Post-Transplant Glofil Test #2 - MONDAY

Hello everyone!

On Monday, I have to take my second post-transplant Glofil test. For those of you unfamiliar with the test, I wrote about it previously here: http://nmccart.blogspot.com/2007/02/upcoming-first-post-transplant-glofil.html

I am going to be drinking a lot of water this weekend. It should be a lot of fun. I will also have my regular clinic (blood work) and doctor's follow-up on Monday, so I should see how my medicine is doing.

In other news, we have closed on our house, and we now have a set of keys. We still have some things to take care of before we move in, like getting the carpet cleaned, but I think we are ready. It will be a big adventure!

I'll let everyone know how Monday's stuff goes later next week. Until then, enjoy your weekend.

New Medications

Well, it seems that I have to take a couple of new medications. The nurse from my GI doctor called yesterday afternoon to give me the results from my colonoscopy/EGD.

She said that the biopsies did not return any results (which is good). Then she said that the stool samples returned an infection. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic and a pro-biotic to take for the next two weeks. The antibiotic is to be taken every eight hours, and the pro-biotic is to be taken once a day.

So, hopefully, this medication will fix any problems that I have been having. I'm guessing that I will feel healthier, but I have no idea. I'll see in a couple of weeks.

In other news, we had storms here last night that knocked out the electricity. It was out from about 7:30pm - 2:00am. It wasn't a problem, since most of the night we were asleep. Luckily, the power came back on and the alarm clock worked this morning.

Have a great day!

Monday's Clinic Appointment

I went to the clinic yesterday. My appointment was at 10:40, so I left work at 10:00. It seems that Monday is not the best day to go in. I did not get back to work until about 1:00. I think for any future follow-up appointments, I will stick with Tuesday or Thursday. I guess all the new patients go in on Mondays, so they get pretty backed up.

My blood work all looked very good. My creatinine is still at 1.0. My magnesium is up from 1.6 to 1.7. The doctor said my sodium bicarbonate level was up (closer to normal) so the doctor said that I only need to take one tablet per day instead of two.

I also switched from taking two 250mg Cellcept tablets per day to taking two 360mg Myfortic tablets per day. I want to have the higher dosage of protection from the anti-rejection medication. I tried it before, but for only about 4 days (and taking three tablets per day). This time, I am going to go with two tablets per day and try it for two weeks. That should give my body (and digestive system) time to adjust to the new medication and see if I still have problems at the end of that time.

The only other medication change was from Lipitor to Lovastatin for my cholesterol medication. The Lovastatin is available at a significant discount from Wal-Mart, so I am trying to save money. I asked the doctor to schedule a cholesterol test for my next appointment so that I can see if the new medication is working correctly. I will probably have them test it again two weeks later just to make sure.

The other suggestion the doctor made for my GI issues was to stop the Nexium. I told her that I'd like to try the Myfortic first, and if there is no change, then to try stopping the Nexium. Any time I can take less medicine, I am happy. Speaking of which, I think I will stop taking my Lunesta this weekend. I am on 10mg of Prednisone now, and that should be the lowest dosage for at least a year. The doctor said I could stop the Lunesta whenever I felt comfortable, so I think I'll try that this weekend.

The doctor also scheduled me for a second Glofil test for May 14. I know that is a Monday, but since it is a Glofil procedure, I have to be there half the day anyway. So, I will be drinking a ton of water that weekend in preparation.

That weekend is also when we will be closing on our new house! We have all the plans in the works, and just need to sign the paperwork on the 9th to be completed. It is very exciting to be moving into a new house. I just set up the carpet and vent cleaning today, to help get rid of some of the mold and dust in the house. Maybe that will be good for my allergies.

Well, I think that's it for this week. Thanks for all your prayers. Enjoy your week!!