__ORGAN DONATIONs SAVE LIVES___

prism

good to see things are progressing well for your pancreas TX.

though i was on the kidney/pancreas list when i received superbean in '07 the pancreas wasn't available then. i chose not to go back & get on the pancreas list for a few reasons. despite being diabetic since 7 yrs old, i'm one of the type 1's holding out for one of the newer experimental means toward a cure...just the direction i think best for me...

still i very much respect your decision to go through with a pancreas tx. i hope that you'll have smooth sailing through out it all without any bumps along the way. wish you the best of luck for a successful outcome...i'm excited for you, dude

any ideas for what you might name your new pancreas?

Bathgate66

Bathgate66

norm wrote:

new kidney...new pancreas...we'll just call you steve austin from now on

wheres jamie sommers?
the chick with the ear







glad to report after 7 and half months,
and with a new fully functional kidney.,
i am returning to my job this Friday morning, at 6am .

There have been only 34 Pancreas TXs @ Columbia -Presbyterian.

A new pancreas will work instantly.
If upon entering the operating room,
I had a hypothetical blood sugar ( glucose ) of 200 ,
by the time they wheel me out ,...
it could be down somewhere near 80 .

There has only been 1 failure
( there were extenuating circumstances here )
The main complication with the Pancreas TX overall is Thrombosis.
This would shut down and destroy the Pancreas,
and then they take it out .


I am about to become active on the Pancreas list,
alltho I have been accruing time
since i first went on dialysis and on the kidney list as well.
I will just be classifed as " active " on that list.
Columbia has also told me that there are only
like 1 or 2 people ahead of me right now*-
( * under my blood type ---"A" )

so a new Pancreas,
& life without diabetes,.. is not too far off, either.


I'll keep you all posted.

thanks everyone.




ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
You can be the difference.

JaneNY

Pancreas too! I had no idea. Congrats on getting back to work, and good luck with it all - hope to share many more years of Bruce fanboy/fangirlness with you!

Lizard

Bathgate66 wrote:

The doctors yesterday began the process of my Pancreas transplant next .
They assure me that this will cure my diabetes-
instantly . .
They told me that if I go into the OR with a blood sugar of 200,
by the time I come out , ( after a 7 hour surgery ) ,
it could be as low as 75-80 .

WOW!!!!!!!!!

that is soooo great!!!

Here's to your continued good health.

PureandEasy

God bless you Andrew, what a lot to go through, but how wonderful that it is even possible! And to completely cure your Diabetes is fantastic.

As always, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

and enjoy going back to work!

Bathgate66

thank you everybody.


life is good.

Poncier

You enjoyed the transplant procedure so much you decided to do it again!

Glad to see things are going so well with the kidney, best of luck with the pancreas.

Bathgate66

Poncier wrote:

You enjoyed the transplant procedure so much you decided to do it again!

Glad to see things are going so well with the kidney, best of luck with the pancreas.

the TX procedure, not so much,
the results?
absolutely !

again,...thanks everybody !

Tomorrow is WORK !

:thumbup:

Claireack

Yay!!!

Good luck for tomorrow!

Bathgate66

Hello everyone!
Just a quick update,
alot of people have been emailing/messaging me,
so i thought it prudent to post an update.

First , I returned back to work on October 14th.
They originally told me I'd be out about 3 months, turned out to be 7 .
Was a little rough at first,
but once I got back on my sleep schedule,
the job itself was like riding a bicycle.
I'm back in the groove , going strong.

I had to go back to Columbia this week for anothert ultreasound of my new Kidney.
They think that perhaps during the transfer during transplant,
the kidney may have suffered a little ischemia ( lack of blood )
so my new renal artery may have gotten " kinked" or " dented " ,
causing accelerated blood flow velocity coming out of the kidney .
As a result, this can actually affect kidney function as well as high blood pressure.
I may need to have some further surgical intervention,..balloons are pulled thru the artery, just to open it up and make it more lucent.(clear)

The most recent bloodwork showed good levels, ( creatinine is still at 1.5 )
so much of this speculation is purely preventive and prophylactic.

