Recent Kidney and Pancreas Recipient

[KPwarrior]

Hi! I'm 34 years old and had my KP transplant in November 2020. I'm having a difficult time with the emotional aspects post transplant plus the rapid weight gain! Looking for ideas and recommendations that ya'll are doing to keep healthy and maintain a healthy weight.

[Tahmed251]

The steroids are going to make you gain. You need to exercise more to keep off the weight. Try to stay positive always, be grateful for your transplant as many are still waiting for one. Try to go out more to get the vitamin d, transplant patients usually have low vitamin d. Good luck

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

This is a great time of year to be outside. I find that helps me a lot with my emotions. Prednisone is the culprit for being emotional and also the weight gain. I go for a walk everyday and it not only is good for me, but helps to keep my emotions in check. At first if you just walk around the block. After a few days walk a little more and before long you will be walking 30 minutes a day. It makes you feel better and after being inside due to COVID it's to see your neighbors, etc.Good luck/1

[Dara3351]

Congratulations on your transplant. I am two years past my transplant. I am 70! Your meds will change based on your labs. I was on prednisone for just a short time. I am on mycophenalate 750 mg twice a day and prograf .5 in the am and 1 mg in the evening along with my Vitamin D and magnesium along with the other meds I need. Eat sensibly and exercise. I was able to lose 30 lbs during Covid-19. Make sure to ask questions to your transplant team with any concerns you may have. The best thing I did was to hire a dietitian who helped me with my understanding of my labs and my diet. I even went plant based. Get involved in a hobby to take your mind off your emotions. I just took my second COVID-19 vaccine and had no side effects whatsoever. Enjoy your gift and don’t worry…

[gratefultobehere]

As someone who is post-transplant over 20 years and who has worked with many transplant recipients over the years as a psychologist, I can tell you that aside from the expected emotional issues of weight gain, anxiety and depression, transplant experiences can activate long-held emotional issues from earlier in life. For instance, feeling anxious about being more vulnerable to illnesses like COVID, can activate childhood experiences of feeling unsafe or vulnerable. Even weight gain can touch on early life experiences, even some we thought we'd overcome. For me, having gotten over the fears of being fat when I overcame the eating disorder of my early adulthood, I was surprised to find body image issues resurface decades later when I had my transplant and gained some weight. If you think that some of the emotional issues you are experiencing may be related to early life experiences, by all means look for a good therapist to help you through this. You will wind up happier and healthier,

[Hidden]

Hi KPwarrior I cant help you but perhaps we could help each other I had a transplant in january and am to finding it difficult with anxiety Ive gone the other way and lost to much weight im new on here and Ive had some lovely messages hope this helps