Monday Afternoon Update

So, it is time for more updates. I know everyone is excited to hear about the updates, so I am trying to keep everyone up-to-date.

First of all, my creatinine is down to 1.2 (from 10.3 on Friday). Creatinine is a waste product from protein in the diet and from the muscles of the body. Creatinine is removed from the body by the kidneys; as kidney disease progresses, the level of creatinine in the blood increases. What we want is a value of less than 1 (here on the American system of measurement).

My hemoglobin is up to 9.3 from 9 yesterday. It was 14 when I came in to the hospital. This means that I am still a bit anemic, but that should get better as I continue to recover. Hopefully I will not need to take any hormone supplements to increase my hemoglobin until the kidney kicks in production of the hormone needed to prompt my body to produce red blood cells.

The nurse removed my Foley catheter this afternoon. This was wonderful. I no longer have to haul along a bag with me when I go walking around the nurse's station. And, I was able to take a nice long shower (which was nice). I am all clean and feel refreshed. This is the first "real" shower that I have had since the transplant.

The doctor said that they would add a diuretic to my pill regimen to help me get rid of some of the water weight that I have put on since the surgery and due to the steroids. That should take off some of the 20 lbs that I have added on this week. So, that will be nice, to let my socks fit again!

They are going to have a post-transplant class tomorrow morning. This will be for the four patients that had transplants on Thursday and Friday. We should learn about our at home medications and what we need to do to take care of ourselves now that we have a new organ.

Thanks for coming by to read. I will keep updating as I learn more.