Transplant

Three year anniversary of my kidney transplant! – Plus acknowledgement of forth anniversary

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Today is the three year anniversary of my kidney transplant!  Not a ton to report as I’m doing well and lab work looks good.  I returned to the hospital twice post transplant for elective surgeries and also twice for kidney elective biopsies but had no urgent kidney related treatments.  At one point my lab work was showing inflammation in the blood so there was some concern but both biopsies showed nothing.  Additionally a very new dna based test, AlloSure, showed no active damage to the kidney.  My medicine levels have settled on three rounds of pills, four at 5 am, five at breakfast and two at 5 am.   I’m doing lab work monthly, but that’s temporarily slid to every two months during this COVID-19 period.  At the end of this month my End Stage Renal Disease Medicare ends, that can be a stressful event for people who are unable to work at a job with good insurance like mine.  I’m thankful to the donor and the family who agreed to release the kidney into the donation pool, as well as the team at GW Hospital and the lab workers at LabCorp on K street who draw my blood monthly – and to Susan my wife for loving and caring for me throughout my dialysis and transplant.

Meds:
5 AM
Mycophenolate Sodiumn 360 MG * 2
Envarsus XR (tacrolius) 1 MG * 2

Breakfast
Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate 200MG
Prednisone 5 MG
Generic Claritin from Costco
Kirkland Signature Glucosamine with MSM * 2

5 PM
Mycophenolate Sodiumn 360 MG * 2

From: http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=34003.msg532944#msg532944

November 25, 2020, 01:38:52 PM »
Today I met with my nephrologist (who also works with the transplant center) for my regular zoom appointment.  Comments on the vaccine are over here:
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=35409.msg533364#msg533364

Also I discussed my 5 mg daily of prednisone and he didn’t think there would be many side effects other than the bone loss issues.  He wants to leave me on it and maybe in a year we can talk about going to a smaller dose.  There are studies that show tapering patients who are on prednisone leads to worse outcomes.  Also he has me on prednisone more because of my transplanted kidney, not for my in remission lupus.

June 29, 2021, 08:36:58 AM »
I’ve received a letter from my pharmacy plan saying they want me to move from Evarsus XR to the generic tacrolimus.  My dr did seem to phased by it but when I expressed my worry that I might have to get my tac levels reset he said his people would try to get Evarsus XR approved for that reason.  I’ve been on 2 mg of Evarsus XR for the last year or two now so its been very nice to not be adjusting levels and getting lab tests after two weeks – now its just a once per month test.  Since I’ve not heard back form my Dr since I also warned my Pharmacy and they will help as well.
July 14, 2021, 09:24:38 AM »
My Facebook post from yesterday.

Today marks four years for my successful kidney transplant from a cadaver donation. Thank you to all the donors and their families who give approval to organ donation collection from their loved ones.

And thank you to Susan who has supported me through the stages of kidney failure and transplantation.