Appointment With Transplant Surgeon

[jsher]

Today was my first outpatient follow up with the transplant surgeon.

I initially met with the Transplant Nurse, and she went over everything such as meds, labs, weight, BP, etc.

The surgeon came in, and overall was very pleased. He's very perfectionistic, and asked "what are we going to do about your weight?" But then he realized that my weight

Comments

[kydneybeans]

This is interesting to me because I've wondered what things go back to normal after a transplant and which you still have to be concerned with. I like the idea of low phosphorous (!!) as keeping mine low has been one of my biggest challenges, but had hoped potassium would not be an issue ultimately, as many of my favorite otherwise-healthy foods are loaded with potassium! (I did have a consult at my transplant center but it was over 1 & 1/2 years ago, so I don't remember everything and probably didn't even think of everything to ask at the time)

This also reminds me...are there certain things you want to do now that you have a transplant? Like I always joke that I want to go traveling on the spur of the moment (without planning ahead for treatments) and eat a huge cheese pizza with a coke and a huge glass of chocolate milk :)

[jsher]

Ironically, my potassium while on dialysis was NEVER an issue, and that was with eating high potassium foods! It usually ran around 4.5. I'm not too worried, because I thought back to yesterday morning, and I did have some pistachios before I left the house.

That leads me into your last question: I always said that after my transplant, I would go to Sam's Club and buy the 2 lb bag of already-shelled Pistachios, which I did last Friday. They are probably high in K+, so maybe that's why it was up.

I also wanted to drink a lot of milk, but so far, have no desire to do so. We went out to eat the other day, and instead of Iced Tea (which is what I usually got in restaurants), I ordered Coke; that was a nice change.

I also know of someone else who had Phosphorous problems before and after transplant; high before, and low after. She ended up on Phosphorous supplements.

How long have you been on the transplant list? What kind of Potassium "bath" are you on at dialysis? I was on a 3k bath.

[kydneybeans]

Um...I have no idea what kind of Potassium bath I am on (!!), maybe I should?! I am one to ask alot of questions, but I guess you have to know which ones to ask. My potassium isn't too high, but of course I want to keep it that way so I try to be careful. My phosphorous seems to be doing better since I adjusted the amount of my binders.

I have been on the transplant list since Oct 2006, and was told at that time to expect about a 3 & 1/2 year wait.

[jsher]

There are different kinds of dialysis machines; some use bags and jugs, some have in-line fluid. Ours used the bags, which were sodium bicarb (base) and jugs with some type of potassium (acid). They went from 1k-4k. The higher the number, the less potassium they took off. I'm sure if you ask they can tell you.

I was on 9 PhosLo (phosphorous binders) a day; 2 with meals and 1 with snacks. I got so used to taking them, that I STILL reach for them when I sit down to eat.

What area of the country do you live in? I live in eastern PA.