is beneficial because it kills germs. Combine that with eating a lot of kidney beans, and you're all set. I thought everybody knew that.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:50 pm

Ah much better for her than I always figured. Did not know Advil and such was hard on kidneys.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:02 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:41 pm Alcohol is beneficial because it kills germs. Combine that with eating a lot of kidney beans, and you're all set. I thought everybody knew that.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:11 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:50 pm Ah much better for her than I always figured. Did not know Advil and such was hard on kidneys.

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/pa ... analgesics "Heavy or long-term use of some of these medicines, such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and higher dose aspirin, can cause chronic kidney disease known as chronic interstitial nephritis"

Painkillers can absolutely ruin your kidneys, especially if taken more than recommended.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:37 pm

Best of thoughts with you and the donor.

I'm glad you knew such a courageous and selfless person.

I can't think of anything more admirable a person could do.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:47 pm

Rip wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:37 pm Best of thoughts with you and the donor.

I'm glad you knew such a courageous and selfless person.

I can't think of anything more admirable a person could do.

Yup. People keep saying they're praying for me and I keep saying "Pray for the donor, she's the rock star. All I had to do was have shitty kidneys; no hard work or selflessness required on my part, just bad genetics."

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:50 pm

Excellent news!

Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 1:52 pm

Great news, MHS! So happy to hear this.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 7:16 pm

That is great news! It's a big box to check off on your "Things to do to get a kidney" list.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 7:29 pm

Couple more and you will need to start an annual "Donor Appreciation Day".

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:36 pm

Great news!

Hrdina · Post by **Hrdina** » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:00 am

Hey, MHS, I've been away from OO for a long time, and this is what I find when I come back to visit?

Best wishes to you & your donor. It makes me smile to see that you have so much support from Meal and all your friends here.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:59 am

MHS wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:30 pm I'm approved as a good candidate for kidney transplant. Woo-hoo! One final hurdle as they coordinate with my insurance and then I'll get my recipient ID. Once I have that, we can start the RNA and crossmatch testing with the potential donor. She's already started general health testing (mammo, pap, blood work, physical) and her GfR (the standard by which they measure kidneys) is 113, compared to my 16. Those are some quality, grade A, premium kidneys.

Good luck. I'm really pulling for you.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Tue Jan 02, 2018 7:33 pm

Hrdina wrote: ↑Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:00 am Hey, MHS, I've been away from OO for a long time, and this is what I find when I come back to visit?

Best wishes to you & your donor. It makes me smile to see that you have so much support from Meal and all your friends here.

Just don't disappear again, who knows what will fail on whom next time.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:58 am

Hi MHS. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going with both you and your donor. Hope all is well and that you had a better holiday knowing your life will improve dramatically soon'ish

Wishing you well in other words.

Dae

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:08 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:58 am Hi MHS. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going with both you and your donor. Hope all is well and that you had a better holiday knowing your life will improve dramatically soon'ish Wishing you well in other words.

Dae

Thanks for asking! I'm doing ok. My donor has started her testing but OMG, things move slowwwwwwly. She's had all of her basic physical fitness stuff but there was some insurance kerfuffle (nobody on her end knew how to bill the people on my end instead of billing her insurance) so things were at a standstill for a bit. She'll be flying to Colorado sometime in February for us to do the blood and tissue matching and then we can (hopefully) finally get the actual surgery on the calendar. Fortunately, I'm pretty stable and still have high enough function that I'm getting through my days ok. I'm not very exciting, pretty much all I do is work and sleep, but I'm still putting one foot in front of the other.

I could also accept a cadaver kidney if one becomes available meanwhile, but live donation organs last much longer than cadaver organs, so since I'm not in immediate, life-threatening urgent need quite yet, I'd likely turn one down if they called me. But I still have to notify them every time I go out of town (haha, poor them, with my work travel schedule [I'm writing this from an airport]) and I have to do blood work every 4 weeks and FedEx it to them (it's weird driving around with vials of my own blood in the car with me but I could stage a hell of a crime scene) and I'm not technically allowed to drink at all since they want to be able to do surgery at any given time if a viable kidney comes up for grabs.I'm kind of ignoring that last part (not that I'm much of a drinker anyway) since I'm not really planning on emergency-type transplant, but it's been interesting to see the whole process and realize all the little things I'd never thought about.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:10 pm

Bit of a setback yesterday. My potential donor came out earlier this week to do her full day of testing. In addition to another issue I won't get into because of potential HIPAA violations, her CT scan shows that each kidney has 2 renal veins, which could present a complication during surgery. They tend to err SUPER high on the side of caution (rightly so) with anything that could cause a complication; you don't want to take a perfectly healthy human being and mess them up. It doesn't mean she's a no, but they are going to review the CT scan more closely and that, plus the other issue I can't get into, might mean she's declined and I'm back to hoping for a cadaver kidney.

I guess the CT scan is the big boss of the process, something like 40% of potential donors who are declined are because there's something in the scan (multiple veins, renal artery is too short, kidneys are tucked under the ribs too much, etc.) that could present a complication they don't want to have to risk dealing with. Kind of makes me wonder why they run any of the other tests without checking that first, but of course, they couldn't bill me for the $20,000 or whatever for the full day costs if they did that.

Anyway, that's my update for now. Will keep everyone abreast as things move along.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:25 pm

Here is hoping that turns out to be just a small thing and that it doesn't derail this.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:08 pm

Good luck. I hope it comes out ok.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:12 pm

Good luck, Shannon, not on FB anymore, so glad you are posting here as well.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:16 pm

Sorry to read of your discouraging news MHS, and best wishes going forward.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:19 pm

MHS wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:10 pm Kind of makes me wonder why they run any of the other tests without checking that first, but of course, they couldn't bill me for the $20,000 or whatever for the full day costs if they did that.

Is there a gofundme campaign out there?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:31 pm

If I were a cadaver I wouldn't hesitate to give you a kidney. I hope they find one as willing, if it comes to that.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 2:15 pm

Moliere wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:19 pm
MHS wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:10 pm Kind of makes me wonder why they run any of the other tests without checking that first, but of course, they couldn't bill me for the $20,000 or whatever for the full day costs if they did that.
Is there a gofundme campaign out there?

Not yet, thanks for asking. My insurance covers her and me, but of course the deductibles and co-pays add up. Right now, we are using money saved knowing this would happen eventually. I’ve met my out of pocket max for this year, new year rolls over May 1. If a transplant doesn’t happen by then (which it probably won’t), I may have to consider doing something else, because my savings all went to this year’s expenses.