losing weight to become a kidney donor

avocado_toast
avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there!

In 2013 I tested for kidney donation and came pretty close to donating but my glucose intolerance level was borderline pre-diabetic and I was gutted. Fast forward to 2015 and I'm 20lbs lighter and in the process of retesting. So far things are looking pretty good, passed my 2 hour fasting glucose test with no issue :) so... only about 10 more tests to go! I'm looking for friends who will add to my motivation to continue to log here and also enjoy working out (running, hiking, cardio, lifting) to possibly trade tips about fitness and nutrition. I'm still really green and need some guidance. Thanks in advance!!
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Replies

  • crazyjerseygirl
    crazyjerseygirl Posts: 1,252 Member
    There was someone else in here who did the same thing! I'll see if I can hunt her down.
  • phill_143
    phill_143 Posts: 64 Member
    What an amazing thing to do! All the best with your journey :)

    Out of interest, are you donating to a relation, or a stranger?
    Either way, I can imagine that's a very powerful motivation.

    This tool is really good for staying on track - and the 'sticky' posts at the top have some tips for making best use of it.
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    crazyjerseygirl wrote: »
    There was someone else in here who did the same thing! I'll see if I can hunt her down.

    thank you so much that would be amazing!
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    phill_143 wrote: »
    What an amazing thing to do! All the best with your journey :)

    Out of interest, are you donating to a relation, or a stranger?
    Either way, I can imagine that's a very powerful motivation.

    This tool is really good for staying on track - and the 'sticky' posts at the top have some tips for making best use of it.

    thanks for the advice :) yes, i'm trying to donate to a relation and it's totally a strong motivation to lose the extra chub.

  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Wow, that is really awesome of you!
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    I just want to applaud you for such a selfless act. It is truly an amazing gift you are giving to someone whether a relative or not.
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    segacs wrote: »
    Wow, that is really awesome of you!

    thank you! fingers crossed everything goes as planned and i can donate <3

  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    I just want to applaud you for such a selfless act. It is truly an amazing gift you are giving to someone whether a relative or not.

    thank you! i really hope that i can because it's hard to watch anyone's health decline especially, someone you love.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    You are AWESOME!!!! :smiley:
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    That's a really great thing to do for someone you love...

    That said, I hope you know that it's VERY hard on just one kidney to have children... For your health, and the baby's. Just something to make sure you consider thoughtfully if you ever have even thoughts of being pregnant.

    Good luck!
  • katalinax87
    katalinax87 Posts: 146 Member
    That's really inspirational. I donate blood and am on the list for bone marrow but this is a whole new level!
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    edited April 2015
    hey! that's me who just did that. took forever in the testing phase...they kept wanting to re-do the tests. I had and still have a fairly high fasting blood sugar, but still at the top of the normal range so I guess they decided that was good enough. I'm down by around 170 - 175 pounds depending on the day. I lost most of it in about a 6 month period which apparently threw all kinds of things out of wack. It all settled though. Just donated at the beginning of January. If you have any questions about the surgery and all that jazz, just let me know
  • Lady_Grell
    Lady_Grell Posts: 103 Member
    That is wonderful. I am a kidney recipient. I couldn't find a donor, so I had to wait 4 years for a cadaver kidney. It's so wonderful that there are people like you.
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    Yeah its a long wait for cadaver parts. Apparently in Canada when we donate anything we go straight to the top of the list if we ever need any spare parts later, whatever they may be. Good for some folks i suppose. I wouldn't be able to accept anything, though. I couldn't afford the anti rejection medication it would require, so why waste the bits when someone else can use it and can afford the necessary maintenance. Lol
  • _incogNEATo_
    _incogNEATo_ Posts: 4,537 Member
    you're awesome!
  • mom2nicknat
    mom2nicknat Posts: 56 Member
    Just want to say thank you! My husband's life was saved due to a living kidney donor. I love seeing people who are willing to do this for someone else and their families.
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    p.s....are you looking to do this for a specific individual? or as an anonymous donor?
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    edited April 2015
    meganjcallaghan wrote: »
    hey! that's me who just did that. took forever in the testing phase...they kept wanting to re-do the tests. I had and still have a fairly high fasting blood sugar, but still at the top of the normal range so I guess they decided that was good enough. I'm down by around 170 - 175 pounds depending on the day. I lost most of it in about a 6 month period which apparently threw all kinds of things out of wack. It all settled though. Just donated at the beginning of January. If you have any questions about the surgery and all that jazz, just let me know

    Yep. Even on the day of the surgery they will redo some of the tests just to be SURE.

    My father donated to my mother a couple of years ago. He had to go through even more tests than usual because he was over 70 at the time, which is typically not allowed. Both are doing amazingly well and had minimal complications.

    The whole experience was incredibly positive for my family. Feel free to add me and to ask questions if you need information from the caregiver's perspective.
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    You are AWESOME!!!! :smiley:

    Thank you!

  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    That's a really great thing to do for someone you love...

    That said, I hope you know that it's VERY hard on just one kidney to have children... For your health, and the baby's. Just something to make sure you consider thoughtfully if you ever have even thoughts of being pregnant.

    Good luck!

    Really? That was one of my concerns about donation but I've asked my nephrologist and she said it would be fine. Do you know of any literature on this I could possibly read beforehand?
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    katalinax87 wrote: »
    That's really inspirational. I donate blood and am on the list for bone marrow but this is a whole new level!

