@lcamino, I admire your attitude and enthusiasm. And your healthy and proactive approach will be a great help for when it is time for transplant. I was told that, and it is true for me. I suspect that those Mayo folks have stressed that with you, too
Rosemary

@rosemarya, @lcamino I am sure my good recovery had a lot to do with the fact that up until the very end when things went downhill quickly I was doing a lot of exercise and watching my diet. I think my recovery owes a lot to that AND to the skill of my transplant surgeon, to whom I will forever be grateful.
JK

@contentandwell, You are right JK - We have to do our job so that our surgeon and entire team can do their job 🙂

@rosemarya I just recently discovered when I asked about an error on my record of whom was listed as my surgeon that he was the primary surgeon but two other transplant surgeons were in there too! No wonder it costs so much. I had met one of the other surgeons during the initial intro day and she visited me two times but I had no idea she was in there also.
JK

@contentandwell and @lcamino I agree with the water shoes! I have Parkinson's and I'm not always "sure-footed". However, the water shoes are great and give me confidence and safety when I walk in a pool. During the summer I leave them in the car and they dry out quite quickly from the sun heating up the car (my car is always parked outside). Therefore they stay dry and don't get musty. However, if your car is protected from the sun, letting the shoes dry on a porch or deck where the sun hits them will work nicely as well. Teresa

I just received my gift of life. Had my kidney transplant via live donor, on April 17th of this year. So, I am home for a week now. Everything is going as well as you could hope for, but I am still trying to shed the fluid that was loaded into me for the transplant. Who knew they could put THAT much fluid into you so quickly.
Hard to tell about the weight gain, as I am still shedding fluid weight. I do know that my appetite is back in force, so limiting calories is crucial right now.

@doogie02, This is wonderful news to hear! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, so very much for sharing this joyful event with us.
I welcome you to Connect. It is always an honor and a privilege for me to meet a new. transplant recipient

I will send you a more complete reply, later today, after I get back from errands. Hubby is waiting in the car for me - but this acknowledgement just could not wait.

Blessings to you and your donor.
Rosemary

@doogie02, I want to welcome you to Connect. We are here to share from our experiences, and to ask questions, and to find answers. We also are able to provide support and encouragement for others who are experiencing similar health related issues. I want to personally invite you to look at some of out other transplant discussions and to consider entering some of the forums. By sharing from your own experiences you will be able to offer hope to others who are waiting for their own gift of life organ donation.

Right now, though, your first and primary job is to take care of you, and be sure that you do not over-do-it too quickly.

Yes, It is amazing how much fluid the body can hold! Were you holding fluids with edema prior to transplant? I was. And I remember that at 3 weeks, I still had some swelling, especially legs. Eventually as you get more mobile and walking this will dissipate.
Hungry- and I bet everything tastes so good, too! My docs told me to enjoy, but not to overdo it. However, I needed to actually gain weight after my transplant. That has never happened any other time in my 68 year life!

Congratulations on your successful kidney transplant! And blessings to your donor.
.

When you feel up to it, Please consider posting in the "Celebrate Your Transplant" forum.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/celebrate-your-transplant-blessings/

I look forward to hearing more from you
Rosemary
Liver/Kidney - 2009

@doogie02 Congratulations on your transplant! Sometimes "life is good" and I have found that to be true after liver transplant. The inconveniences are a small price to pay.
I was not loaded with water artificially but had terrible fluid retention (I gained about 35 pounds in a few weeks) and it took a while for that to finally go down, but go down it did thankfully.
I agree, resisting yummy things is difficult, I am something of a foodie and love to cook so it's been a struggle but I have managed to lose weight, before my transplant and more after. I have mentioned in other posts that I used myfitnesspal.com and found it tremendously helpful. That along a fitness monitor kept me going. You are only fooling yourself if you are not honest with your food on myfitnesspal and I find if I do not exercise I gain weight. Myfitnesspal connects up with my fitness monitor and gives me extra calories depending on how active I have been.
Off to the pool at my health club now.
JK

@rosemarya Gee Rosemary, I wish someone would tell me to gain weight! I am actually at the lowest I have been at since getting pregnant 37 years ago. I just say it took awhile to shed the "baby fat". 😉
JK