We have also began the process of Pancreas Transplant
( and a life without type 1 Diabetes) for the first time since I was age 5 !
I will be going soon for a Echo Stress test,
the first of many preliminary tests that need to be completed
before another Transplant. I'm guessing within a year ,
I will have a new pancreas.

We'll see how it all goes, & I'll keep you all posted.

Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement and positive reinforcement.
I really appreciate it all .

Peace !

Bathgate66

My kidney is doing fine. The creatine is steady at 1.5.
I've been back to work- fulltime-
since Oct 14 , 2011 .


I am now under the current active status on the Pancreas list.
For my blood type ( A ),
I am the very top of the list.
They can call me 24 / 7 now at this point.


More to follow.

Bathgate66

oh and for my Pancreas , I am NOT working thru UNOS.
My new Pancreas will come from a pool of local NYC area people.

When I say I am number 1 on the list,
it is not the UNOS list, it is the list for Columbia-Presbyterian.

I've had numerous inquiries about this so i thought it prudent to add this.

Bathgate66

UPDATE:

I had a Pancreas transplant, but unfortunately my body rejected the pancreas.
They gave me so much morphine based medicine that it threw me into what they call a
PEA ( pulseless electrical activity ) episode.(( aka electromechanical dissociation-- a cardiac event))

Needless to say I was re- hospitalized for almost 4 weeks, and I lost 30 lbs. ( mostly muscle mass )

I'm still on the list for a new Pancreas, but I have to do some deep soul searching to see if I will go thru all of this again.

I'm presently home trying to recuperate from all of this.
I appreciate all of the well wihes from everyone.

norm

damn andrew i'm sorry to hear that...hang in there and get better...we're here if you need us

PureandEasy

I was wondering why you haven't been around. I'm really sorry to hear this. I will continue to keep you in my thoughts.

I expect to see you in Philly when PJ comes back, hopefully in the fall.

Take care.

prism

i'm so sorry, andrew. i understand how much you wanted it. really wished it had worked out for you....

know what it's like to have your hopes up of receiving a new pancreas and things not turning out. although not to the extent of getting the pancreas transplant and it being unsuccessful...along with the pain & frustration of what you've been through

healing thoughts that you're feeling much better soon...



(sendng pm)

Claireack

So sorry to hear this. It was funny I was thinking that I hadn't seen you on fb for a while. I'd got quite fond of your trips to the supermarket etc.

I hope you recover physically quickly. Don't dismiss another transplant just yet, give it some time before you decide.

Anyway, sending you some positivie energy accross the sea.

Bathgate66

many thanks everyone. I appreciate it.
everyday gets a little bit better.
will keep you all posted also.

HollisBrown

Bathgate66 wrote:

UPDATE:

I had a Pancreas transplant, but unfortunately my body rejected the pancreas.
They gave me so much morphine based medicine that it threw me into what they call a
PEA ( pulseless electrical activity ) episode.(( aka electromechanical dissociation-- a cardiac event))

Needless to say I was re- hospitalized for almost 4 weeks, and I lost 30 lbs. ( mostly muscle mass )

I'm still on the list for a new Pancreas, but I have to do some deep soul searching to see if I will go thru all of this again.

I'm presently home trying to recuperate from all of this.
I appreciate all of the well wishes from everyone.

Bath,
Sorry to hear of your setback. I too am having my first rejection. After 11 months, my liver biopsy came back with rejection. I'm going to NYPH today for my second steroid infusion. If my condition and symptoms don't clear up, they'll need to go in surgically and redo my venacava and check to make sure everything else is still intact.
How 's the kidney doing? Hope that's fine.
I continue to think of you and hope things turn for the better, which I'm sure they will.
Best always,
ED