transplant
Last night I spoke to a girl who went to dialysis with me. She got a kidney/pancreas transplant recently. I know there was talk about what you would do if you were not a diabetic for one day. Well she’s not a diabetic anymore. One thing that she told me that she did was take her daughter to Carvel. She had ice cream and didn’t worry about her sugar. This is a dream come true. She was on the list for 4 months. I’ve been on the list for 4 years. I think one of the reasons is my blood type is type o. Which is a very common blood type. Which means a longer wait. And also I’m on the list in New York, and that also means a longer wait. She gave me hope. She is doing wonderful. I was afraid of the surgery and the pills afterwards. But after talking to her I’m not that afraid anymore. I hope her new organs will last a long time.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Lisa,
I’m sorry that you’ve had to wait so long. Have you been on dialysis for 4
years, or just a transplant list? Honestly, my biggest fear about
complications is having to go on dialysis. So far I’m pretty much
complication free after 18 years but I have had nightmares about my kidneys
failing. I also hope your friend’s new organs work for her, and that
you’ll get a call for your own soon.
–
Liz
August 28th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Lisa,
I’ve been diabetic for 18 years, and my first 11 were out of control. 7
years ago I had an appointment with an endo (who turned out to be a thyroid
specialist, so it wasn’t a very productive appointment) and he said that I
was in very good condition for someone who basically ignored the condition
for 11 years. I’m glad that I got lucky, and that I’m still able to walk
and see and don’t live with constant pain every day. I’d really like to
keep it that way. I live alone, and while I’ve thought about what would
happen if I lost my sight or lost a foot/leg and how I might lose my
independence, it wasn’t as scary as the thought of having to go for
dialysis three times a week. I’m always amazed at the people who do it. I
think I would just freak out and not be able to go. I really hope that you
don’t have to wait another three years before getting a donor kidney. I
guess getting a pancreas too would be ideal. Even though my pancreas
doesn’t work, taking insulin isn’t a big deal and I can basically continue
life as before. If your kidneys fail, you can’t just do a quick fix
yourself and then be off.
–
Liz
August 29th, 2007 at 4:19 am
Howard,
Do you still take an antibiotic every day? I’d be worried about my body
becoming resistant to it. I often worry about irrational things, and
becoming immune to the effects of antibiotics is one of them. I always try
to find soaps that do NOT say they’re antibacterial. Same for hand wipes
or any other cleaning supplies. In the past 10 years I think I’ve taken an
antibiotic only once. Maybe twice. Whenever my sister’s kids have even a
sniffle she’s on the phone to the doctor wanting a prescription for an
antibiotic. Same for herself. She’ll stockpile them and then take them
later without seeing a doctor.
–
Liz