Post Transplant Fatigue

[Dawnejoy]

Hello, I had my liver transplant just over 6 years ago now and apart from an issue right at the beginning, I have been well. I’ve not even had covid! Recently though I’ve begun to feel very tired again, almost as if I’d never had the transplant at all. My question is, has anyone else experienced chronic fatigue post transplant?

[AyrshireK]

Get your GP to check bloods and if there is anything liver related going on then check in with your transplant team or whoever is monitoring you. Are you on annual t/p clinic visits still? Fatigue might not be liver related at all but you need to find out what's going on.

Katie

[Dawnejoy in reply to AyrshireK]

Hi Katie, thank you for your reply. I’ve not had a proper clinic appointment since covid. They’ve all been telephone appointments every six months. Bloods are done prior to this so that the clinic have them before my phone call. I’ve asked to be seen face to face sooner rather than later. I’m having bloods done tomorrow along with a urine sample as my kidneys arent great due to Tacrolimus. The fatigue isn’t constant. Some days I feel absolutely fine! Since my transplant, my kidneys have been more of an issue than my liver 😳

[Kristian]

I've recently felt the same too. I'm pretty active and relatively fit too, but I've been feeling a lot more fatigued in recent months also. My liver is fine but I'm definitely deficient in a few vitamins and minerals, so that may be the reason. Have a chat with your gp and see if they can give you the once over, apparently they can rin tests for fatigue and tiredness, but I haven't explored that yet.

Oh, and do raise it at your next clinic appointment too.

[Dawnejoy in reply to Kristian]

Hi Kristian, thank you for replying. I don’t think I’m deficient in anything other than Vitamin D and think that’s half the population! 😂 Chronic fatigue seems to be my only issue. Some days I can only manage to stay up for half an hour before crawling back to bed and then it’s rinse and repeat for the rest of the day! I just wondered if anyone else felt like this and what they managed to do about it, if anything. 😊

[LadyPomo]

Hi, fatigue is quite common, even long after transplant. As you know, medications can affect all sorts of body processes, so your fatigue may be something physical (you said your kidneys aren't doing that well) or something mental (lack of restful sleep).

Definitely check-in with your transplant clinic or usual doctor for labs, but also think about your mental health too. Depression is something to be aware of and can sneak up on you without you realizing, especially in this manky winter.

Otherwise, just keep up with doing what you can. A healthful diet with vitamins, some physical movement, nice hobbies and good sleep hygiene.

Hope you get to the bottom of your fatigue soon 💕

[Dawnejoy in reply to LadyPomo]

Hi LadyPomo, thank you for your reply. Depression is not something I have, but I had a horrendous experience whilst in ICU, absolutely horrific nightmares. That has had a profound effect on me, unfortunately. Will see what the results of my blood tests are and then wait for my appointment in clinic and discuss it with the team then. Hopefully the fatigue can be put down to the normal run of things post transplant. I’ll certainly feel happier once I’ve been to clinic.

[LadyPomo in reply to Dawnejoy]

Aww, that experience sounds horrid! I'm glad that my drugs caused amnesia in the ICU (except for the morning of transfer to the main ward 😭) I had enough PTSD as it was. I hope your bad dreams/memories lessen and you can get some peaceful sleep.

Hoping for positive results for you Dawnejoy, it's always best to get things checked out, rest up as much as you need to in the meantime 💕