@2011panc, Great points. It's interesting as family and friends have been more than accepting on my side. If anything the try and shall I say "hold me back" a bit and encourage me to take it a little easier. Doc has begun pushing a little and at the 2 year Mayo check they encouraged me to get out and do some "non-impact" excercise. I sort of chuckled as I have been biking and walking almost since the week after transplant. Was on Pred and gained about 25 lbs so that is the next step is go get that extra off. How long ago was your tx?

@wkary My transplant was in 2011. We have evolved and my husband and oldest child are now rather protective of me. I ask for a great deal more help than I ever used to and they spend the most time with me, so they have developed the best acceptance. I have always been encouraged to watch my weight and be as active as possible. I also initially gained some weight, I believe from the initial high doses of Prednisone, but have since gotten back to my pre-transplant weight. At my last appointments there seemed to be some concern that I lost 7 pounds in the last year. That was probably because I had been fasting for labs and we had been travelling, so I did not drink as much as usual. Since that visit I am struggling to drink as much as I should. Well, time to get a drink! hehe

@2011panc, I ,also was a busy (too busy) person. I taught middle school and always had to be prepared with a plan A, B, and C in order to survive a normal school day. I ran, ran, ran during the school day: and I ran, ran, ran during my personal time to maintain my own activities and involvement. I thought that this is how life is supposed to be! Then I got really sick as my liver began to fail. As you can guess, everything came to a halt...time passed....transplant...new life with new 'normal'. I have learned to be more selective about the activities that I let myself be involved with. I have learned that it is vital to think of myself first - emotionally and physically. I do not consider this selfish. And I don't believe that you are being selfish.
Thank you for this discussion!
I've got to run now! Lunch with a girlfriend 🙂
Rosemary

@wkary, You are right about things taking longer to accomplish! I was brought up in a home where 'doing nothing' was not an option. So I feel the need to be productive all the time; however, my body does not always share this notion!
I transplanted 7+ years ago. I went from healthy to deathly ill to transplant to my new life. It now takes me longer to finish a task or project. It takes me longer to process information. It takes me longer to make a decision. It takes me longer to recover after catching a cold or ailment. But I have come to accept this as my new normal. Yes, I agree that it can be frustrating at times. But considering where we have traveled, I think we can be thankful for each forward step of our new journey.
Sending you a hug,
Rosemary

I am currently going thru the transplant steps. I feel i have a lot of the same feelings you have or had. Is it for me. What will my life be like after transplant. Will it be better??

Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, @kellysmith1215! I'm so glad you found this community! You will find members to be supportive and answer questions you have (and meeting @rosemarya will be a treat- she's lovely) :). I think you are not alone in asking the question "what will life be like after transplant"- actually maybe you would be interested in starting a new thread to discuss just that? If you go to the top of the Transplants page and click on 'start a discussion', that would be great.

If you don't mind me asking, What's led you to your transplant journey?

Hi, @kellysmith1215. I want to welcome you to the transplant Discussion on Mayo Connect.
"Going thru the transplant steps" is a frightening and confusing journey. I am happy to share my personal experience that I, too, have experienced the same feelings and questions that you mention. And from what I have read from our other transplant members, you are not alone!
To answer your 2 big questions "What will your life be like? Will it be better?" - There is no crystal ball that will tell any of us what lies ahead even in "normal" circumstances. I believe that going thru the process is the best and only way to go. Each of our circumstances is as unique as is our treatment and transplant outcomes. Myself, I transplanted a liver/kidney in 2009, and I have never ever regretted the difficult steps that I encountered along the way. I will admit that there was some slow movement with roadblocks along the way - but for me, my New Life is a blessing beyond words.
I invite you to read thru any of our conversations. I welcome you to ask any questions that you have to any of our members. You can direct your question to a particulatr individual by including their @name (just like I did with @kellysmith1215).

What are the transplant steps that you are currently going thru? And what organ will you need to transplant? Are there any resources that we can provide?
I look forward to continuing conversation with you.
Rosemary

Thank you for all your kind words.
The journey for me has been very long. I have polycystic kidney disease. I've had it for 20 yrs .
Along the way i lost my 15 yr old to an overdose of hoffing Freon from our airconditoner & I thought that I would die . then I lost my Mom at 58 yrs old due to polycystic kidney disease. & now my brother is on dialysis & I'm on dialysis.
I just got thru the whole transplant stuff for them to tell me the board approved my case but now because I'm on Medicare I have to raise $3300.00 for the anti rejection medication.
That's my next step.

My heart goes out to you on the loss of your family members, I had my first surgery when I was 4yrs. old , I'm now 54 and I've had 4 kidney transplants, and I'm a little confused about your medication comment....Medicare covers 80% of all anti-rejection drugs and that's for 36 months, do you have a secondary insurance ? I never been told to raise money for my anti.. drugs, they only told me the information, incase my insurance didn't cover it.

Tampa General Where I live. They even sent me a letter stating i only have 6 months to get the money together or i will be kicked out of the program.
And then i would have to start all over.
I asked the coordinator why doesn't my Medicare Drug coverage pay for it.She said they don't pay for some of the meds & the rest is for your 20% copay