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Well I finally got my long-awaited transplant on the 7th of Feb.

Things are going quite well. The kidney took five days to turn on, and I’m having 1,o00 mg of prednisolone a day for three days to combat some rejection which a biopsy on Wednesday found, but we’ll get there I’m sure.

I’m very tired, and daily trips to the hospital 45 minutes away are a pain, but in the long term, I’m sure it’s a small price to pay.

Cheers,

Stu

Just 48 hours……….

with no fluid restriction - mmmm that beer tasted good, I think I’ll have another

Just 48 hours……….

With no fear of dying from potassium overdose. I think I’ll have a banana split for dessert

Just 48 hours………..

Without worrying about phosphate - that block of cheese looks good!

Just 48 hours……….

Without those damned needles.

Just 48 hours……….

Not thinking about what time I need to be at dialysis.

Just 48 hours……….

Just give me 48 damned hours……….

Well, we’re getting closer to another Christmas on dialysis (my fifth in a row).

After my Freaky High Potassium last Christmas, I’ve been giving some thought to boycotting Christmas altogether this year.

After having four “get-togethers” between dialysis sessions last year, it comes as no great surprise that I had a potassium high enough to hospitalise me. We’re supposed to be doing it again this year, Tea Christmas eve, then breaskfast, lunch, and tea christmas day. It’s just too damned much, sitting there, watching everyone else stuff their faces with all the things I’m not supposed to eat.

So, I’ve been giving serious thought to the idea of boycotting the whole thing. The only problem with this would be that I’d miss out on seeing the fun my wonderful boys (one and three) would be having, and would be leaving my wife to lug two kids, food, and presents around all day.

What do people think? How do you cope with Christmas? Do you think I’m being selfish just wanting to stay home and pretend it’s not christmas?

I had a phone call from my renal specialist the other day, letting me know that he had turned down a transplant on my behalf.

Apparently the donor was a 74 year old, and the kidney didn’t work in the recipient. So although I was glad to have missed out on a kidney that didn’t work in the end anyway, it was a little hard to hear that I was ever so close to ending this nightmare that is my life on dialysis.

Dialysis is as boring as bat-shit - right?

We spend far too much time at the dialysis center as it is, so it might be a bit of fun to try to think of some things to do which might brighten it up a bit.

(You might want to make sure you get along pretty well with your fellow patients and dialysis center staff before you try some of these!)

1) A couple of hours before you go to dialysis, eat a big block of cheese. When you get there, tell the staff you don’t feel well. Ask for a set of blood tests to be done. When the results come back, you will have a sky high phosphate. The staff will ask you what you ate. Tell them you ate nothing for the 24 or-so hours before dialysis, because you had an upset stomach. Sit back and watch them scratch their heads.

2) Turn up at the dialysis center on one of your “off” days. (A day when you’re not supposed to be there), go to a chair, unpack your bag as you normally would, and sit down waiting to be put on the machine.

3) When you get off the machine at the end of dialysis, walk over to the scales and stand on them. Stand there on the scales, and swear loudly. When the staff ask what’s wrong, tell them that you weigh a kilogram (or two pounds for our American friends) more than you did before dialysis.

4) Take a Penthouse / Playboy in to the dialysis center, leave it on your lap (closed, of course), and pretend to be alseep. Keep an eye out for the staff’s reaction.

Actually, don’t do these things, you’re likely to either damage yourself, or get kicked out of the dialysis center

Anybody else got any ideas for fun things to do to brighten up your time at the dialysis center?

I’ve had a gutfull!

I’m a sick to death of fluid and dietary restrictions. Is it too much to ask that once in a while I be able to just “let my hair down” and enjoy myself?

I have a habit, when I’m allowed the tiniest of nibbles of something I really enjoy (chocolate, almonds, beer (mmmm beer!)), of saying to my lovely wife “When I get my transplant, you can bring me lots of [insert delicious high potassium food here] into the hospital for me.”

This got me thinking about my ultimate meal. You know, the one where you don’t have to worry about potassium, sodium, phosphate, fluid - just have whatever you want.

Then I thought, “Hell, I wouldn’t be able to eat all the stuff I want in one meal, so let’s do a menu for a day”. So here it is:

Breakfast:
A big bowl of Coco Pops, with about half a litre of ice cold milk
Bacon, sausages and eggs, with grilled tomato, on whole-grain toast (and lots of salt and pepper!)
A massive glass of freshly squeezed orange juice
A big pot of freshly brewed top quality coffee

Morning Tea
Fruit platter
Big glass of fruit juice (As you can see, I miss my fruit juice!)

Lunch
Lasagne or spaghetti bolognese with rich sauce
Salad
Bottle of Peter Lehmann Semillon Chardonnay
Chocolate sundae with crushed nuts

Afternoon Tea
Platter with: Cheese, nuts, assorted smallgoods such as mettwurst, pepperoni etc
Big, tall, frosty glass of Coke (No ice - maybe a splash of single malt Scotch!)

Dinner
Big piece of prime steak, with chips and roast vegetables
Banana split
Two (or six) bottles of Coopers Pale Ale (mmm)

I’m salivating just thinking about it….

What would you have?