3 months

Our 3 month post op date was Wednesday. Everything has been good! Creat is about 1.0-1.1 depending on how hydrated I am. BP has been a lil on the high side so the doc started me on a new BP med which he said can bump the creat a tiny bit but that doesn't mean it's from damage but it's from blood stuff. 

He changed my appointments from every 2 weeks to every 3 months which means I won't see the team again until October! Blood draws got moved to once a week instead of twice a week! My tacrol dose hasn't been changed since beginning of June and now hangs around 9 or 10 which is right where they want it. My ebv levels (Epstein Barr virus) has been fluctuating. The ID docs aren't worried but I think when it goes up my body definitely feels it. I've finished my 3 month course of the antiviral, one less pill to take! 

Transplant course is going well, really well actually. Still working, now that my incision has healed and it feels good 80% of the time I'm trying to work out and get this weight off, and of course I'm always wedding planning!!

Xoxo britt 

Life as I knew it

What a lazy girl. ^^ 

Not sure if anyone reads this anymore but I'm still going to post! 

Life has been good, really good. Been back to work now for a week. It has been great to see my work family and get back into the swing of every day life. The first day back was a bit rough.. But I've finally got the groove back and feel like I haven't missed a beat.. Although I do forget stupid stuff here and there! 

Everything is going good with my medications- except still having side effects with myfortic. I'm not sure that will ever straighten itself out. Doc says ill still be getting blood draws twice a week until July. Labs have been good.. Creat runs from .9 to 1.1 depending on hydration and prograf level. It seems when the prograf creeps up so does my creat a bit. 

Incision is okay. It gets sore after work, prolly just getting used to all the moving around- not lifting anything over 20lbs at work! 

Other than that things are good. Ill post some more once I get my hands on a computer.

Xoxo, britt 

10 weeks since this journey began..

It feels so good to be able to say I feel so good only 6 weeks since I received this kidney. I remember my last day of work like it was yesterday and I remember getting my port..like it was yesterday. Now I go back to work in 2 days, less days per week but work none the less- or normalcy as I like to think of it. To me this is kinda the last step to it. 

Everything else is going well- the swelling has gone down some more but still noticeable. I wore jeans for the first time postop the other day..again normalcy. Been enjoying summer. Ron has had this whole last week off and it's my last week so it's been nice spending time together. 

As far as labs go I'm still going twice a week but hopefully at my next appointment that will change. Numbers have been normal- except my prograf which was high so they adjusted my dosage down and yesterday it was within range. Creatinine has been stable at 1.0-1.1 and BUN was great at 15. Meaning the kidney is filtering pretty well so I am happy. They adjusted the dose of the myfortic because of side effects. 

Still chuggin water like a fish. Instead of buying new shoes I feel like I'm buying new water bottles instead lol. 

Ron & I set a date for 9/6/14 and we booked a venue. I have a pretty sick obsession with looking at wedding stuff it's so much fun! 

Will update again next week.. Until then xoxo, britt

5 weeks

I had another post op visit with my nephrologist yesterday. Everything is going well, my creatinine yesterday was 1.1 which he is pleased with. He said that once my medication doses stabilizing my creatinine will stabilize as well. He said that when my creat was 0.9 it wasn't truly saturated with drugs yet and now that it is it fluctuates because the drug is metabolized by the kidney meaning the kidney has to work to excrete it. So all in all no new news which is good. He moved me to be seen every 2 weeks instead of once a week, YEAH! Still will be getting labs drawn twice a week but don't need to wait at the hospital for appointments. 

The swelling in my belly has gone down a bit but not all the way yet. The incision looks good all the scab is off so now it just looks like, well a scar. 

The biggest and most exciting news on this blog this post is that Ron and I got engaged!!!!! We are super excited and looking at wedding stuff has been so much fun it's like a new found hobby! It's kinda funny how life can go from so scary  and gloomy to so happy and exciting within a couple months! We are going to see some venues this weekend but we don't plan on getting married for awhile 😄 

Ill be getting my blood drawn again tomorrow so I'm hydrating this kidney up!! 

