What do kidney transplant pts take for anxiety/depression?

Hi @blbird33 😊
It's great to hear from you! Did you have anxiety and depression before your transplant or are these symptoms new?

Hello1234, I did have anxiety and depression before which was untreated. The nephrologist said that somehow the surgery and anesthesia kicked me into a higher degree of anxiety and depression which was not medicated. I had to be hospitalized to get on meds, attend an outpatient program and after 4-5 months am still dealing with meds that need management. So, I am looking for a better psychiatrist that takes Medicare and has openings. I wondered if others in the year after transplant experienced these mental health issues. And how did you treat them of course with TC approval of meds? Take care, BB

@blbird33 I am not a transplant patient, but I am an end stage renal disease patient, on daily dialysis. Over the course of time I have met many with transplants of some sort or another.

Here is my thinking. As we go through the disease process, we journey along in our mental and physical health, learning to navigate daily life. Sometime we are successful, and at other times, not so. Many of us live with mild issues of stress and anxiety that we may not recognize as just that. We just learn to deal with it. As our disease process becomes more pronounced, our world may narrow down, in scope of daily activities/interactions.

A transplant is a major change, an "upset" as it were to what we got used to. And now, things might be opened back up to us, avenues we thought might have been closed off. New opportunities, new challenges, new regimes with the medications, new responsibilities to keep ourselves healthy. Yep, it can be overwhelming. A major surgery, and new medications, all can play a role in how we approach our new life after that transplant.

Kudos to you for realizing you might need some assistance to get back on track mentally! I bet your transplant center has a social worker you can reach out to. They [your team] want you to be successful, also. I hope you will let us know what you discover, and the help you were able to get.
Ginger

Ginger, thank you for your lovely words of positivity! Yes, lots of changes, good and difficult, and with God by my side, I will make it thru. I have before and I will again. I carry you as my support group along with me too, as I get stronger. And tell my psychiatrist I need more help, where I use my voice to get the care I need and deserve. We all deserve good care and good support. Thank all of you for supporting me on this journey as we are all in this together. Blessings, BB

@blbird33, really good questions. In addition to the helpful posts you've already received, I'm tagging fellow transplant members like @thatgirlneedsakidney @footballmum @katebw @janni1 who may have experiences to share about managing anxiety and depression safely with a transplant.

@blbird33 I can relate in some ways- prior to my illness and liver transplant I didn’t struggle with a lot of anxiety and depression though my husband died suddenly 12 years prior and in the aftermath I’ve suffered terrible insomnia which must be anxiety related. In the two years after my liver transplant I say I’ve suffered with bouts of anxiety in particular and even think I had a panic attack 2-3 months ago when I was feeling enormous health insurance/financial pressure. In general I feel well and stable but there is a persistent low level anxiety I often feel in the morning and evening but I forget about it during the day. I agree with @colleenyoung above in that I feel like my body was completely disrupted and now struggling to adjust.

I have been working with a therapist but not taking medications for my anxious feelings as I can live with them but am really trying to up my exercise game and re engage with outlets like creative writing and spiritual outlets at my church that bring comfort. My mantra to myself is to be forgiving of and kind to myself and my body given all that’s happened. If ever I thought I’d be helped by psychotropic medication I would take it. We do not need to be heroes- we already are and so are our families and donor families. ❤️

I mean we DONT need to be heroes!

Oopsie. Kate, you can edit your post. Click the 3 dots in the bottom right of the message and select "edit".