Has anyone had there liver transplant assessment done as an out patient; my Dr in London is trying to arrange for this to be done for me on Monday; just wondering what will be crammed into the one/two days.
Hope your all well and having a good Monday!
Chelle
Hi Chelle ..from what ive read ,,a proper good assessment takes 2/3 days and you stay in over night,,,i may be wrong chris1698 is a good chat ,,hes had a trans..okey dokey good to hear things are progressing ,,all the best Matt
Hubby had his assessment as an outpatient. The first Daly we went up and he had a vast arrange of tests. ECG ,heart echo, chest xray, lung function test and a abdominal ultrasound. They also took 12 vials of blood and test for everything possible almost.
Then we went up for 2 days about a month later. The first day was intense. We had a teaching session in the morning about the function of the liver,what a transplant entails from listing to the call to outpatients and care afterwards. Medication, history of transplants. That was interesting yet very scary. Had some lunch provided and then we saw a Heptologist, Anaethiatist and liver surgeon. They went through their roles in the operation and afterwards. With the surgeon Hubby had to sign a consent form for the operation. We started that day at 9:30am and got back to out hotel at 8pm.
Day 2 we saw the dietician and he saw the addiction specialist due to the cause of his liver disease. We also spend some time with the Transplant coordinator going through all our information and what support he will have at home. We then had a talk from the local support group of people that had had the operation.
We left physically and emotionally exhausted.
Hope that helps.
Xx
Hello Chelle,
Its a good sign that you are going for the assessment.
I suppose mine could have been done in two days - it actually took three. But as others have said its a completely exhausting time. More so depending on your current health.
the hardest parts for me was the lung function assessment. Its pretty hard work and takes a lot of concentration. You are in a sealed cabinet with a breathing tube in your mouth, you then several times have to completely fill and empty your lungs on cue.
As I also had diabetes I had to have stress echo-cardiogram. everybody has a an echo-cardiogram where the heart function is measured using an ultrasound probe. With the stress test I was on a treadmill until I felt close to being unable to carry on and was dizzy and ready to fall !
Sometimes the induced stress on the heart is not the treadmill but increased heart rate from the administration of a drug.
Some fear the arterial blood sample where the doctor has to dig quite deep into the artery, quite different to a normal blood sample. However, the doctor was brilliant and it was only very uncomfortable.
Cant complain really as there was a comfortable three nights in a hotel all paid for. Made a change from a hospital bed !
Another thing that could lessen the time is how many relevant tests you've had very recently, no point in duplication of assessments.
The only person I knew who had his assessments as an inpatient had it entirely ward based because he was having an hepatic encephalopathy episode.
All in all it was a very productive time and gave the opportunity to discuss my fears and share the reality of what is about to happen along with my relatives / close ones. I wish that like poppy 86 I had been able to meet those who had the transplant already. The quick tour of the ward felt a bit intrusive as they were just recovering.
Hope it all goes well for you and you are deemed fit enough to be listed.
Jim
Ha ha you know I love you all for being so honest.....but you have completely scared the crap out of me! lol.....So many people beat around the bush and try to make you feel better about situations - you lot...right there with the gods honest truth. I hope I don't get too tired I am working full time and haven't told my bosses anything.....I started a full time job a about 2 months ago....just past my probation now.....least it means I qualify for sick pay..... 
I had my assessment as an outpatient over two or three days and I can't recall any particular stress apart from the possibility of an overnight stay after an angiogram - not required as all was ok. My guess is that you are in reasonable health (other than the need for transplant, that is) and that you can take the strain of the procedures without spending a lot of time waiting in a bed.
There may be a need to talk to someone at work at some point in the near future, if only to alert them to the fact that you may disappear suddenly - if you are called for a transplant, that is.
Thanks for your response; I know what you mean telling someone at work.....my line manager who is also my friend is fully aware......just no one else nor the snr bosses are aware. Problem is unless you understand what's going on everyone treats you like an invalid; I still get up at 0530 every morning to do circuit training, I still run albeit not as far as it used to; I work 50 hours a week, work all over the UK (this week Edinburgh) the only signs I am not well are visible in my tablet box and my insides......
hiya hun. I had mine done over 2 days and stayed in the hotel in the hospital as its very early mornings and a fair bit to cram in.xx
I don't mind early starts and late finishes....just not ready to take too much time off work yet! X
I wrote about my time whilst on for assessment, I was an in patient, I guess I'm a little way from the hospital, plus they like to run tests when they can fit you in, the assessment is fine and by the sounds of your your staying fit which they will like, I did a 5k park run at the weekend and apart from aching legs and having a bit of a rest afterwards I'm ready for another, but work does get in the way. I know what you mean about work I told them everything but I'm still not sure it's really sunk in that one day I won't be back for 3 months! Whether you an in or outpatient get it done!
Hubby's assessment
Transplant assessment.
Transplant Assessment
First pre-assessment test
