Will anyone share post transplant experience - Quality of Life?

After 18 weeks post liver transplant I'm doing well. I'm walking 2 miles ever morning and eat just about whatever I want now. Some foods are forbidden like you said but it's not too bad. There's going to be hiccups though. I've had a partial blocked artery and had to take eliquist(blood thinner) for 3 months. I just got 3 stints put into my bile duct to clear another blockage. I don't wear a mask because I don't think they even help but that's me. I do carry hand sanitizer though. Keeping up on changing meds hasn't been that bad. I bought a smart watch to monitor my health. Stay positive and know in time it'll get better because it has everyday for me. Stay active and drink plenty of water.

Hi Cooperfitz, I had a dual liver & kidney transplant 18 months ago, I'm 71 yrs old. I feel really good now & grateful for a second chance at life! My life is the same now as before I got sick. (besides having to get an ERCP for a stent changing in my common bile duct every 3 months due to scar tissue). But, it's a small price to pay to be alive! The first year was the hardest for me. I was very weak & fatigued but it got better & better as time went on. I just had to be patient & put trust in my doctors & my husband who took care of me. I was in a wheelchair, then walker & now I don't use them. I drive everywhere myself & do whatever I want. The part that was hard for me to get used to was all the medications, labs, & doctor appts, but that even improves with time. Having the pill schedule box really helps. No problem wearing a mask in public or not eating out for the first 3-6 months. You get used to it. The 18 months went by fast. I feel like I improved at 3 month intervals. Life will be good after your transplant! As my surgeon told me in ICU, you have to be strong! Good Luck & Best Wishes, Sandy

I had a double lung transplant in 2022. After transplant your diet is going to change. No more pomegranate, grapefruit, sushi, salad bars, buffet, or street food. You will need to eat your meat at least Medium Well. There are also other things that I am not able to eat since the surgery including bananas, plantains, and papaya. I have to watch how much watermelon and potatoes I eat due to potassium levels (side effect of one of the meds).
When you first come out of surgery, you will be on strong pain killers that they wean you off within the first week in my case. You need to get up and walk regardless of how much it hurts. Its better to get back moving and tell them that you need to be able to walk up stairs. If you don't they don't work on that with you. I have no issue with walking a few miles or flights of stairs for my lungs (the anemia is another issue).
As you said afterwards there are a lot of appointments and you get your meds figured out. Due to drug interactions, I take pills 6x a day. Use one of those pill sorters it really makes things easier to do the meds once a week. I have an alarm on my phone so that I remember to take my pills at that time. It also makes it easier to determine if you are getting all of your meds if you are hospitalized.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to reach out.

Hello,
I am six years kidney transplant and doing very well. I am on a low dose of cyclosporine and mycophenolate acid. I was a dance teacher and I still teach dance, work out, swim (oceans and pools), travel, eat out, enjoy pets and nature, and just got my 200 hour yoga certification last year.

I spend time with family, friends, and have a dance studio filled with kids. Small accommodations (6feet apart in groups) and I stay healthy for the most part. I rarely wear a mask but have one in purse in case I want it for a plane ride or some such thing.

I wear sunscreen and sun shirts, because skin cancer is always a risk.

After transplant, it took a while to feel better because of a large scar and getting meds to correct levels. It gets better.

I can also share the father of a friend, who was a runner, who then received a lung transplant, and continued running. He said, now he had the lungs of a thirty year old.

Hope this is helpful. It is a scary prospect, an organ transplant. But at the end of the day, a transplant is what you make it. It is a new life with new possibilities, and it’s daily meds and some restrictions.

Warmly,
Stephanie