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3 weeks post liver transplant: when will I feel better?
Transplants | Last Active: Jun 16, 2023 | Replies (106)Comment receiving replies
Hi msfins Yes you will get better. I was in your place the first 2 months after my Heart Transplant. I remember one incident where my wife had left for her daily walk of her usual 3 to 4 miles and I really wanted to get some computer work done. We were staying at a hotel the first few weeks after transplant and feeling ok but everyday chores would wear me out. Anyway the laptop was in a suitcase on the floor of the closet (thank God for closet rails) and I was just going to kneel down and get this really light laptop and power cord. Well I got done there ok but could not get back up. My leg muscles were not strong enough yet and i used the rail you hang shirts on which was lower than the regular one at the top of the closet. Using my arms and legs I got back up. I never felt so weak in my whole life. Well that soon passed and my next challenge was I really wanted to be allowed to drive again but my wife was concerned that my leg strength would be a problem driving. So we set this goal and required me to be able to climb the stairs of our home and meet the 6 week requirements that my doctors had. Well my doctors required me to be off my pain killers ,which is another story, so Doctors are happy but the stares also I would start with 3 or 4 steps a day and each week get a few more. By the end of 4 weeks I made it up the 13 steps of my stairs. BTW we had left the hotel near Mayo at 1 month past transplant so by the 7th or 8th week I was back upstairs and in my own bed plus driving again. So progress at that point got faster and faster by 6 months I was walking 2 to 3 miles again and playing Golf. I'm 4 years post now and there is nothing I can say I can't do. I feel completely normal which I have been for the last 3 years.
I might add the bloating is a problem at first and I was on a water pill for probally 2 years post transplant but haven't needed it since. I try to stick to a Mediterranean Diet and watch my salt to under about 2500 MG a day. Not always successful but i do try. I hope I inspired you to hang in their. BTW I was 59 when I had the transplant and I'm 63 now But I do believe my Heart is much younger since I want to be on the go but some parts of my body make me slow down. 😆 mostly muscles. I walk 3 to 4 miles a day and work out in the gym 3 to 4 time a week. Let me know how your doing as it seems your about 6 weeks now if my math is correct?
Blessing from Dana
Replies to "Hi msfins Yes you will get better. I was in your place the first 2 months..."
BTW how scary was a heart transplant for you? Learning I needed a liver transplant was beyond overwhelming and fearful. I can't even imagine a heart transplant.
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Hello Dana, thank you so much for responding and giving me hope. The swelling in my legs and feet got better thankfully. My color has returned to normal. I've been having some issues as of recently. My back has been hurting so bad that walking is getting too be uncomfortable. I never did outpatient physical therapy but I think I'm going to have to start. Just hope it helps. I've been very overwhelmed and depressed lately which is frustrating cause I'm grateful to be alive. Friends don't understand when I try and explain how I feel. I just don't feel like myself. Kinda like an emptiness feeling. I've been finding that alot of people think you get a transplant and your completely healed the next day. That's been frustrating as well. I dunno if you've ever experienced any of the depression. I do think it's a combination of the rollercoaster we've had to face, the medication, and trying to accept our new lives maybe. I do like how you set goals for yourself a little at a time. I think I need to start doing that. Instead of getting so overwhelmed and down on myself for little things. I read comments on how people are hiking 3 weeks post and I'm having a hard time just walking in general most days so that adds to me being down. But reading stories like yours definitely inspires me and gives me hope. I find it very helpful to talk to people who have actually been through transplant. You guys actually understand the ups and downs. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.