More UCLA Appointments

*That is not me. I am not pregnant.

I just complete my video call with UCLA this morning. As expected, they want another appointment in 10 days due to the spike in my creatinine levels. Usually if the number increases by >20%, they want to figure out why, or see the number drop back down on the next test. In addition, the doctor wanted another ultrasound, this time of the arteries connecting the new kidney. Since this ultrasound is only available at the Westwood site, they cancelled my appointment tomorrow in Palos Verdes, and set up another one at 100 Medical Plaza for both scans. That means I have to drive to UCLA campus on a Friday afternoon. Ugh. The drive there will be fine, likely no more than 90 minutes, but the drive home at 3:00 pm will take over two hours for sure.

I just looked at my Google Calendar and there is a medical appointment almost every other day for the next two weeks. This reminds me of the bad ol’ days right after heart surgery when I had a ton of appointments plus 3 days of dialysis each week. At least there is no dialysis this time.

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The doctor was pretty puzzled by the sudden increase in my creatinine levels. She said since the donor match was so good, there is very little chance of an organ rejection. The additional ultrasound scan is to make sure the artery supplying blood to the new kidney is not blocked in any way. I read cases where the kidney moves and twists the artery, blocking blood flow. I also read that dehydration will likely increase the creatinine levels so I am going to drink a lot of water the next week prior to the lab test.