Mom with 11 yr old son that had Kidney Transplant at 18 months old.

[Tulip00]

Hello, I’m new to this community so grateful to have found this. Wish it was around 10 yrs ago when we were dealing with my sons transplant…

Just looking for parents with children that may have gone through a transplant. My son is 11 now and just going through a huge change physically, emotionally, low self esteem around other kids, he struggled during Covid being home doing online schooling and being very secluded from people, we were very nervous about him getting sick. But now he’s back in school, he has gained weight and that dosnt help his self esteem. Looking for suggestions, we’ve tried many things. Also being on this steroid I know can make children gain weight or have emotion breakouts. Is it his age? Etc

Thanks for any support 😊

[Cap21_NKF Partner]

I recommend contacting the doctors at his transplant center or general practitioner. They will know if the steroid is best for you based on his new kidney and medical history.

[BearMama0321]

Hi! I can’t offer advice since we are earlier in our journey. My son is 2.5 and stage 3 CKD. Just wanted to send support; from what I hear, 11 is a tough age, period. More so with steroids and related weight gain and self esteem issues.

Agree with reaching out to his transplant team for insight and support. And a dietician may be able to help him manage the carb-heavy cravings from the steroids. It’s absolutely a legit side effect, as is moodiness/emotional swings… on top of typical puberty swings. Poor kiddo!

You’ll get through this and so will he; it’s incredible what he’s overcome already! Good luck.