How to Help Someone Recover From a Kidney Transplant

A kidney transplant can be a life-altering event, so if you are the caretaker of such an individual, you will need to know the steps to help someone recover from a kidney transplant in order to help that person properly heal and gain his or her life back. Care will involve many aspects of post-operative care, but it will eventually reduce in time and effort as you work to make that person independent once again.

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Steps

    1
    Keep your patient on all of his or her medications, exactly as prescribed.
        Make sure that all medication is taken in a timely manner.
        Do not let your patient take any other prescription or over-the-counter medication without consulting the doctor.
        Don't let your patient stop taking his or her medication without consulting the doctor first.
    2
    Ensure that all doctor appointments are kept.
    3
    Restrict your patient's lifting and strenuous activity for at least 6 to 8 weeks after his or her surgery. Restrict him or her from lifting 20 pounds or heavier for 2, if not 3 months. Nothing heavier than 40 pounds should be lifted for at least 4 to 6 months after the surgery.
    4
    Help your patient with a driving schedule for at least 6 weeks after his or her surgery. If you are unable to do all of the driving for the patient, arrange for other family and friends to assist with this task.
    5
    Work in and build up a daily exercise routine that will help with healing, overall health and mental well-being.
        Start with stretching exercises as advised by the doctor and add in walking.
        After the incision has healed, work your patient up to hiking, bicycling, jogging, tennis, swimming, golf and/or also aerobics.
    6
    Know the special considerations for female patients.
        Ensure that if you are working with a female patient that she does not become pregnant for at least 1 year following her surgery.
        Make sure that if the female that you are caring for does become pregnant, that she does not breastfeed because the immunosuppressive medication can pass through breast milk and be harmful to a baby.
        Female patients should also have annual pap smear tests because their immunosuppressive medication can increase their chance of certain types of cancer.
    7
    Consult the physician if your patient runs a fever of 100 degrees F or higher, if there are flu-like symptoms present, if there is new pain around the transplant site, if there is a sudden weight gain of more than 2 pounds in 24 hours or less, if there is any fluid retention and/or swelling, or if there is a significant decrease in the amount of urine output.

 Tips

    Make sure that rough contact sports are avoided after a kidney transplant as these can be of danger to the transplanted kidney. If there is any doubt, make sure that your patient consults his or her transplant doctor to sign off on the activity.