Hello!! Yesterday was two months since my kidney transplant. Time flies!
Since the last two weeks, it’s really started to get better! 🙂 The main cause of the change is clearly the pain that has really decreased since my last article! I was told that the more I walked after the transplant, the better I would recuperate. Well, I believed it! But no one told me that if I was in pain, I had to stop.
Oops! I exaggerated again!
Big surprise for those who know me! Well, I walked every day, despite the pain almost constant at 5-6 out of 10. When I spoke with one of my nephrologists, he asked me why walking was so important to me. I repeated to him what I had been told, he nodded and told me to stop when I was in pain. In addition, a person on the Facebook group of the Young Dialysis or Transplanted Doctors of Quebec suggested that I look at this document from the CHUM (in French), which clearly says that if I feel pain after an effort, I must wait before resuming this activity.
Changing my recovery plan
Armed with this information, I spent a week and a half resting and recuperating before going back for a walk. My first walk last week was a single kilometre, and I had to cut it short and take mini-steps to get home because the pain was coming back as strong as before. That day, I was able to stop this activity quickly enough so that I didn’t feel pain for very long. I took a few days of rest, and was able to walk 1 kilometer and a half taking small steps, without pain. Then I did 2.5 kilometers.
I even started the elliptical at home! The first time, I did it for 5 minutes at the lowest resistance before I started to feel pain. I stopped immediately. A few days later, I was able to do 10 minutes. And yesterday I did 20 minutes, and I stopped because of knee pain, not because of internal pain! It felt good to sweat a little! I’m still at the lowest resistance, but I’m fine with it. All I want is to be able to move, which I couldn’t do before the transplant!
Yesterday, at my weekly appointment with my transplant team at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, I asked them if I could start yoga or if it was too early to activate my abs. They told me to wait until after the 3rd month of post-transplant recovery. I did well to check so as not to overdo it this time!
General condition: more improvements needed
I’m still nauseated, my stomach hurts, I still tremble quite a bit and I am dizzy quite often. I don’t sleep much (a little more since they increased a medicine they give me to sleep (seroquel)). My diabetes caused by a drug (diabetes which I will surely keep all my life since I should have cortisone forever…) is not yet controlled. As I understand it, I only had a 10% chance of getting diabetes with this drug. It’s less than desirable.
This week, the nephrologist told me that it was possible that the medication could make me nauseated without causing stomach problems. So it’s possible that I feel nauseous without anything to fix it. It worries me that I may have to feel sick all my life. But hey. There’s no point in thinking about it right now. I have a request to consult in gastroenterology, we will see what happens after investigation.
I still feel physically fragile, I would say. The twenty or so medications I take daily have their side effects that come with them…
A good part of all post-transplant recoveries is precisely the adjustment of medication by the transplant team. That’s why I still have weekly appointments at the hospital for a while. They literally make changes in my medication every week. Every week, my body has to adapt to new doses of something.
A reality hard to name
I always feel like I shouldn’t complain even if I don’t feel well. I feel guilty for naming the negative parts that comes with a transplant. It’s a priceless gift of life from my donor! I didn’t have to do dialysis and I already feel much better than before.
I wasn’t really exposed to this information before the transplant, and didn’t expect this kind of recovery. But the fact remains that it exists, and I have the impression that we do not talk about it often. I hope talking about it here can inform someone who needs it! It’s better than life in end-stage renal disease, but it’s still a treatment with side effects. And the first two months of recovery after the transplant are intense, full of twists and surprises. Very few are positive.
The lightness of everyday life
Great news! I now manage the daily tasks without being exhausted. I can now do all my chores at home without problems and without having to go to bed between two things to do! This is extraordinary and proof that I am better than before the transplant! Really, my donor changed my life.
Plus, my mood is definitely better. Without pain if I stay calm and don’t overdo it, while being able to move a little, and having slept 3 normal nights in a week, I enjoy life again! I value every moment, I read a lot quietly, without being in danger. I am exhausted by the lack of sleep and by my condition that still leaves something to be desired, but I am so full of energy compared to before the transplant. 🙂
Unless I lose my new kidney, my condition can only improve! I have confidence in the future, and I enjoy the lightness of an unexpected everyday life.
See you soon!
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