Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Symptoms And Signs Of A Rejected Kidney Transplant

The Kidney Transplant procedure is definitely a very expensive procedure and the truth is that not everyone can afford it. However, if you have already gone through one such procedure, but you're not sure about whether the transplant is going to make you feel better, then you should know that there are certain signs that will tell you if your transplant was successful or not. With that in mind, below we are going to take a closer look at them.

Feelings of Illness

In general when a donated organ is rejected, it will be caused by an immune response so this means you are going to experience flu like symptoms in the process. If you have a fever of over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, experience vomiting, feel nauseous, dizzy, have headaches, chills and fatigue, then there are great chances your body is rejecting the newly donated kidney. If this is the case, then you will have to get in touch with your surgeon right away to talk about some of the things you can do in this situation.

Pain

Kidney transplants are considered a major surgery and tenderness accompanied by pain are going to be normal right after your operation is over and during the recovery time as well. However, you need to be very careful and monitor the incision site and the pain you're experiencing. If the pain lasts for months or if it returns a few months after the initial surgery, then there is a high chance that your kidney is rejected by your system.

Kidney-Related Symptoms

If the newly transplanted kidney is rejected by your body, it will be unable to function properly and that is when you'll experience symptoms of kidney failure. This means that the kidney cannot perform its excretory function and your body will start retaining fluid. As a result, you will experience swelling in the extremities and weight gain. If your weight increases by two to four pounds in just twenty four hours, then this is a clear sign that your body has rejected the new kidney. On top of that, you should also pay great attention to your urine output, which will generally decrease. And if the fluid builds up in your lungs, you can also experience shortness of breath.

While in terms of complexity a kidney transplant is almost similar to a liver transplant surgery, you will have various symptoms in each case if your body rejects the donated organ, so be sure you're fully aware of them so that you can take timely action.