21 days post transplant

[Jugular1]

Dad was discharged yesterday and it’s been a pretty emotional 24 hours, hes been quite emotional, tired and also he said he’s having flashbacks of things that have happened over the 3 weeks in hospital, he says he’s got a headache when he wakes, he’s also fearful of nobody being near, mim was pegging the washing out and he thought she had left him in on his own so got really anxious over it, does this ring any bells ?

[Yellowsydney]

Hi, transplant is a very emotional thing, 3 years post I still remember every single thing that happened. All the medication messes with your mind as well, I was having hallucinations in hospital. I also imagine he wasn't allowed visitors too often at the moment and that is possibly why he is clinging to your mum and in hospital there is always a nurse at the end of a buzzer. Let him talk, I'm sure it will get better, make sure it is mentioned at follow up clinic.

good luck it's still very early days

Hilary

[Lam1e]

That is really good news! He has done amazingly well👍 It is a very traumatic time in hospital and you do become a bit institutionalised! It is very strange waking in your own bed and with the drugs and medication I’m not surprised he’s felt vulnerable.

It’s still very early days and little things mean a lot🙏

Stay well and safe

[Richard-Allen]

One of the often-overlooked aspects of having a liver transplant is the impact it can have upon a person's mental health.

Some people can leave the hospital ward suffering from a condition known as “Survivor’s Guilt”, while others can suffer from a condition similar to PTSD.

After I had my transplant I suffered from survivors guilt for almost 10 months. Many other people have no mental issues at all.

I went in search of answers.

I believe that when the body is being operated on. That very first cut of the surgeon’s scalpel could very well cause the immune system to produce a response. Here inflammatory cells are released in the form of Cytokines and Marcrophage into the body. It is now known that Cytokines can cross the blood-brain barrier and alter the way a person thinks and feels. So it is the operation that can cause this change in our emotional state of mind.

Once I found this answer, my guilt lifted as I understood that it was a bodily response and that the change in my feelings and emotions were being caused by a response from my immune system, and not through any fault of my own.

Prof Ed Bullmore has produced a short video to accompany his book, “The Inflammed Mind” here he explains how the body responds to a physical insult like and operation: youtu.be/iw7b0-yTnT0(Not working as expected?)

Understanding this helped me, so I hope it will be of help to others.

Best wishes

Richard