@tbingheim I had a pancreas only transplant at the Methodist Hospital, Mayo, Rochester, MN, January, 2011. At that time I had been a Type I, difficult to control diabetic for 35 years and I had been mentally and emotionally ready for a transplant for at least a decade.

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If you are interested in a transplant, the first thing to do is ask your primary physician to refer you for a transplant evaluation. My evaluation took up most of a week, with additional tests and consults being added throughout the process. We also took advantage of their "checker" system. That meant going to scheduled appointments early (during breaks in appointments) to get appointments completed earlier. I was quite ill at the time and found the appointments and schedule daunting, even while I was grateful and hopeful for a transplant.

You will need a caregiver to help you post transplant. I highly recommend checking out the Transplant House, which started as a house donated by a wealthy patron for use by transplant patients and their caregivers. It has grown to two houses that provide a private room and bath, and communal rooms for cooking, dining, laundry, watching TV, etc. Last time we were there they also had a room set aside for Lab draws and collections. The thing we appreciate the most about the Transplant House is the stringent measures they take to keep everyone safe during their recoveries/treatments.

Just as every diabetic is different, every transplant experience is different. Mine was difficult and lengthy. Despite that I am still grateful every day that I went through it. You will spend some post-op time in the hospital, and you will be on multiple medications that may change daily for a number of weeks. Transplant medications include immunosuppressants that you will have to take for life. I still take three. Immediately following the surgery they told me to use a weekly planner, which was extremely helpful. Blood was drawn and medications were adjusted quite often the first few weeks. I quickly learned to write everything down and fill the planner every evening for the next day, because the medications were changed so often as my body adjusted to them and healed from the surgery. In addition to the 3 transplant medications I still take, I also had at least 4 other medications that were tapered off over time.

It is a lengthy surgery, as there are numerous vessels involved with the pancreas. A couple things I had not thought about: the old "native" pancreas is left as is and the new pancreas attached in front under the ribs (at least mine was); and the surgical scar runs "stem to stern" as the surgeon put it. My scar runs from just below my breastbone to my pubis.

Many transplant patients have kept a journal of their experience and urged new transplants to do the same. You will have to decide for yourself about that. For myself, my caregiver did not do well with that and there is much I do not remember, but I am okay with what I have been able to reconstruct.

I hope you find this helpful and I am certainly willing to share any other aspects of my experience you may have a question about Just ask. Blessings to you.