Until next time, xoxo britt 

Teeny tiny bump in the road

So I wanted to give everyone an update as to what happened yesterday. A true reminder that a kidney transplant is NOT a cure only a treatment to kidney disease.

I had my blood drawn on Tuesday. I seen uofm's number pop up on my phone and thought "oh shit". They never call for good news, only bad. The first thing she said was "well....your creatinine took a jump.." And my heart dropped. When everyone asked me before this all happened "are you scared or nervous about the surgery?" I never was. Surgery is no big deal to me. You're out, you get a good nap and wake up and it's all over! The real worry I had was the recovery and this was exactly why. Creatinine can jump for many reasons, the major one being rejection of the organ which is more likely in the beginning. So of course in the back of my mind I was planning on spending my weekend at uofm getting a biopsy and tons of IV meds. I always think of the worst and hope for the best. With my creatinine jumping from 1.0 to 1.2 isn't a high jump and technically 1.2 is still considered normal for a man kidney they still worry it could be rejection in the early phase. 

So the next step was to make sure I was very well hydrated for Thursdays blood draw. Your creatinine can increase because of dehydration. So I drank 4.5L of straight water. I was worried. Everyone kept telling me it would be alright but what else would they say? So I turned to Facebook. The power of prayer is amazing and I knew I could count on my support system. I really don't feel like I'm going through this alone. I feel like so many people are here along with me,  and it helps. 

I got my blood redrawn Thursday and had to wait awhile before the results were in. If it stayed the same or went higher I was gonna spend Memorial Day with my favorite 5C ladies. Last transplant I spent EVERY holiday after jan 20 in the hosp getting biopsies so of course that was in the back of my mind as well. 

The nurse called me at about 3 and first said "well I have some good news" and the weight was lifted! She said my creatinine dropped back down to 1.0... Life was good...again. She said all my other labs looked great and to recheck on Tuesday. I quickly called my mom and sent the news to Facebook! We were all SO happy! It's such a relief. 

So then my mom and I did what we do and hit the streets for a little retail therapy ;) after all that stress why not?! 

Thank you for all the prayers support and kind words. They get me thru times like these. I really appreciate you all more than you know 💗

Xoxo, britt 

Officially one month!

Today is 1 month post op and things are still going very well. They have still been having a bit of trouble controlling my prograf level. Last Thursday it was 13.0 (they want it between 8-12) so they titrated my dose. Creatinine was 1.0 which is still as normal as normal gets! All my other labs have been normal, my phosphorus has been stabilizing which they are happy with as well as my potassium. Things are looking good! 

Yesterday I had my stent removed. They place a stent in a ureter to keep it from collapsing. It's kind of like a long plastic tube. They put a camera up the urethra and use a grasper tool and pull the stent out. It's pretty painless just very uncomfortable. It only takes MAYBE a minute in a half but we waited to be seen for 2 hours. We were in the same clinic and waiting room that we started at way back in November when I was first seen for the pre-kidney transplant evaluation. It was kinda nice to end where I started. 

I moved out of my parents last week, well more like pushed out, lol. It's nice to be back home with my pups. Been trying to get the house in order, planted flowers and been up moving around a lot, pain is pretty much not there unless I cough or sneeze. I still can't lift much. But things are getting more and more back to normal!

Xoxo, britt

The picture here is of me reading a special present I received from a group of 2nd graders :) 

3 weeks out

Went to another follow up appointment. The doctors are still pleased with how everything is going. My kidney function has still been normal, with my creatinine at 0.9 :D The doctors cleared me to go back to work on June 10th, and I am hoping to go back part time so I can ease into things.

My incision pain is very minimal, my back gets sore if I'm up running around. I'm pretty much off the pain meds just taking Tylenol if needed. The scab on the incision is starting to come off, but I am still swollen and still looking pretty preggers!

I plan on going back home soon. Ron is busy with school and work so I would be myself a lot, so we will see.

No news is good news, so I'm glad this is a boring post!

Until next time,
Xoxo britt