    That's amazing that you donate these things and just as awesome, not many people want to donate even that much :)
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    meganjcallaghan wrote: »
    hey! that's me who just did that. took forever in the testing phase...they kept wanting to re-do the tests. I had and still have a fairly high fasting blood sugar, but still at the top of the normal range so I guess they decided that was good enough. I'm down by around 170 - 175 pounds depending on the day. I lost most of it in about a 6 month period which apparently threw all kinds of things out of wack. It all settled though. Just donated at the beginning of January. If you have any questions about the surgery and all that jazz, just let me know

    yay! girly I'll be contacting you soon :) and losing that much weight is just so wonderful especially since you were doing it for such a selfless reason. First time around I went through all the tests and everything came back gravy except for my glucose intolerance which was horrible since I could have donated otherwise. But in retrospect I'm a lot healthier for the rejection so maybe everything is a blessing in disguise.
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    _incogNEATo_ wrote: »
    you're awesome!

    Thank you!
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    Lady_Grell wrote: »
    That is wonderful. I am a kidney recipient. I couldn't find a donor, so I had to wait 4 years for a cadaver kidney. It's so wonderful that there are people like you.

    I'm so happy you got a kidney, it's crazy how difficult it is to receive one. They said the wait for B+ blood type is typically 10-12 years.
  • avocado_toast
    avocado_toast Posts: 12 Member
    mom2nicknat wrote: »
    Just want to say thank you! My husband's life was saved due to a living kidney donor. I love seeing people who are willing to do this for someone else and their families.

    That's so wonderful that someone donated to your husband :)
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    You are really, really amazing!
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    avocado_toast wrote: »
    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    That's a really great thing to do for someone you love...

    That said, I hope you know that it's VERY hard on just one kidney to have children... For your health, and the baby's. Just something to make sure you consider thoughtfully if you ever have even thoughts of being pregnant.

    Good luck!

    Really? That was one of my concerns about donation but I've asked my nephrologist and she said it would be fine. Do you know of any literature on this I could possibly read beforehand?

    I've seen a number of articles that suggest the right kidney has a harder time with pregnancy than the left for some reason (more likely to get kidney stones in that kidney etc) and unfortunately because anatomically speaking, removing the left is easiest that's the one you'll be left with. So if it's already more difficult for the right kidney, it would stand to reason that having that be the one taking the entire workload during pregnancy would be harder on it. Also, if you're already predisposed to diabetes/higher blood sugar, you could be more likely to end up with gestational diabetes. If you manage it well and it goes away afterwards, probably not a HUGE deal, but that does also hurt the kidney. I've heard that the older you get, the more likely gestational diabetes is to turn into type II stick around stick around for good. Considering I'm already 34 and have no fella currently, therefore I would be at least a few years older before I even got around to having a kid (which for age alone would make mine a "high risk" pregnancy), I probably won't have a kid just because it's not particularly safe. Also, apparently there's a higher risk of pre-eclampsia for those who did not have children prior to the donation (less likely for those who did have children before). On the flip side, my dad was told it was a good thing I hadn't had children because younger females who have never been pregnant are usually the best matches for donation.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    meganjcallaghan wrote: »
    avocado_toast wrote: »
    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    That's a really great thing to do for someone you love...

    That said, I hope you know that it's VERY hard on just one kidney to have children... For your health, and the baby's. Just something to make sure you consider thoughtfully if you ever have even thoughts of being pregnant.

    Good luck!

    Really? That was one of my concerns about donation but I've asked my nephrologist and she said it would be fine. Do you know of any literature on this I could possibly read beforehand?

    I've seen a number of articles that suggest the right kidney has a harder time with pregnancy than the left for some reason (more likely to get kidney stones in that kidney etc) and unfortunately because anatomically speaking, removing the left is easiest that's the one you'll be left with. So if it's already more difficult for the right kidney, it would stand to reason that having that be the one taking the entire workload during pregnancy would be harder on it. Also, if you're already predisposed to diabetes/higher blood sugar, you could be more likely to end up with gestational diabetes. If you manage it well and it goes away afterwards, probably not a HUGE deal, but that does also hurt the kidney. I've heard that the older you get, the more likely gestational diabetes is to turn into type II stick around stick around for good. Considering I'm already 34 and have no fella currently, therefore I would be at least a few years older before I even got around to having a kid (which for age alone would make mine a "high risk" pregnancy), I probably won't have a kid just because it's not particularly safe. Also, apparently there's a higher risk of pre-eclampsia for those who did not have children prior to the donation (less likely for those who did have children before). On the flip side, my dad was told it was a good thing I hadn't had children because younger females who have never been pregnant are usually the best matches for donation.

    That's because you have developed fewer antibodies than a woman who has been pregnant would have.
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    exactly. and luckily for him we were matched so well, genetically speaking, that he doesn't have to take as many anti rejection drugs. apparently the transplant pharmacist told him it was unusual for a parent/child to match as well as we did, considering I'm supposed to be half made up of whatever my mom gave me as well. It would be more common for siblings to be as good a match because there's a better chance of them coming up with a similar "genetic soup" from both parents. Anyway, good deal for him.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    meganjcallaghan wrote: »
    exactly. and luckily for him we were matched so well, genetically speaking, that he doesn't have to take as many anti rejection drugs. apparently the transplant pharmacist told him it was unusual for a parent/child to match as well as we did, considering I'm supposed to be half made up of whatever my mom gave me as well. It would be more common for siblings to be as good a match because there's a better chance of them coming up with a similar "genetic soup" from both parents. Anyway, good deal for him.

    That's great!

    My parents matched each other on 4/5 markers...the likelihood of that is ridiculously low. They are not related to each other--none of the same ancestors, not in the last 500 years at least.
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