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Transplants | Last Active: Apr 23, 2022 | Replies (109)
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I had extreme fatigue after my transplant. It turned out that I had come down with CMV - which I can only describe as mononucleosis on steroids. Once you contract this disease it stays in your system. One of the downsides in having a suppressed immune system.
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@des46893 Please educate us... How did you get CMV? Did you realize you had it from your routine labs? Is it preventable?
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@des46893 I did not know what CMV was, so googled it. It says:
Cytomegalovirus (pronounced sy-toe-MEG-a-low-vy-rus), or CMV, is a common virus that infects people of all ages. Over half of adults by age 40 have been infected with CMV. Once CMV is in a person’s body, it stays there for life and can reactivate. Most people infected with CMV show no signs or symptoms. However, CMV infection can cause serious health problems for people with weakened immune systems and for unborn babies (congenital CMV).
You probably already had it and being on immunosuppressants activated it. I’m sorry that you have to deal with this. If they keep you on the minimum amount of immunosuppressants will that help it not get reactivated?
I’m sure that those of us who are alive thanks to transplants are grateful for the gift of additional time we have been given but immunosuppressants sure can be difficult to deal with. They are working on something new to “trick” a person’s immune system to not reject the new organ, and then they will hopefully be able to eliminate immunosuppressants, but I’m sure that is a long way off.
JK