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Donated my kidney: Food/drinks taste weird. Related?

Posted by betsypuccirogers @betsypuccirogers, Feb 16, 2021

Hi all. I donated a kidney to my sister a few weeks ago (Cleveland Clinic) and one thing I noticed is that a lot of foods/drinks taste weird now. I have my sense of taste and smell but many things now taste metallic. Does anyone out there have similar experiences? I'm not taking anything except Tylenol for pain so I don't really think it's that.

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Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Sep 22, 2021
In reply to @mtbiker "I donated a kidney at the Mayo in Rochester in June 2021 and I feel 100%..." + (show)
@mtbiker

I donated a kidney at the Mayo in Rochester in June 2021 and I feel 100% normal now. I am able to do anything physically that I want, including mountain bike...I do that 3-5 times a week. My fitness isn't quite were it was pre-donation, but I trust it will get there. I don't follow a special diet, and the thing I concentrate on most is staying hydrated. I have a glass of ice water in front of me almost all the time. I realize you are looking for longer term recovery, but thought I'd share my short term perspective.

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@mtbiker, Thank you for your generous living kidney donation. Did you know the recipient ahead of time?
I like your plan for having a glass of ice water nearby!

When I read in your response that you feel 100% now, I want to ask you whether that was a surprise to you when you realized how quickly you recovered? Do you know whether that was a result of your excellent physical fitness as an endurance athlete?

REPLY
mtbiker | @mtbiker | Sep 22, 2021

Yes, I donated to a former teacher I had about 40 years earlier. I was definitely surprised how quickly I recovered. I wouldn't say I was in excellent physical condition, but I did/do exercise regularly, mostly riding a bike. That likely had something to do with the recovery. I donated June 8, and walked a total of more than 30 miles the week of June 14-20 and averaged 30-40 miles a week every week until I was cleared to start riding a bike again at 8 weeks. The Dr. said the best things I could do to aid my recovery was drink a lot of water, take naps, and walk, so I did. Early on it was 3 or 4 shorter walks a day, and as time went on the walks increased to 5 or 6 miles once a day, but every day. Also, for the first 6 weeks I napped pretty much every afternoon.

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