About 2 years ago was when I first saw it. A cream colored building sitting on the corner of Front St. and Albatross. This was where I met my transplant team and it’s where I would do all the post-operative follow ups. I would become very familiar with the waiting room…the number of chairs along the walls, certain patients who had been scheduled on the same days as me. The faces behind the desk that checked me in and then checked me out. The broken ceiling tile up in the left hand corner of the room.
It’s now mid June and I am back for my 6 month follow up with Dr. Steiner and the Team. He’s the head Nephrologist. Pretty cool with a big pinch of quirk. They ask how I am doing. “Pretty good” I reply, “except that my hair is falling out like a chemo patient.” Aside from that, my creatinine level, which monitors ‘B’idney’s function is at a healthy 1.2. Protein in the urine is still high at 2.5-3 but not getting worse so Steiner has decided to hold off on another biopsy…for now. YAY!
Back to the hair loss issue. There is no surprise in their eyes. They tell me it’s caused from the Prograf, one of my immuno-suppressants I have to take twice daily. HELLOO?!?! Must I order a 2x4 to paddle you people as this was casually forgotten for discussion beforehand? I have lost 3/4 of my hair and had to chop it all off a couple weeks ago because I could see empty spots on my scalp. When I take a bath, I have my own oil spill of black hair lining the top of the water as well as the bottom of the tub. Not pretty.
The Team decide to switch me onto another drug called, Cyclosporin. I’ve been on it before with my first transplant. I felt okay on it, except that it causes my gums to swell and I have to wear SPF 50 because I become at high risk for cancer (most of the drugs I’m on cause this, so it’s really no biggie). I’m a bit anxious switching, but I’m also tired of losing all my hair. Not to mention, it’s lost its’ shine and normal texture. I never thought I was a vain kinda gal, but I guess the thought of going bald makes me sad.
I start the new drug tomorrow and will be monitored closely for the next month and a half, getting weekly blood draws to make sure my levels are in the correct range and that I don’t enter into rejection mode. My poor veins…the Phlebotomists have been missing my veins the last three times, so I’ve temporary lost faith in having a pain free vampire suck my blood . I wonder if I can tap a spigot into my vein?
So, that’s the update. I’ll follow up with my levels in the next week or so. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful and fun Independence Day!!!
‘B’idney and Diana
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