This and That and Talk - My Transplant

@gaylea1 Could any of these help you remedy night itching? Change in temperature: when you first go to bed you snuggle into bending, but body temp changes thru the night, you get somewhat overheated and start itching. Any change in laundry soap or drying method: a new formula in soap, or change in machine/dryer sheet/fresh air vs dryer. Changeup in diet before bed: weather changing so you have a cuppa something warm, which makes you feel good at the onset but warms your internal temp up too much a bit later. Lotion has helped me.
Ginger

@contentandwell My kindle or small project crochet goes with me to office appts. I use my own pen to complete any paperwork, still use antibacterial gel. Also, not to be too gross, when you are at the lab be careful of all surfaces.
Ginger

@gaylea1 @gingerw Laundry detergent could definitely be the culprit. I changed once and my husband was terribly itchy from what I changed to. I had forgotten all about that. I only buy the ones that are unscented and for sensitive skin now.
JK

I do the same, @contentandwell. Fragrance free laundry products are the only ones I use. I can really notice a difference in my skin if I try to use something else.

@sholman459 I have extreme itching following a pancreas transplant. I tried all kinds of folk and medical suggestions with no relief. Finally I purchased a mesh exfoliating towel (found at Wal-Mart) and use it to scrub my entire body. Amazingly and thankfully that works for me. FYI, it is impossible to get lotion on the middle of your back where my itching was located.

gaylea, My heart hurts for you.

I had that severe itching, too. It was so awful that I was often on the verge of tears. There was not a doorway that was safe from my constant back scratching. Imagine the image of a big ole grizzly rubbing against a tree - That was me!
Sometimes a good soaking bath with Aveeno oatmeal bath oil helped briefly, but even that brief escape from itching was not worth the trouble to me, because it was an overwhelming task. I was fatigued, and my edema made movement difficult, and I was cold all the time. I never got to where I was scratching until it bled, though, I hear that that can happen.

Somewhere along the wait, the severe itch gradually diminished. I don't know why.
We are all different in our symptoms as we await our transplants.

Hugs to you and to anybody who is also experiencing these symptoms.

Teresa, Me too. I try to choose fragrance free whenever I have the opportunity.

Ginger, Have you had a chance to read, and to add your tips to this?

jeanne5009, I hope you will have an informative and a positive appointment this week. I will be thinking about you. Is his/her office one of those cold ones? Take a good warm sweater with you, just in case! - that is my knowledge contribution for today:-)

After we drove to Mayo, we had appointment the next day.
Because of my disease (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) PSC, my bile duct was removed at transplant along with my liver. I have no bile duct. So the surgeon created a new "bile"duct that connected my liver to my intestine. Somehow, this new duct found a small gap in the folds of my intestine and when it got pinched shut, some of the bacteria from the intestine got pushed into my liver to my blood stream. This does not usually happen.
My transplant surgeon preformed the repair surgery (hernia) and the incision was glued shut - no stitches/staples. She made the new incision on a portion of the transplant incision. So my "Mercedes" scar is intact:-) I was discharged in 1 or 2 days, and returned home. My recovery was immediate, and I only had to be careful of the incision until it healed. I probably had antibiotics to finish from the infection, though.

That all happened in mid May (2010) and I was able to do my annual Smokey Mountain hiking vacation with my husband in June.
In all,I spent 1-2 days in local hospital, 4-5 in transplant care in Louisville, i day home, 1-2 day travel, 3-4 days Rochester.

- This episode was frightening, and it made us (me and husband) realize the importance of prompt action when something is not 'right'.
I think it is why I always try to encourage patients in transplant to communicate with their transplant team, or their doctor.

2011Panc, I am not itchy these days, but I bought one of those mesh towels after you shared once before. I really like it. Thanks.