Donated a kidney to my Dad

[dave]

I wanted to share that I successfully donated a kidney to my Dad on June 20.  Overall, the surgery was a success, and we are both recovering well.  My creatinine spiked a bit more than they expected (to 1.6 from 0.9 baseline), somewhat similar to bradwitt's recent post, but not as severe.  One week later it was down to 1.46, still higher than ideal, but trending in the right direction.  The chief nephrologist believes that my creatinine will continue to fall gradually over the coming weeks; he is not too concerned.  I'm fortunate to have a wife who is a nephrologist (as well as an amazing human being), hence access to an instant second opinion.  She, too, is not worried, which reassures me.

My recovery was fairly straightforward.  I did feel like complete crap for the first two days.  The pain wasn't too bad, but I felt quite nauseous and lightheaded.  Getting off the narcotics seemed to help with this.  Within four days, I was on only Tylenol and feeling much better.  At one point, my sodium went low (to 127), prompting them to put me on an IV drip for one day.  Sodium recovered the next day and stayed normal.  One week after, I feel pretty good; I just get tired more easily than before.  I expect that to get better with time.

My Dad's recovery has been longer and less pleasant, but the good news is that his new kidney is working well.  It started working right away.  One week post, his creatinine is 1.7, down from 4.01 at baseline!  That said, it took over a week for his bowels to normalize; he experienced a lot of pain and intense fatigue; and his blood sugar spiked all over the place for several days until it finally stabilized (yes, he is diabetic).  I saw the number of pills he has to take every morning and evening; it is staggering.  Fortunately, Dad is gradually feeling better, but I think he underestimated how long recovery would take and what life would be like on immunosuppressants.  This was a preemptive transplant, so he never actually experienced dialysis and the relief from it.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by the medical team.  Both the surgeon and the nephrologist seemed highly competent and had excellent bedside manner.  It takes a small army of highly trained personnel to pull this procedure off.

Folks on this forum have been tremendously supportive, and I want to particularly thank Sherri and Fr. Pat for helpful comments.  Hopefully I can pay this kindness forward to future donors.

Best,
Dave

[Fr Pat]

Congratulations to you both! Take good care of yourself now, and give yourself time to heal.
Often the recipient is given high doses of anti-rejection drugs at the beginning, and these are reduced gradually until the lowest effective dosage is found.
     best wishes,
        Fr. Pat

[elephant]

Dear Dave,

Congratulations to you and your Dad and welcome to the other side! 

I did a pre-emptive donation to Daddy as well.  Just yesterday we passed by the local dialysis clinic and he thanked me again for never having to visit it. 

I got Daddy a watch that rings five alarms a day to remind him when it's time to take his meds. 

Here's to an uneventful recovery for you both!

Love, elephant

[sherri]

Dave,

Welcome to the club! so glad you and your Dad are on the other side. Your recovery sounds very typical and also similar to my experience. My brother was also a preemptive transplant. Took him 10 days to get out of the hospital until they regulated his immuosuppressants and managed the side effects. Five and half years later he is doing well, takes his medication without fanfare and checks in with his nephrologist every 3 -4 months.

I also remember feeling pretty horrible the first few days. Switched from the heavy pain killers to tylenol after about 5-7 days and then nothing. It will get better just give it time.

What does your wife/nephrologist think about kidney donation? Do you feel you got better treatment or explanations because she was there to advocate for you? You are lucky to have had her by your side for support and understanding kidney disease and compensatory mechanisms.

Keep up the good healing and let us know how it goes.

All the best,

Sherri

[dave]

Thanks, Sherri!  My wife was very supportive of donation from the beginning, which made it easier to move forward.  As a nephrologist, she believes that the surgical and long-term risks to the donor are very low.  The available data suggests that carefully screened kidney donors usually have excellent health outcomes, even very long-term.

I think I would have received excellent care without my wife's involvement - this was a top transplant center in Boston.  But having my wife there to "translate" was a wonderful luxury, and very reassuring.  When she spoke with the nephrologists at the hospital, they all had this kind of instant mutual respect (and jargon!).  It was fun to see.

Dave

[flacapt]

Dave, Glad you and your Dad are doing well. We have been looking out for your post since the surgery. God Speed and keep us posted
Marc

[WellGrounded]

Congratulations Dave! Glad you and your Dad are doing well. I actually donated my kidney to my Dad on June 21, a day after your operation. He is now at 1.33 creatinine from a baseline of 12. My creatinine is at 1.55. Do you know what your GFR is at by any chance? Mine is at 54 and it's a little worrisome. Thanks and good luck on your recovery

[Nancy]

I donated 5 days ago and 3 days ago when discharged my creatinine was 1.2 from baseline of 0.8 but the great news is that my recipient is now also 1.2 down from 14. God is good!  We are both so thankful our recovery is going well.

[elephant]

Dear WellGrounded,

My recipient (Dad) has had lower creatinine that me since shortly after surgery.  As long as it is stable there's not a lot to worry about.  There are some very informative posts on this topic by our 'local' Doc you may wish to read, search for "GFR vs. Creatinine Clearance"

Love, elephant