Re: BMI and transplant questions (Tom Fenton?)

[Guest guest]

Hi Alison. I don't know how BMI may or may not affect transplant. My husband is

VERY thin

so that's not an issue with him....it IS however with me. I'm a stress eater!

Anyway, what I

would say is that eating healthy and exercising may make him feel better and

make his

symptoms easier to manage. And also, I do know that most doctors want their

patients to be

in the best health possible BEFORE transplant so that they respond better

afterwards. They

want my hubby to exercise. The only problem with that is, he's been so sick

these last 2

months, he's doing good just to be able to go to work. Is your husband being

seen at a

transplant center? If so, I would ask his doctors about it. I don't know what

stage of PSC your

husband is in but we are at the transplant phase. My hubby is in the process of

getting all of

the necessary testing done in order to be listed. Hopefully he'll be listed by

early to mid

March. Fortunately our transplant center has a relatively short waiting list. If

you ever need

another wife to talk to who's in the trenches, feel free to email me. Hang in

there-it's a

bumpy ride! When we say " for better or worse " and " in sickness and in health " in

our wedding

vows, this is part of the worse and sickness. I just keep holding out for the

better and health!

[Guest guest]

>

> In a previous post, Tom Fenton mentioned that he was denied a

> transplant for various reasons, including BMI. I've done a little

> research on the Internet, and I'm getting mixed results: some

> articles report that BMI has no effect on transplant success, and

> other articles discuss the need for physicians to choose transplant

> recipients carefully, since BMI may cause complications after the

> surgery. Has anyone out there had a personal experience with this

> issue? My husband has a high BMI, and I'm worrying...

==========================

Well, I'm not sure whether my experience will be of help here, but

I'll toss it out anyway!

When we were finally given my PSC diagnosis in 2001, we struggled,

thought, and prayed and decided NOT to opt for a transplant (many

reasons ... intolerance to anesthesia being a big part of it). We've

been at absolute peace with this decision for all this time since.

I'm under the regular (and very excellent!) care of a

gastroenterologist. Several months ago, when we had our first appt.

with the hepatologist, I mentioned that I was not going for a

transplant and he responded, " Well of course not, with your weight! "

And that was that, so far as he was concerned! Rather startled us but

made us all the more thankful that we had come to the decision we had.

Yes, I am extremely overweight and my BMI is way up there.

So, yes, apparently BMI is indeed a pretty big sticking point when it

comes to transplant.

Regards,

Carolyn B. in SC