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Liver recipient with low GFR: Kidney problems normal after a liver tx?

Posted by sec1205 @sec1205, Oct 25, 2023

My liver transplant was 10 months ago. My kidneys took a hit and now my Gfr is 44. Dr. Mentioned kidney transplant would be needed if it gets lower. No medication was prescribed. And labs get done every two weeks. My tacro was 12 and subsequently lowered to .5 and 1 respectively. I feel rough but otherwise in great shape. Are kidney problems normal after a liver transplant?

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myringo | @myringo | Oct 25, 2023

My Gfr was 33 last lab. I am on Tacro 10mg every 12 hours. I am also on 500 mg microphenolate every 12 hours. I’m really worried about my kidneys. My Tacro was 7.6 last lab. I am 3 months post liver transplant so I understand how you feel. Dr appointment in a week I can’t wait. Hope someone going through this can calm our nerves. Take Care

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1 reply
xplantguy1212 | @xplantguy1212 | Oct 26, 2023

Have they measured a tacro peak with labs? I take cyclosporine & not tacro , and my gfr's were getting lower... so they started checking my peak instead of trough because my peaks were too high and dosage was causing nephrotoxicity, which meant my dosage needed to be lowered but was still at a good enough level to avoid rejection. When my dosage was adjusted down my labs for gfr and creatinine level showed improvement.

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2 replies
janni1 | @janni1 | Oct 26, 2023
In reply to @myringo "My Gfr was 33 last lab. I am on Tacro 10mg every 12 hours. I am..." + (show)
@myringo

My Gfr was 33 last lab. I am on Tacro 10mg every 12 hours. I am also on 500 mg microphenolate every 12 hours. I’m really worried about my kidneys. My Tacro was 7.6 last lab. I am 3 months post liver transplant so I understand how you feel. Dr appointment in a week I can’t wait. Hope someone going through this can calm our nerves. Take Care

Jump to this post

I am two years post liver transplant January '24.
My kidneys started failing pre op..unfortunately in the theatre they got worse and now I am needing a kidney transplant.
We were told that it is pretty common for kidneys to take a knock in liver transplants but they do expect rhem to make some recovery. Mine haven't unfortunately. I was also allergic to the Mycophenolate so after 6months of not knowing what was going on this was substituted for prednisone. So I take both Tacrolimus and prednisone for anti rejection. Hope this helps a bit ladies..Good luck to you. Jan

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hello1234 | @hello1234 | Oct 26, 2023
In reply to @xplantguy1212 "Have they measured a tacro peak with labs? I take cyclosporine & not tacro , and..." + (show)
@xplantguy1212

Have they measured a tacro peak with labs? I take cyclosporine & not tacro , and my gfr's were getting lower... so they started checking my peak instead of trough because my peaks were too high and dosage was causing nephrotoxicity, which meant my dosage needed to be lowered but was still at a good enough level to avoid rejection. When my dosage was adjusted down my labs for gfr and creatinine level showed improvement.

Jump to this post

Hi @xplantguy1212 😊
How is the peak TAC tested? Do you go to the lab one hour after you take your pills or something like that?
Thanks for the good info!

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xplantguy1212 | @xplantguy1212 | Oct 26, 2023

well I know for cyclosporine it had to be measured between 1.5-2 hours after i took it to determine the peak. Not sure on tacro. The Dr should know or you could search it. when they saw my peak the first time they knew I should decrease my cyclosporine bc it was higher than they would like.

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sec1205 | @sec1205 | Oct 27, 2023
In reply to @xplantguy1212 "Have they measured a tacro peak with labs? I take cyclosporine & not tacro , and..." + (show)
@xplantguy1212

Have they measured a tacro peak with labs? I take cyclosporine & not tacro , and my gfr's were getting lower... so they started checking my peak instead of trough because my peaks were too high and dosage was causing nephrotoxicity, which meant my dosage needed to be lowered but was still at a good enough level to avoid rejection. When my dosage was adjusted down my labs for gfr and creatinine level showed improvement.

Jump to this post

@xplantguy1212
My peak on tacro is 18. It was just lowered yesterday to 0.5 twice a day.
I redo labs next week. Hope that helps my kidneys but now I'm terrified of rejection.
My potassium is high so I now take lokelma 2 x a day. I drink a ton of water so hopefully the waste from my kidney is removed by that. Thank you for your input.

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xplantguy1212 | @xplantguy1212 | Oct 27, 2023

Hopefully you see some improvements soon. Good they are taking labs often for now. Probably stay away from potassium in diet for time being :)... potatoes, bananas and the such. Take good care- things can keep improving.

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