It will be important to pay attention to your body and know the possible post-transplant problems that can happen. If you think you are having any of these problems, tell your transplant coordinator (or local kidney doctor if you are no longer visiting your transplant center).
Rejection
Rejection is when your body tries to attack your new kidney because it recognizes the kidney as someone else’s. You will take immunosuppressants to dampen your immune system so that your body does not recognize that your new kidney is from someone else.
Rejection can make your new kidney not work well or stop working. There are no specific symptoms of rejection and typically you will not feel anything. However, these signs and symptoms have been associated with severe rejection:
- Chills
- Body aches
- Nausea
- Cough
- Fever
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling from fluid buildup (when part of your body swells because there is a buildup of fluids there)
- Weight gain
- Increased creatinine level. If your creatinine level goes up after a kidney transplant, your transplant team may do more tests, including a kidney biopsy, to make sure your transplanted kidney is healthy.
Infection
The same medicines that lower the chance of rejection unfortunately also raise your chance of infection. Infection is one of the most common problems after a transplant.
Signs and symptoms of an infection include:
- Fever (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above)
- Chills
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Shortness of breath
- Cough
- Coughing up thick mucus
- Difficulty or discomfort with urinating
- Skin rash
- Unexplained pain
Delayed organ function
This is when your new kidney takes a few days to weeks to ‘wake up’ and start working on its own. During this time, you may need to be on dialysis until the new kidney starts working on its own.
Wound infection
Your incision (the cut the surgeon made for the transplant surgery) may not be fully healed when you go home. It is important to follow the instructions for how to care for this wound that you got when leaving the hospital.
Look at your incision daily. Contact your transplant center right away if you notice redness, swelling, more pain, or leaking fluid from the wound. Do not bathe or go swimming until your incision has fully healed because this can introduce bacteria into your incision.
Dehydration
It is important to stay hydrated after your transplant. One of the best ways to stay hydrated is to drink plenty of water. Signs and symptoms of dehydration include:
- Feeling thirsty
- Dry mouth
- Dry skin
- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
- Urinating less than usual
- Headache
- Weight loss
Tell your transplant center as soon as possible if you have these symptoms.
Diabetes
Some of the medicines that you will be on after your transplant can raise your chance of diabetes. Diabetes is when your body is not making enough insulin to control your blood sugar levels, allowing glucose (a simple sugar that is the body’s main source of energy) to build up in your blood.
Signs and symptoms of diabetes include:
- Feeling tired
- Feeling very thirsty
- Weight loss
- Urinating more often than usual
- Blurred vision
- Confusion
Tell your transplant team if you have these symptoms.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure after your transplant can be caused by many things, including:
- Your transplant medicines
- Changes in how your kidney is working
- Having too much salt in your diet
High blood pressure often doesn’t cause symptoms, so you should check your blood pressure at least once a week with a home blood pressure monitor. If your home blood pressure readings are consistently high (top number is more than 130 and bottom number is more than 80), make sure to tell your transplant doctors.
Cancer
Transplant recipients have a higher chance of certain types of cancers, such as lymphoma, skin cancer, and cervical cancer. Because of this, you should continue to get age-appropriate cancer screenings, as recommended by the CDC, after your transplant. To learn what cancer screenings the CDC recommends, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/prevention/screening.html
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer. Signs and symptoms of lymphoma include:
- Fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Fevers
- Night sweats
- Swollen lymph nodes
Tell your transplant doctors if you have these symptoms.
Skin cancer
Signs of a possible skin cancer include:
- New lesions or moles on your skin
- Changes in the size or shape of a mole, or if it is bleeding
See your dermatologist at least once a year for skin checks.
Cervical cancer
There are often no symptoms of cervical cancer and it’s often found through pap smears. Female transplant recipients should see their gynecologist annually to get screened for cervical cancer.
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