The picture is divided into four quadrants. The upper left-hand corner is all of the medications that I take at 9:00am. The upper right-hand quadrant contains the lunch-time medications. The lower left-hand corner is one pill that I take after dinner. And, finally, the bottom right-hand corder contains all of the pills that I take at 9:00pm.
You can see the big white round pill, which is an anti-fungal that I take four times a day. The purple-ish oblong pill is Cellcept, which is one of my immunosuppressants. There are four small white pills in the first picture which are the Prednisone (20mg total). The tiny white capsules are the Prograf, there are three in the 9am and 9pm pictures. The smaller white circular pill is the Bactrim (anti-bacterial). The pink oblong pill is the Valcyte (anti-viral).
In the bottom corner, you see two blue pills. Those are Cerefolin (a multi-vitamin). Another long oblong white pill (also in the first picture) is the Calcium + Vitamin D. There is also some folic acid, Zyrtec, and Lipitor in the bottom picture:
So, those are all of the medications that I take each day. They help me to stay alive (and healthy) and help keep my new kidney happy.
I also played with a diagram I found online of the human body. I drew a bunch of lines on it to show where all of my surgeries have been. For reference, the fistulas are on my left arm. The new kidney was put on the right side of my body. And, the surgical scar that is left from my kidney removal runs from the bottom of my sternum to right below my belly button.
Hopefully that picture came out well. Enjoy my skills with Microsoft Paint. And, enjoy the pictures (even if they are fairly simple).
Have a great day!
5 comments:
Don't think I'll be complaining about the number pills I take a day anymore!
Phew - just finished catching up on reading the past months' posts. I am so very pleased that the transplant has gone so well. I am also convinced that your positive attitude and the fact that you have armed yourself with the facts about your condition are a great help in your recovery. What you have written on this blog is an invaluable resource for peopel living with PKD who often struggle in weighing up their treatment options and want to know first-hand what they entail. I know my mom always used to say that she would not accept a kidney from me or my brother because the removal operation is so much more traumatic than inserting a new kidney - and anyone that marks on their own torso just how far your sternum is from your belly button will understand that! It also makes a complete mockery of the urban legend where the guy wakes up in a bath of ice with two neat slits in his lower back where his kidneys have been removed... ;-)
Stay strong, stay healthy.
I just stumbled here today. What a neat blog. thank you for sharing this with us.
Nathan,
Why couldn't they use the same incision for exit of old and entrance of new?
Lee Batchelor Vlademar
Dear Nathan,
I came across your blog while surfing the net, and remembered you from junior high and high school. I wish you the best and will pray for you.
Patricia Britt
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