Home, Sweet Home

As expected, I was admitted into the hospital on Friday during my clinic visit. The sonogram showed the artery was working fine and so was the kidney. The theory at the time of my admittance was that I was having a rejection episode that would be treated with high doses of steroids. This is a great thing for rejection but a horrible thing for blood sugar control in a diabetic. After getting into my room, the transplant doctor in charge of the hospital came in and discussed with me my bloodwork and options. He had the idea that maybe that we were dealing with a dehydration issue as opposed to a rejection issue. An IV was started and 7 hours later bloodwork was drawn. My creatin level had dropped to 2.1 from 2.4 the previous day. There still was an uncertainty about what was going on and when I spoke up and said the IV had only been in for about 7 hrs when the blood was drawn, the doctor was encouraged that dehydration was the problem. It was decided that the high dose of steroids would be put off for another day until bloodwork was taken again that night. The doctor expected the creatin to go down to about 1.5 if dehydration indeed was the issue. It came back as 1.6 so I was released about 6 hrs later with my antibiotic being switched from Bactrum to Keflex. We arrived home Sunday evening and Bruce dropped me off and went to our home fellowship. When he got home that night he found me passed out in the bathroom and was unable to arouse me with a Glucagon shot. An ambulance was called and I came to literally sitting on the toilet with 3 strangers in my bathroom. Fortunately the main person who was giving me medical help was a female and a diabetic herself. After about 2 hours, my sugar level got to about 85 and they were able to leave without taking me to the local hospital. Apparently the new kidney takes some time to really hookup and get adjusted to your body and this was the time mine decided to go full throttle. Monday night after taking a 3rd dose of the new antibiotic, my husband woke up in the middle of the night and found I was having another low blood sugar episode. After eating something and drinking a soda things went back to normal until I realized I was wheezing really bad and couldn't breathe right. A call was made to the Transplant Team and of course I was told to go to the ER or see my local doctor to make sure pneumonia had not set in. My thoughts at the time were that I was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. The Transplant Team called back in the afternoon and said that because it was my 3rd dose of the medication that it was an allergic reaction because they usually happen after the 2nd or 3rd dose. Another antibiotic has been prescribed and I have taken that after the transplant so hopefully I won't have the same problems. Keflex had been used many times before the transplant and I never experienced any trouble. Things change after a transplant. So if you've had a transplant remember in the hot temperatures to drink even more water than you usually do and monitor yourself with each new medication that is added post transplant.