A few days ago, I wrote a post on some of the advantages of receiving a kidney transplant. While I believe that the pros outweigh the cons, I wanted to present “the other side” too: the cons.
Rejection Worries
One of the more mentally taxing issues for me as it relates to my kidney is the constant fear of organ rejection.
In the last few months, I’ve had two bouts of food poisoning. I couldn’t keep anything down, and I was constantly vomiting. I became extremely dehydrated and had to go to the emergency room twice. Both times, when doctors checked my creatinine levels, they had spiked. Kidneys like water/fluids, and I was dehydrated. IV fluids helped bring my creatinine back down, but it still caused irreversible damage to the kidney.
I check my temperature frequently, and I’m always touching the right side of my stomach to make sure it doesn’t feel warm, as unusual heat around the transplant site can be a sign of rejection. I’ve had at least three kidney biopsies in the past so that doctors could see how my kidney was doing.
Thankfully, my brother was my donor, and we were a perfect 5/5 match. I received the best-matched kidney that I could ever hope for
Guilt (Living Donor or Cadaver)
My brother had never experienced any surgical procedure before donating a kidney to me. Not a pulled tooth, nor a removed appendix. I felt incredibly guilty about this.
After our surgeries, I felt terrific. I had just gained a big, beautiful, healthy kidney. My brother, on the other hand, had a harder time. As is the case with most living donors, the body goes through an adjustment period. Imagine your body having to deal with not having something that it’s always had? The body is confused, and the existing kidney has to work twice as hard to pick up the slack of the missing organ.
My brother recovered well and is doing fine, but I still felt guilty about the pain he went through just for me.
In the case of a cadaver organ, there may be a different kind of guilt. You are placed on a waiting list, and it can take years before you get a kidney. That means that you’re waiting for someone who would be a match for you to pass so that you can get one of their kidneys. To me, there may be a level of guilt attached to that. Someone out there has to lose someone that they love in order for you to have a better quality of life. It’s normal to feel weird about that.
Taking Medication for the Rest of Your Life
The number and types of medication that are needed post-transplant will vary from person to person. One thing that is for sure is that medication will be required. The costs of these meds will differ, as will the potential side effects. The idea of being reliant on medicine for the rest of your life is understandably unappealing for many people. Some of these medications have been known to cause other illnesses or diseases like cancer. A lot of people don’t like the “unknown.”
Without proper medical coverage, anti-rejection medication can get expensive. I have heard of people who take medication regularly for other ailments forgoing their meds for days or weeks at a time due to their cost. Forgoing medication is not an option when it comes to anti-rejection meds. Not taking your meds may lead to organ rejection, and that is not a good feeling at all.
Major Surgery + Scars
Doctors perform organ transplants all the time, so to them, it may be considered “routine.” But this is still major surgery for whoever is receiving (or donating) the kidney. No matter how routine it may be, there are certain risks attached to these types of procedures. Bleeding, infection, unintentional errors, etc. can all cause problems.
The most common outcome is that the surgery will go just fine. But with surgery/cutting comes scars. I have a scar on the right side of my stomach from the transplant. I don’t mind it, especially since I have various scars from other surgeries I’ve had. But depending on how the scar heals, for some people, it can cause issues with self-esteem and even self-image.
Recovery
With surgery comes healing. When I had my transplant, I took two months off from work. I was quite sore in the days following the surgery. During the operation, a tube was inserted into my urethra to keep it “open” so that I could produce urine. Removal of the tube sucked. But that was all part of the process.
As the scar healed, little scabs started forming around the insertion points of my 15+ staples. It was itchy and uncomfortable. I couldn’t scratch it, as I didn’t want to run the risk of causing an infection. I kept my mind off of the discomfort by reading and watching TV, but it still felt like an eternity.
Weight Gain
I gained a lot of weight in the years after my transplant. Some of the medications that I take can increase hunger, which in turn causes weight gain. Also, after you receive a kidney transplant, you feel “better.” You get the urge to eat more because you feel better. When you’re sick, your appetite may not be that great. I managed to hold things together for the first few months, but I’ve probably gained 50 pounds since my transplant. Oh, well-food is delicious.
Drink Up
When I was on dialysis, I was restricted to 1 litre of fluid a day. After receiving my transplant, my doctor advised me to drink at 2 litres of fluid a day at a minimum. At first, I thought this was great, and I was thrilled to drink myself silly. But I have found that it is sometimes challenging to meet and surpass my fluid intake threshold. Some days I feel like I’m drinking water non-stop. I manage this by keeping in mind the fact that it’s important to keep drinking for the health of my kidney.
As with any surgery, there will be both pros and cons. However, the improvement in my quality of life and the freedom that I currently have far outweigh any possible disadvantages. I hope that my kidney will stick around and remain healthy and happy for years to come.