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bruno22rf

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Hello all, I,m male 59 and live in Bucks. I had type 1 for 30 years but underwent transplant surgery (kidney/pancreas) at The Radcliffe hosp in oxford.Retired due to failing health but still very active and walking for at least an hour and a half every day. Looking forward to chatting with you all!!
 
Hello @bruno22rf and welcome to the forum.

There are always many conversation strings going on here, and I hope that you have a browse around and find some things of interest.

Well done on the walking, I think it has been what has kept many of us going through these difficult times, and now more enjoyable with warmer weather and spring flowers starting to appear.
 
Welcome @bruno22rf 🙂

Very interesting that you had transplant surgery. It would be nice to hear a little more if you’re happy to talk about it.
 
I believe who have another member who has had transplant but does not post very often.
 
I have no problems answering any questions that anyone may have - one of the most worrying things before the operation was not being able to ask anyone, that had been operated on,what to expect. My operation was over 15 years ago now but I remember the affair in fine detail!! Not had a single drop of insulin since, no episodes of rejection and no steroids until the last couple of years. Feel free to ask any questions, no matter if you think they may be daft - I will do my very best to help.
 
Thank you @bruno22rf 🙂 You’ve answered one of my questions already by saying you don't take any insulin😎

Did your new pancreas start producing enough insulin straightaway or did it take a while?
Do you still test your blood sugar at all?
Do you limit your diet in any way or do you just eat what you want?
What are the steroids for? Are they related to your transplant?
 
Hi bruno22rf, just popping in and saying hi and welcome!

Sorry to hear about your surgery but glad that you're able to remain active. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns and we'll do our best to help.
 
Hello. I wondered if you still have to check your blood sugar or if you can just rely on the new pancreas to work now?
 
Okay - pancreas worked from the moment it received blood supply, it was harvested from a beating heart cadaver and was a very good match.I tend to check my blood sugars if I feel unwell but I would estimate 4-5 times a year although it is checked every 3 months in the renal outpatients.In the early days I was advised to eat as much as I could as I had lost about 2 stone during the operation and recovery, over the years the speed at which my pancres responds has reduced so now I'm a little careful with high sugar foods such as sweet and sour chinese meals - ok on their own but the addition of high sugar alcohol such as cider can leave me feeling tired, sugar can rise to 10 and takes a couple of hours to come back down.Steroids are a common drug given to transplant patients in the early days, I was given a drug that was experimental at the time but I believe is in regular use now, rather than destroying the immune system it wiped out the immune systems memory. It was explained to me as having a body full of soldiers that dont know who the enemy is rather than traditional drugs that killed all the soldiers. As the soldiers start to work out what is what they presume that the new organs, because they are doing what they are supposed to do, are friendly and, by and large, leave them alone. The benefits of this is lower doses of immunosuppressants and thus less chance of side effects. My immune system seems pretty good - I worked in a primary school for 5 years since the transplant undertaking caretaker duties and all the disgusting jobs that such a position demands on occasion, never had a day off due to ill health, never caught any bugs whatsoever.
Apologies for rambling on.....
 
Don`t apologise for your rambling, @bruno22rf, it is remarkably lucid and informative. I do not know if we have any other transplant recipients on the forum but stay with us because I am sure your experiences will be very helpful to others if they join in the future.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum @bruno22rf 🙂 A very interesting post.
 
Gosh - I didn't even know they'd been able to reduce/change the anti rejection drugs - so there you go.

I used to know 2 people who had similar transplants - and instead of moaning about diabetes they moaned about the anti rejection drugs and 'the gallons' of water they were now forced to drink.

So now I'd be grateful if you'd tell me the truth about what you are FORCED to drink, please! I mean I'm not awfully keen on tap water either - so we buy the bottled sugar free flavoured water in bottles from the supermarket to try and keep hydrated between cups of tea & coffee, cos you know, it is simply healthier to drink water than anything else! Voluntarily though, nobody forces us ......
 
I was able to drink as much or as little as I liked for the first 14 years but as the kidney is starting to fail over the last year I have been advised to drink 2 pints of water a day, this was following repeated UTI's that my GP just kept throwing antibiotics at. This eventually (due to another mess up by my GP) led me to develop ESBL E-Coli. A consultant in the hospital that I ended up in (with the E-Coli) suggested that 2 pints of water/day might work - since then I have had no UTI's and no antibiotics in the last year - I would kiss her if I could find her!! Previousley I had been on permanent antibiotics for about 2 years. Your friends that mentioned the gallons of water may have meant in the first few days after surgery, in my case I had saline on a drip and was taking around 3 litres/day. This became very uncomfortable to such a point that one evening I refused the drip.
 
Just want to say thanks so much for joining the forum and sharing your story with us. It is really fascinating to read all about it and very inspirational, so please continue to waffle.... we are all ears!!.
 
Yes, I agree with Barbara. Very interesting.
 
Thank you for my kind reception to the forum, before my operation there was one burning question on my mind and nobody has asked it yet? BTW Christy - 3 stone 6 lbs, that's amazing, well done.
 
Thanks, still losing :D mmm...now you have me intrigued. Was it...did you take on any of the characteristics of the donor? Or is that just daft?
 
Hopefully not Christy, she was an 18 yo female, I was 45 yo male - she did give me CMV as the organ was infected (it cannot be removed/killed) so I had Antibiotics via a Hickman line for about 2 weeks.....not pleasant.
 
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