I trust Mayo. They have been in charge of my care since 2008 and I am still here after 2 liver transplants and awaiting a kidney. Best wishes !

@benlam11 Your story is a bit similar to mine, but I did finally get a diagnosis up here. The first PCP called me on the phone and told me she thought I had Alzheimer’s. I quickly switched PCPs. Due to the HE episodes I was sent to a neurologist because the PCP thought I had a neurological problem. The neurologist was the one who suggested a liver problem, that was a year and four months after my first HE episode. I got an appointment with a hepatologist at Mass General as soon as possible. They were wonderful there, my experience was similar to yours at Mayo – they are #1 and #2 in the country. The hepatologist put me on xifaxan and for a long time I only needed that, no lactulose. I now go to Mass General for everything except my PCP. I would go there for that too but I figure I should have him closer. During the day it can take 2 hours to get to Boston.

@khh as I said above, the PCP thought it was Alzheimer’s. When I finally did get the cirrhosis diagnosis I realized how ridiculous it was that no one put two and two together before that. I had so many telltale symptoms – declining platelet counts, shaky hands, cramps, and the big red flag, episodes of confusion and irrationality.
Please insist on seeing a doctor. More than likely you will be advised to have any immunizations now, pre-transplant, before you are on immunosuppressants. Some are fine after, like pneumonia, but some are not. MGH has not approved the shingles vaccine. It is not a live vaccine but they are concerned because there is a protein in it that increases your immunity.

Hi @brianna Welcome to Connect. I was up and walking by the next day. A nurse would take me for walks and when my husband visited we would circle around the unit. They encouraged me to do so.
I hope all goes well with your evaluation. I found it draining but it has to be done.

@manuelhsilva Welcome to Connect. If you don’t mind sharing, which hospital in Boston were you evaluated at? When I was at MGH they did not have an age restriction, it depended on the health of the candidate. I was two days short of 69 when I had my transplant. At Mass General they did tell me that the Boston region often transplants at a higher MELD due to such high demand and they suggested looking into Florida and Indiana. I’m not sure where in Indiana, nor did they specify where in FL. I did look into Mayo in MN and was considering them because they told me they would probably be able to transplant me at MELD 28 and at that point MGH was saying in the 30s. Thankfully they did come through for me at MELD 28 though. At that point I was going downhill fast and my MELD was about to be increased.

@tjgisewhite Four days, that’s phenomenal! I was in for 6 but my recovery was amazing. By the time I left the hospital I had very little discomfort and my incision had stopped hurting. When I went for my first post-transplant appointment, two weeks after the transplant, they were amazed that I looked so good. I believe that losing weight and exercising before the transplant really helped me to recover faster. I did both of those thinking it would help.
JK