Yesterday was my hospital visit. It perhaps seems extraordinary to record the minutiae of life for a blog but it started out as a means of expression but some aspects of it are useful for communication.
My appointment was a little later in the afternoon than usual so we expected to get caught in the rush hour although I didn’t need anything from the pharmacy which saved over an hour’s wait. Most of my blood counts were good except the haemoglobin which was low. I narrowly avoided a transfusion which would have meant coming back for another whole day. My blood group is changing from A positive to my donor’s group which is O positive and this change takes place between three to six months after the transplant.
I had extra blood tests taken to look at my levels of vitamins and folic acid. The nurse who did the tests explained that most transplant patients found eating difficult. This was because of feeling full or nauseous, lack of saliva and change in taste. I find I am never hungry and the little saliva I have is very thick so a lot of food seems very dry. Certainly my taste has changed and I find it difficult now to drink tea which formerly I really enjoyed. So I am not surprised at what the blood tests reveal but I am not sure what I can do about it. I certainly don’t want to lose any more weight; I was happy to lose the weight I put on in hospital because of fluid retention but now I would be happy to stay where I am. I may have to have vitamin supplements but I would like to sort out my appetite as it is hurtful when a meal is cooked for you and you can only eat a few mouthfuls.
I am impressed that everything is so closely monitored and I don’t think I would have had this level of involvement anywhere else.
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