General
Is transplant a treatment or a condition
October 8, 2024
in General
I really think we need to see it as a chronic condition and try to live w the consequences while keeping our graft alive. To me, that simplifies for my brain, and I can live w the side effects and possible complications while being motivated to be adherent and thrive as much as I can, since I know it is life-long like diabetes..
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I agree! I really thought about this after you asked it at the patient conference. It's a condition while treating another condition.
Transplant Patient
If we see it as that / it needs to be seen as chronic and the metrics need to change from one year to longer!
Definitely agree it’s a condition not a cure, I have had side effects from my LTP and I am just 4years out.
Interesting thought! I see it as both. Treatment for Kidney Failure and condition, because of the complications of long term medication. 16 years out and still continually get surprised by new side effects. It seems that my doctors and Nephrologists do not have a lot of info on the long term complications from the medication. Been asking if there are any long term studies of the complications and they come up empty handed. Maybe viewing it also as a condition, more long term studies can be done and appropriate treatments for complications. Just a thought! Ron
Transplant Patient
I wonder if my perspective is heavily influenced by the fact I’ve always been sick, and had multiple conditions working together? I’ve only ever viewed transplant as chronic illness. I regularly use the terms chronically ill and disabled when referring to myself. Which thinking about transplant when I received mine, I did think of it as a treatment, but I never thought of it as a cure or something that would wave a magic wand and make it so I wasn’t chronically ill anymore.
I think it's a treatment that turns into a condition. It is a better treatment than dialysis, and since we know the alternative, we accept the side effects of transplant.
I know when I was diagnosed with lupus and knowing this all was going to be the rest of my life, I was devasted and knew I would be managing my health as a chronic illness in some way for the rest of my life.