351) Post Transplant Clinic #2

March 27, 2009
Friday

NAMC Transplant Clinic: We get up here on time, check in, and meet Maxine the Transplant Clinic Nurse who was on leave last time we were up here. She does the pre-clinic meeting with BP (116/?), questions about the week since last time, etc. and asks us to wait outside for an empty treatment room. We wait about 5 - 10 minutes before Maxine calls us back in for the same room we were in last time. While waiting we see James the Transplant Coord. and he reports he has read the blog and enjoyed it. We also see Marlene in the hall and she reports on her trip to Florida and all the driving relatives back and forth wearing her out. She is originally Puerto Rican and has relatives who came to Florida for the wedding too.

Dr. Lewis comes in and asks me some questions about my week and gets me up on the table to check my incision, take out the staples (this hurts a little but after the first one, it seems to hurt less), wipe the incision down with that orange wipe (?), bandage it up, and help me to sit back up... his instructions: when the covering turns brownish and the corners curl up we can pull it off. Until then no water on it... when I shower I should tape cellophane over it, as before.

They also give us the following information:

• My creatinine is still right at 1.3!
• He wants to change my meds; taking off 1 Myfortic (anti-rection) and explains that I have a "peculiar" reaction where there remains a high amount in my system and a low amount is metabolized... it should be a high amount being metabolized and a low amount left in the system. So, he is lowering the dosage for now.
• While taking out the staples he noted that the hard area under the incision is a hematoma that he thinks will eventually be absorbed into my system.
• My calcium is elevated due to my overactive parathyroid and we need to watch it over the next few labs. It is probably due to having taken Sensipar to try to control my Phosphorous during dialysis. According to Dr. Lewis the parathroid gland is one of the few in the body that doesn't really reset itself on it's own. So, for now he is lowering my Myfortic partly due to the elevated calcium. We may have to go back to Sensipar, but he doesn't want to because Sensipar also hinders production in Mordechai the Miracle Kidney. I ask, "Does this mean I should take milk out of my diet?" and he replies, "Nope. You can't control this through diet at all.", and Lizzie and I smile at each other cause that would take Cheerios and Banana Milkshakes out of my diet.
• Dr. Lewis concludes that he is changing my meds: taking my nighttime Neoral down to 125 (one big one little) at night, and lowering the Myfortic to 2, 2x per day.
• We shake hands and he is gone like a west Texas wind.

Bernadette comes in with the new Transplant Medication Sheet, typed up all nice and neat, for my Manual, asks if we have questions and we kinda want to visit but she is in a hurry cause they have several more patients to see. She quickly answers a few questions, and I think it is her who tells us the Color of Urine story: the clearer and yellower the pee the more it indicates I am hydrating enough. The darker (up to Amber) or cloudier the pee the more I need to drink liquids to make the pee lighter and yellower. She smiles and rushes off and we are done by 3:30!

Yet we still run into mega traffic on Mo Pac on the way south. How many of you Austinites know that Mo Pac is named after the Missouri Pacific Railroad? We stop by TNOYS and Liz runs up to get her check and my mail and Kim comes down with her to say "HI". Then we run a few errands and head back home and I am worn out and must take a nap.

Evening: I watch Kansas (Big 12) in a close game with Michigan State (Dad's alma mater) and have to root for Kansas... and right at the end the Spartans knock the Jaybirds out of the tourney. Oh well, another Big 12 team bites the dust. We still have Missouri and Oklahoma in it so there is still some teams to root for for me.

And, so it goes on a Friday in Post Transplant Land. Mordechai the Miracle Kidney says "hello to all" and he is glad to still be in a living body. ¡Hasta luego!