Monday, September 29, 2008

Pneumonia after a Transplant

Pneumonia is one thing that we were warned about after the transplant. After surgery I was given a spirometer (sp?) and told to use it a couple of times everyday. It's a plastic thing with a movable piece inside a tube. You blow into a flexible piece of tubing that sticks out of the equipment and the movable piece is thrust up the tube depending on how much air capacity is in your lungs. This exercise causes deep breathing which helps prevent pneumonia while recovering from surgery. When someone becomes very sedentary (inactive), pneumonia is a real threat. We were told repeatedly to be on the lookout for signs of pneumonia because of our compromised immune system with the antirejection drugs. Low grade fevers, difficulty breathing, coughing being the biggest things to monitor. Unfortunately, I came down with a sinus infection just before Labor Day weekend and by Labor Day I knew it had gone into the dreaded pneumonia. First thing Tuesday morning I went to my family physician and a chest xray confirmed that I did indeed have pneumonia. The antibiotic Levequan was prescribed as well as a cough syrup that contained antihistamines and decongestant. The cough syrup seemed to work for me but I had to really make sure I got my fluids in. The decongestant drys up your nose as well as the other parts of your body. Blood work did show an elevation in my Creatine level while taking the cough syrup but interesting something else happened during that time in which it is still not certain if it is related. One of the tests they do with the bloodwork is check my Prograf levels which is an antirejection drug. High levels of Prograf can damage the new kidney and elevate the Creatine level. Originally I had been taking 6mg of Prograf 2x a day and after the first elevated test was cut back to 5mg 2x a day. Two weeks later the bloodwork still showed an elevated Creatine but was not as high as before. So now I'm on 4mg 2x a day. Today I went back for a recheck on the pneumonia and it is clearing but not gone. It has almost been a month now and even though I had the knowledge in my head that it would take longer to recover from illnesses, living through it is quite different. My expectations have been what they were in the past with illnesses. Seems like it has taken me longer to recover from the pneumonia than the transplant surgery. So for those of you out there with transplant on the horizon or in the near past or future, take precautions! If one of your family members gets sick with anything, insist they go to the doctor and have them explain the situation. I tried staying away from the family member who was sick which may have worked had I not been on antirejection drugs. Plus I was under the assumption that sinus infections aren't contagious. That all depends on what caused the sinus infection. Cotton fields surround our community and every year when the defoiliation process starts, sinus problems abound in the community. Bloodwork should be taken today and we'll see if the Prograf level has come down some more and what the Creatine level is now.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Been Awhile

I'm happy to report that things are still going well. Blood work is done every 2 weeks now and my next visit to the clinic is in October. After that I will hopefully go to once a month blood work. I didn't realize how long it's been since I last posted until Vicky contacted me about reading my blog. Vicky, that is great that your numbers are holding steady. Yes diabetes is the reason my kidneys failed. My total function had held at a GFR of 22-24 for years. This was always scary because the doctor kept telling me I would hit a wall and just drop. Had gotten down to the 17 level and met with a surgeon who was to place a PD catheter but decided to hold off because I was not exibiting any symptoms. The metallic taste in the mouth, difficulty breathing and sleeping alot without feeling rested and itchy skin. I know you have other issues that cause some of these symptoms. On Novermber 11, I became ill with a sinus infection and that is when my function "hit the wall" and dropped to a GFR of 10. At the time of the transplant it was down to a 6. Dialysis had always scared me but when I got down to the GFR of 10, I was ready for anything that could help me feel better. My friend Ann had originally been diagnosed with Good Pasteur's (sp?). They tested her to make sure it was inactive at the time of transplant and it showed that it was indeed inactive. Problem was she didnt have that disease, she had Wegner's which has symptoms just like Good Pasteur's. I was told I'd be in the townhouse from 3 - 6 wks. It ended up being 2 wks and 4 days. Both of my friends, Ann and Guy did not have to have anyone stay with them. I did because of my swings in bloodsugars. My call for the kidney came the day before I was to start daily peritoneal dialysis. The dialysets of 26 cartons was to be delivered that Saturday. For everyone who has been reading this blog, please keep Vicky in your prayers as she starts the same journey.

Pam