- Maintain good personal hygiene, like brushing off your teeth and cleaning your mouth after meals, wearing clean and sterilized clothing, and washing and sanitizing your hands frequently and before eating. Avoid getting shaved at parlors that use the same razors for many people. While getting haircuts tell your barber, to use proper precautions and use a new disposable blade.
- Avoid eating outside food or food cooked and served in unhygienic conditions, improperly or half-cooked foods. Fruits and vegetables must be properly washed and peeled off to avoid consuming pesticides or other impurities and disinfectants. Follow the diet plan prepared by your KTP team dietician. Avoid eating too much sugary, fatty, and fried foods. Ensure proper fluid intake as advised to you.
- When going to crowded places like cinema halls, airports, hospitals, buses or railway stations always cover your face with medical masks prepared for the purpose of warding off infections. Avoid shaking hands with many people.
- Avoid being around people who are suffering from contagious infections.
- .Tell the lab technician while at a pathology lab for blood tests to take adequate precautions.
Regular and proper Follow up with your KTP doctors team as advised:
After a successful Life-saving Kidney transplant, your KTP team will give you proper guidelines and instructions for follow-up. You need to follow up on these instructions in totality.
You need to contact your KTP doctors team immediately if you have any of these abnormal symptoms:
- A fever higher than 100 Degrees Fahrenheit. Flu-like symptoms such as chills, aches, headaches, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting.
- Fluid retention ( Swelling or Edema )
- Sudden weight gain ( greater than 4 pounds and within 24 hours.
- New pain or tenderness around the transplanted Kidney.
- A significant decrease in urine output.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle:
Exercise regularly :
The key is moderation and understanding your limits as a person, who has just undergone surgery. Your body is still weak and will take its own time in returning back to full strength, so you should not push your body initially. Walking is the best exercise to start with. You can start with what time your body permits you without tiring it too much and gradually increase the time.
Do not start doing strenuous exercises and lifting weights initially as is not advised in any stomach surgery for at least three months.
Regular exercise post-kidney transplant helps a kidney-transplanted plant gain overall improved health as it improves blood circulation, and helps in controlling blood cholesterol, blood sugar, and body weight. Regular exercise increases endurance and improves muscle tone and the functioning of the lung and heart.
Driving:
Driving is not advised for the initial 2 to 4 weeks post-kidney transplant as your body may suffer from tremors, weakness, and blurred vision till the time you get used to your post-transplant medicines. These effects of medicines may last for a few months. Once your body gets used to your medications, with your KTP doctor's permission, you can resume driving.
Sexual Activity and Fertility:
The most frequently asked question by a transplanted patient. A person's sexuality is affected when they suffer from CRF or ESRD. Men may suffer from impotence and loss of sex drive while women's menstrual cycle may become irregular or stop completely. Post kidney transplantation some of the aspects affecting the sexuality of a CRF or ESRD patient will definitely improve. Chronic fatigue experienced by a kidney patient diminishes post-transplantation and improved health makes sexual life more enjoyable. Men will have fewer problems in gaining and maintaining an erection while women will resume normal menstrual cycles and overcome lack of vaginal lubrication during coitus.
Sexual activity was not very important before the transplant but with improved health post-transplant, it comes higher on your agenda.
It is common for transplanted patients to resume living a normal life as they recover, and active sexual life is no exception.
For women, it is important to maintain good hygiene before, during, and post-coitus as they are more prone to urinary tract infections because of being on immunosuppression medications. Urinating before and after coitus and drinking more water reduces the chances of acquiring a UTI.
In case you get infected with UTI, consult your KTP doctor to advise for the same.
Managing Diabetes:
Corticosteroid like prednisolone (Wyesolon) increases the blood sugar level but after two months when the dosage is reduced, it will start becoming normal. You may require your diabetes medicines or insulins to keep your blood sugar levels in check as advised by your doctors. Your doctors may advise a controlled carbohydrate diet and regular exercise for keeping your blood sugar in check.
The targeted blood pressure for a kidney transplanted patient is less than 130/80. You will require your blood pressure medicines to continue post-transplant under the supervision of your doctor. Doctors will advise you blood pressure medication, and keep your weight in check by advising exercise and a low-salt diet.
Maintaining a normal Lipid Profile:
Many kidney transplanted patients may have higher blood cholesterol and lipid profiles due to side effects of medication, gaining weight, poor diet, lack of exercise, a family history, and proteinuria in certain cases. Your KTP doctors will suggest a heart-healthy diet, regular exercises, and lipid-lowering medication for keeping a check on your lipid profile.
Controlling Obesity:
Weight gain is common after a successful transplant. But being overweight may make you prone to heart disease and New-Onset diabetes post-transplant. To avoid being obese a kidney transplant patient should take a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly to burn extra calories.
Bone Disease:
Bone diseases in a transplanted patient are called chronic kidney disease-related mineral and bone disorders. (CKD-MBD ). It may cause your bones to be brittle and prone to easy fractures. Your KTP team may recommend routine blood tests for calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and vitamin D.
Gout:
Due to side effects of your kidney transplant medication like cyclosporine, your body may find it difficult to excrete excessive uric acid from the bloodstream. High blood uric acid results in the deposition of uric acid crystals in joints causing swelling and pain termed as Gout. Certain dietary control may be advised by your doctors like cutting down on red meat, seafood, sugared soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, especially beer.
Travel:
Traveling should be avoided in the first two months after the transplant to cut down the chances of infection. If traveling to another continent, you may require certain vaccination to protect you from any epidemic disease prevailing. You must also carry a sufficient quantity of your post-transplant medications with you.
Vaccination:
Live vaccines like Varicella Zoster, BCG, smallpox, intranasal influenzas, Live oral typhoid Ty21a, measles, mumps, rubella, oral polio, yellow fever, and live Japanese B encephalitis vaccines must be avoided.
Vaccines that can be taken after consulting your KTP doctors team are DPT, Haemophilus Influenza B, Hepatitis B ( Before transplant), Hepatitis A, Pneumovax, Inactivated polio, Influenza types A & B, Meningococcus ( In high-risk cases), and Typhoid.
Skin Care:
Corticosteroids like Prednisolone (wyesolon) may cause acne on your face, shoulders, chest, or back. Cyclosporine may cause these areas to be oily. Wash this area thoroughly with water at least three times a day every day. Avoid vigorous rubbing or scrubbing, instead use a wet washcloth and mild soap to remove accumulating oils, dead skin, and bacteria. Avoid using soaps that contain oils or cream based.
Eye care:
Kidney transplant patients are advised to have annual periodic eye check-ups with an ophthalmologist. Prednisolone (Wyesolone) can cause cataracts and changes in vision.
Dental Care:
You should brush your teeth at least once or twice every day, Use mouth rinse after meals to avoid accumulation of bacteria.
Quitting smoking:
Kidney transplant patients must quit smoking after the transplant to avoid complications and chest infections.
Pregnancy:
Pregnancy may occur after a successful kidney transplant. Your KTP team will advise you to avoid pregnancy in the first year of the transplant. Proper monitoring by your KTP team and Gynecologist is needed for the safety of both mother and baby and dose adjustment of your medication may be needed.
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