Lee's Medical History
Introduction:
I have
faced a number of medical problems; this page may help
encourage or educate some who have similar issues. In
addition I have
three other purposes:
1.
To speak to kidney transplant recipients who face an unknown
AFTER the transplant. In my many searches on the
Internet and books I have found little data on what happens
after the operation.
2.
To say thanks to my
wife, many
friends, family members, my church and Christ Jesus for carrying me
through - without them it would have been impossible!
3.
To encourage you to donate your body upon death so that you
can pass life on to others like me. If I am really
successful; I may convince you to donate a kidney while you
are still alive!
Summary
of Medical History:
I was first diagnosed with Rheumatic fever when I was
nine years old and told that I had heart valve damage because
of it. I was hospitalized for a month and put on
Bicillin shots monthly. I still remember the Doctor
telling me that my heart valve needed replacing and that
someday the technology would be there to enable it - how right
he was! At
35 years of age, I started experiencing problems with my legs
including loss of sensation. Numerous tests diagnosed
that I had a connective tissue disorder called Marfan's
(Abe Lincolns believed disease) and as a result had two aneurysms
that needed repair; thoracic and abdominal. My local
cardiologist in Denver was Dr. George Pachelo and he is one of
the best. He took valuable time to explain everything to
me - he also suggested I go to Houston where I could be
operated on by the best medical staff that worked in this
area. I was immediately sent to Methodist Hospital and
attended to by Dr. Crawford and his staff.
to
be finished as I have time........lee
Drugs:
Post Kidney Transplant: I started out taking over 50 pills a
day plus a shot, I am currently at
about 20 pills (three years after transplant). I have
organized them into a fishing tackle box (fly) and it works out
well. The chart below shows all medicines I am currently
taking and the correct dosage. I have included a link on
all medicines to WebMD
so you can view all of the details if you wish.
Note: Thru this process I have learned that
all medicines have other effects on you besides the intended
effect of treating the specific health issue. While I
have had some of the best Doctor's treating me, I am never
satisfied with the amount of information they give me when
prescribing new drugs and have had numerous side effects
caused by prescribed drugs. My suggestion is to look
up every drug you are prescribed on WebMD
and view the entire information - It really helps your
sense of well being when you can experience a side effect and
have the knowledge that it MAY be caused by a specific drug
you are taking. Doctors many times can prescribe an
alternative drug that reduces an undesirable side effect -
but, the new drug has side effects too! Trust your
Doctor and heed their advice but always go armed with all of
the information available.
Life
after Transplant:
Before
I start, I want to say that in spite of the difficulties I
face post-transplant, life is much better than my previous
life on dialysis - it is like night and day. I am not
asking for pity; my purpose is to increase understanding for
others going though this process and to prepare them for the
inevitable.
Note
that some of these issues are just the side effects of taking
a large dose of drugs daily and there are many people in this
category that have not gone through a transplant.
Weight
Gain
 | I
went from 140lbs to 182 lbs - dialysis really suppresses
your appetite and suddenly you have a great love for food.
Immediately after the transplant, I was eating everything
on my tray and asked for more - keep in mind that this is
a collection of liquid junk. Two great effects of
this; new clothes and I snore now (due to the added weight
around the neck?). My neck size went from 15 1/2 to
16 1/2 and my waist size increased by 3 inches. |
Easily
Excitable
| I am sometimes on edge and am easily excitable - I
notice that sometimes I am coming on real strong on some
subject that doesn't really matter that much. I am
sure that this is a side effect of the drugs; especially
Prednisone - a steroid. This effect has decreased as
the doctors gradually reduced my Prednisone dosage. |
Tremors
| I get the hand shakes, especially when concentrating on
holding a coffee cup, moving a computer mouse, etc.
The real issue with this is wondering what people think. i.e.; is he a recovering alcoholic? I had eye lid
tremors for the first month after the transplant but
nobody could see it - it just felt weird. |
Frequent
Urination
| As one who has kidney failure, the one thing you really
would be glad to have is normal urination and here I am
complaining! I wake up at least three times a night
to urinate - a first it bothered me but now I just enjoy a
perfectly working kidney. I am fortunate that I fall back
to sleep easily. |
Swelling
| My feet and face swells up with the excess water I am
carrying. My shoe size went from 10 1/2A to 12D; I
have had to buy new pairs of shoes as a result. The
swelling in my face has reduced with reduction in
Prednisone but I still battle swelling in my feet -
airline flights are the worst. |
Increased
Blood Pressure
| My blood pressure was always normal; now it is 150/90
average. I am on two medicines to fight this (Cardura
and Cardizen). My Chloresteral has also increased,
something I have never had an issue with before. |
Increased
Hair Growth
| Hair is growing everywhere; my knuckles, arms,
wrists and it has even filled in the bald spot that was
showing more and more on the back of my head. This
seems odd, but I swear that my nails also grow faster! |
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