Kidney transplants can take a long time to find a match.
If needed, you can be treated with dialysis (to filter the blood and remove fluid and waste products) until a suitable kidney donor can be found. The healthy kidney is obtained from a living donor (may be a blood relative or an unrelated donor, such as a spouse.... this option is not available in all countries) or from a donor that has recently died, but has not suffered kidney injury.
Also, if you have an underlying disease, like diabetes or cardiovascular disease, the new kidney can become damage over time, and these illnesses are looked at when determining you as a viable candidate for a transplant.
As for medications. If you do have a transplant, you will have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life so that your body doesn't target and destroy the "foreign object"... the new kidney. These medications suppress your immune system, and make you high risk for infections.
Between 80% and 90% of transplanted kidneys are functioning two years after the operation. The main problem (as with other transplants) is graft rejection. The person is encouraged to resume normal activities as soon as possible after surgery.
The major obstacles for kidney transplants are the problem of finding a suitable donor, coping with potential rejection of the organ by the immune system, and cost.
The recovery period averages 1 month. The average hospital stay is 1 week. The sutures or clips are removed about one week after surgery.
You say you have been diagnosed with "minor kidney failure". I doubt you would even be given the option at this time for a kidney transplant.
Watch your protein intake. Try to watch your electrolyte balances too. Avoid high potassium (IE: Stewed prunes are good, but prune juice is a definite no-no) and magnesium foods. You can do an internet search for foods that fall into those catagories. I'm sure there are "renal diets" listed on the net if you search them out.
If you do require dialysis, more and more doctors are opting for Peritoneal Dialysis, where a special fluid is instilled into the abdominal cavity, through a surgically inserted catheter, where your organs sit, and your blood is cleansed that way through osmosis. After a period of X number of hours the fluid is drained out and new fluid put in. Some people require these "exchanges" every 4 to 6 hours, but it offers more freedom than hemodialysis that takes place 3 or 4 times per week for 4 to 6 hours each time. With peritoneal dialysis, the person does it themselves at home or wherever, which allows for much more freedom. There are also machines that do these exchanges all night long, and allow the person to only have to do one exchange in the day, but that is something that your doctor would decide to put you on if it were a viable option for you.
However, at this point, you are only showing signs of kidney failure, and you can manage it rather nicely by following a low protein, low potassium/magnesium diet. Keep in touch with your doctor so that he/she can monitor your creatine levels.
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Originally Posted by Bensacct
Hi, I just got diagnosed with Minor Kidney Failure
I can only eat very limited amounts of protien and I have to keep a very low weight in order to avoid dialasis.
Does anybody know anything about transplants and their effectivity, aswell as the after affeft?
how long they last?
medications, how many? how often? how long after transplant do you need them?
do you ever fully recover?
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