My transplant evaluation

[Guest guest]

Hi, I'm back, I thought I'd write down what happened and what was talked about etc.

Now my evaluation was slightly different as normally I would still be in on the thursday while my case would be discussed and then would get the answer in the afternoon, but the full team isn't there today, so my case is going to be discussed NEXT thursday.

So on monday morning we trailed up to the Harefield Hospital. I was given a private room and have been assured that private rooms are the norm on a transplant ward. They immediately started a 24 hr urine collection, (I had to pee in a bed pan that was on the loo and tip it into the collection bottle, not as hard as it originallly looked, I didn't encounter any spillage). Then I had a 12 point ecg, and then attached to a 24hour 'tape'. They attach 3 wires to you, 2 on the lower part of the chest to the side and one on the upper chest and you are given a mini ecg machine, which is about the size of a blackberry. It has a clip so you can attach it to your waistband and forget about it. They took 15 tubes of blood and sent me down for my lfts. A doctor came and checked me out generally in the normal way that any doc will do on admission to a ward. A dedicated Tx Nurse took my medical history, occasionally asking unexpected questions where we determined that I do NOT suffer with erectile disfunction! Phew! I was given a patient information booklet, which is mine to keep, and lots of forms to fill in, including a psycological one. (It gives you a range of 'feelings' and gives you a scale on how often you might have those feelings). I was told to be nil-by-mouth from midnight so that I can have a fasting blood test in the morning.

Day 2 and I was woken at 6am so a nurse could take my fasting bloods and I didn't have to miss out on or wait for a cup of tea or breakfast, which I thought was quite nice (if anyone remembers my trial of NBM when I was waiting of my angio will know that I don't manage NBM all that well ) I had a CT scan, a bone scan and another scan that used dye (so I had a cannula inserted in the ward ready) All these scans were done in the same place and with the same machine so that I didn't have to move. The dye is weird, you get a very hot feeling, a very strange metallic taste in your mouth and finally a warmth around your groin that gives you the sensation of incontinence, but don't worry, it's only the sensation, you don't haven't actually wee'd. Also at some point they came and sprayed something under my tongue that is to dilate the blood vessals in the heart. They will take your heart rate before you go in and may decide to administer beta-blockers if they need to slow your heart rate down (if it's resting rate is above 70) in order to get a clearer picture. Once the 24 hour urine collection is over they then want a urine sample. I also went down for the 6 MWT.

Day 3 brought an echo, chest xray, arterial blood sample (finally, they'd tried the day before, but couldn't find any!). I spoke at length with a psycologist. She is sending me some information in the post that she thinks will be useful. Please remember to be honest when talking about anxiety issues. They EXPECT you have some anxiety in the run up to the tx and would be concerned if you weren't. I was visited by the ward doctors and the dedicated tx nurse all together where they discussed my results so far, they would tell you at this point if they had found anything that needed to be addressed. Finally I was visited by a tx consultant, who discussed everything else that was on his list, which was really making sure that I am aware of what I am in for.

At all times they were prepared to answer any questions, and no question was considered silly or unnecessary. I was given the times for any trips off the wards for tests. It felt quite relaxed. I thought I would be shunted around the hospital a lot more than I was, but I was given plenty of time to rest and relax. The only minor issue was that they told me everything that I was due to see, then some things were cancelled as they then decided that I didn't need that particular test, eg, I was told a dentist was coming to see me, but as i have regular check ups (every 6mths) it wasn't necessary.

I have asked for advice on how to help my daughter through all this and they are going to contact a post tx patient who was in a similar position to me with a young child, and ask if she is prepared to talk to me.

I received lots of encouragement for the weightloss so far, which was nice.

I have been told that so far everything looks good to proceed, although they didn't have all the results back yet. I will probably be looking at a double lung tx. I have antibodies which can make matching a donor a little more difficult, but apparently my frame (quite large for a girl) is in my favour. So it's swings and round abouts in the donor lottery. I will get the definite answer thursday evening.

I've left the hospital feeling a lot more confident about my decision and more motivated in general, which can only be good.

Love Ze xx