This and That and Talk - My Transplant

@rosemarya My PCP also has a "hands off" approach to anything that involves my transplant, and my transplant team has that same philosophy when it comes to anything that is not transplant related. I think they don't want to step on the toes of the PCPs perhaps.
JK

@jodeej that's interesting that his nails seem stronger. I would think the two go hand-in-hand. My nails have always been weak though, not just after my transplant.
It seems that biotin has been recommended to many of us so more than likely they will say yes. I do always ask though. Sometimes I think the NP gets annoyed that I ask things like that, but too bad. From what I have read in her background info she is quite bright but to me she is the weak link in my transplant care, and everything goes through her.
JK

@sholman459, Welcome to Connect. I am happy to meet you.

Prior to my transplant for PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) a disease that affected to bile ducts, I suffered with severe itching for a period of time. If my memory serves me correctly, my itching was a response to bile in my system. I was not yet a patient at a transplant patient. My local GI prescribed a RX named Cholestyramine that offered some relief. Since you have mentioned that your wife has had stints inserted in her bile ducts, I wonder if this is something that is worth asking about.

Have you discussed this with her transplant doctor? Is this an ongoing problem? or Has it just recently started?

My wife received a liver in Jan. of this year. Since then she has had to have stints put in to expand her bile duct. She is itching from head to toe and it's driving her insane(me also!). She takes frequent baths daily with baking soda and takes benadreyl which don't seem to help. Do others suffer from this and if so is there any relief for this? HELP!!

Those green Mayo bags are really nice, aren’t they? I use my green water bottle all the time.
My nails also have the ridges running side to side. They’re almost grown out and the nails seem to be much stronger, but not my hair. The fallout seems to have slowed at least.👏😊

@contentandwell @rosemarya

@rosemarya As well he should work you into his schedule right away. Thankfully, even tho he won't answer your transplant concerns, he understands your system is compromised. I'll be forever grateful to my nephrologist who took the extra steps to help me.
Ginger

JoDee, We are all in this together, aren't we! I sure wish this site had been available to me after my transplant.

This is definitely something to bring up at the upcoming checkup. You will learn that the transplant team loves questions so that they know what might be needed to help patient stay healthy and active. I always have a list, and most are pretty easily addressed by the NP before I even see the doctor.

As a side note, my PCP does not answer questions related to my transplant matters. He likes to tell me that I will have to "talk to the transplant people about that'. He is very good at monitoring everything else, and he is the one who first suspected that I had a liver problem. He referred me to the GI so I could get the correct diagnosis and treatment. He also works me into his appointment schedule right away if I have fever, or questionable symptoms. My friends tease me that am 'special' and get a Free Pass into the doctor's office while they have to wait for an opening:-)

@cmael @rosemarya @contentandwell we've noticed that my husband's hair has thinned since his surgery but he has said more than once that his nails seem stronger. I'll have to see if he wants to try biotin and maybe ask about it when we go for his check-up in a couple weeks.
JoDee

@rosemarya My bottle of biotin says "hair, skin, and nails" on it so I guess it helps with all three. I keep it on the kitchen table because it says to take it with food and when I remember to I do. My hair is pretty normal now but my nails are always weak.
JK