1. < Transplants

Long term effects of prednisone after kidney transplant

Posted by mamag @mamag, Aug 31, 2019

Our son, age 24, is recovering from a kidney transplant as of July 23rd. Part of his anti- rejection medicine is prednisone. They told us he will take prednisone forever. We are concerned about long term effects of taking steroids and would like to know if it's possible to have a successful transplant without it? His donor was live, his aunt and a 4 to 6 antigen match.

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JK | @contentandwell | Aug 31, 2019

@mamag I really cannot answer your question, but I will be three years post-liver-transplant in September and the dose of prednisone is fairly minimal now, as I suspect your son’s will be eventually also.
I don’t think any pharmaceuticals are without some effects, long term if you have to take it for a long time or permanently. Frankly I take other drugs that concern me more than prednisone does, but that could be due to unawareness of effects that you are worried about.
JK

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1 reply
jolinda | @jolinda | Aug 31, 2019

MamaG

Wahoo! Congrats on the successful transplant. You must all be thrilled. Such an amazing Aunt, I'm always astounded at the generosity of living donors.

Many transplant patients receive a low dose 5-10mg per day to lower inflammation in the body. There are certain situations and centers which have no prednisone protocols but I think they are for the very young, the very old and ones with optimal antigen matches. Prednisone lowers inflammation in the body and may be needed so your son's immune system stays "quiet". If you are with Mayo they will do biopsies to see if the outer lining of the transplanted kidney cells show inflammation. Inflammation is a big sign that the immune system has "found" the transplanted organ and that meds need to be increase so rejection doesn't occur. I understand your disappointment but I would absolutely listen to your team they want the best outcome for your son.

Again congrats!

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1 reply
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Aug 31, 2019

@mamag, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Congratulations to your son on his recent transplant surgery and his current stage of recovery. I also offer my prayers of gratitude to his aunt who gave him this gift of her kidney.

I have a transplanted liver and kidney (2009). I was taking prescribed prednisone, too. It was high dosage at first, and within a matter of weeks, I was tapered to a low 5mg daily dose that I took for around 5 years. After being stable in my condition for 5 years, I was able to taper off my prednisone because the research supported that decision. It was suggested by my transplant team. During all of thhe past 10 years, I havn't felt any of the 'terrible' side effects that we read about. A daily 5mg dose is a low dose, and I was carefully monitored by my transplant team for any possible problems.

Your son is newly transplanted, and this is something that he can discuss with his own transplant team as he moves beyond this early stage of recovery. They will be able to explain what might be in his future, Every patient is different, and has different needs.

How are you doing, after going thru this transplant with your son? Have you had the time to read thru some of the other transploant discussions about how to live with a new organ? I invite any questions that you have.

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1 reply
mamag | @mamag | Sep 2, 2019
In reply to @contentandwell "@mamag I really cannot answer your question, but I will be three years post-liver-transplant in September..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@mamag I really cannot answer your question, but I will be three years post-liver-transplant in September and the dose of prednisone is fairly minimal now, as I suspect your son’s will be eventually also.
I don’t think any pharmaceuticals are without some effects, long term if you have to take it for a long time or permanently. Frankly I take other drugs that concern me more than prednisone does, but that could be due to unawareness of effects that you are worried about.
JK

Jump to this post

So happy for you on your transplant! God bless!

REPLY
mamag | @mamag | Sep 2, 2019
In reply to @jolinda "MamaG Wahoo! Congrats on the successful transplant. You must all be thrilled. Such an amazing Aunt,..." + (show)
@jolinda

MamaG

Wahoo! Congrats on the successful transplant. You must all be thrilled. Such an amazing Aunt, I'm always astounded at the generosity of living donors.

Many transplant patients receive a low dose 5-10mg per day to lower inflammation in the body. There are certain situations and centers which have no prednisone protocols but I think they are for the very young, the very old and ones with optimal antigen matches. Prednisone lowers inflammation in the body and may be needed so your son's immune system stays "quiet". If you are with Mayo they will do biopsies to see if the outer lining of the transplanted kidney cells show inflammation. Inflammation is a big sign that the immune system has "found" the transplanted organ and that meds need to be increase so rejection doesn't occur. I understand your disappointment but I would absolutely listen to your team they want the best outcome for your son.

Again congrats!

Jump to this post

Thank you for the info. It was helpful! We are overwhelmed with joy that our son was given this kidney! We are with Barnes team in St Louis! God is good!

REPLY
1 reply
mamag | @mamag | Sep 2, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "@mamag, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Congratulations to your son on his recent transplant surgery and..." + (show)
@rosemarya

@mamag, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Congratulations to your son on his recent transplant surgery and his current stage of recovery. I also offer my prayers of gratitude to his aunt who gave him this gift of her kidney.

I have a transplanted liver and kidney (2009). I was taking prescribed prednisone, too. It was high dosage at first, and within a matter of weeks, I was tapered to a low 5mg daily dose that I took for around 5 years. After being stable in my condition for 5 years, I was able to taper off my prednisone because the research supported that decision. It was suggested by my transplant team. During all of thhe past 10 years, I havn't felt any of the 'terrible' side effects that we read about. A daily 5mg dose is a low dose, and I was carefully monitored by my transplant team for any possible problems.

Your son is newly transplanted, and this is something that he can discuss with his own transplant team as he moves beyond this early stage of recovery. They will be able to explain what might be in his future, Every patient is different, and has different needs.

How are you doing, after going thru this transplant with your son? Have you had the time to read thru some of the other transploant discussions about how to live with a new organ? I invite any questions that you have.

Jump to this post

God bless you for your successful transplants! God is good! We are completely overwhelmed with joy and humbled at my sisters generous gift, and Gods faithfulness! You have helped with your information! I haven't reached out beyond this. Thank you! God bless!

REPLY
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Sep 19, 2019
In reply to @mamag "Thank you for the info. It was helpful! We are overwhelmed with joy that our son..." + (show)
@mamag

Thank you for the info. It was helpful! We are overwhelmed with joy that our son was given this kidney! We are with Barnes team in St Louis! God is good!

Jump to this post

@mamag, You, your son, your sister have been blessed in a most wonderful way! I want you put a big circle on your calendar to highlight that special day next year and every year.
Has your son had a conversation with his doctor about the prednisone question? I hope that the doctor was able to ease his concerns.

I want to share this link with you - "Self-Care Tips for Transplant Patients". I think you and your son will enjoy reading about how to stay healthy after his transplant. For me it was a big and frightening step when I was strong enough to resume my normal activities. I strive to follow these same self-care practices every day.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/newsfeed-post/self-care-tips-for-transplant-patients/

Which Tips do you think are especially helpful to you as a mom/caregiver?

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