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For those who have had transplants, I am just curious about what anti-rejection drugs you are taking after what period of time after transplant. (20 yrs.) had her transplant almost a year ago and is still on Prograf 5 mg. two times a day and Cellcept 1000 mg. two times a day. Thanks in advance for your input. Ruth

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Ruth,

Eight years after receiving a transplant I take 3 mg Prograf twice a

day and 1000 mg Cellcept twice a day. The 12 hour trough level of

tacrolimus (Prograf) is more important than the dose. My trough level

is about 4 because I take rifampin, which speeds up metabolism of

Prograf. When my levels were high, in the year after tx, I took 6 mg

twice a day to keep levels at 12 to 14. (Causing noticable side

effects of tremor and head aches, but did keep rejection at bay).

Tim R

>

> For those who have had transplants, I am just curious about what

> anti-rejection drugs you are taking after what period of time after

transplant.

> (20 yrs.) had her transplant almost a year ago and is still on

Prograf 5

> mg. two times a day and Cellcept 1000 mg. two times a day. Thanks

in advance

> for your input. Ruth

>

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My son (8 yrs old) is post DOUBLE LUNG tx (2/26/06), so I'm sure his isn't the situation you're wondering about, but he's on Prograf (4mg x2), Cellcept (500mg x2), and Prednisone (6mg x2). Also Bactrim (60mg x2 MWF). His other meds include Protonix (20mg x2), Zelnorm (2mg x3), Ursodiol (500mg x1, 250mg x1), Iron (60mg x2), Levothyroxine (175mcg x1), Folic Acid (400mcg x1), DDAVP Injection (.1mcg x1, .2mcg x1), Lantus Injection (7.5units x1), Novolog (varies x4), Other Insulin (5units x1), Epogen (.25ml x1 MWF). We've also got Ativan as needed along with Zofran and Miralax. AmiGitaneB@... wrote: For those who

have had transplants, I am just curious about what anti-rejection drugs you are taking after what period of time after transplant. (20 yrs.) had her transplant almost a year ago and is still on Prograf 5 mg. two times a day and Cellcept 1000 mg. two times a day. Thanks in advance for your input. Ruth

Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.

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Ruth:

On Wed. I'll be 9 mths post transp. I am currently taking 4 mg

Tacrolimus 2x daily and 75 mg Imuran 1x daily.

Everybody's system holds the drugs in their system differently so you

will see different levels for most of us.

Debbi B.

>

> For those who have had transplants, I am just curious about what

> anti-rejection drugs you are taking after what period of time after

transplant. >

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Todd is 2 years post transplant is currently on 2mg Prograf twice a

day.

Joanne (mom of Todd)

GitaneB@ wrote:

For those who have had transplants, I am just curious about what

anti-rejection drugs you are taking after what period of time after

transplant. >

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One comment about Prograf, if I may –

although Jim’s personal set of post-tx circumstances (esp. multiple skin

cancers) leaves me, his appointed medical advocate, passionately holding to the

personal opinion that reduction of post-tx immunosuppression should always,

always, always be at the forefront of the mind…

…Prograf dosage, if I’m not

mistaken, is actually set by one’s own labs, i.e., by how the transplantee

metabolizes this Rx.  I fight this fight with “some” of Jim’s

doctors alllllllllllllllllllll the time, and they loathe it.  Me?  Since Jim unfortunately

doesn’t see Dr, Starzl (who would adore me!), or any other specialist at

the totally right-on Starzl Institute, hey, I do what I gotta do. 

As I said, I grapple with this topic, not

with Jim’s dermatologist, nor his oncologist, mind you, but DEFINITELY

the doctors up at his transplant center (USC in Los Angeles), who seem to

collectively embrace a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”

ideology with respect to Jim’s consistently great labs, and not daring to

step outside that box to tinker with his meds.       

With one exception: there once was a

hepatologist running clinic, and it happened to be the first time we’d

ever seen him.  Turns out his mother had just died from melanoma.  That was the

EASIEST “say, doctor, could we please talk for a second about the

possibility of lessening Jim’s Prograf dose?” conversation I’ve

EVER initiated up there.

But while every transplantee needs to be

especially mindful of the sun, not every transplantee is going to jiffy-pop

skin cancers like Jim.  So, for the most

part, comparing one transplantee’s Prograf dose to another transplantee’s

dose, that’s not apples to apples, it’s a Fuji

apple to a Valencia

orange, and not necessarily appropriate to the bigger picture (i.e., the

transplantee’s lab results, which are the 1st indication of organ

rejection).

Furthermore, comparing the entirety of one’s

post-tx regimin to another is hard, too, in that this can be quite different

from transplant center to transplant center.

Anyhoo, that’s our story, and we’re

sticking to it.

Often times with medical matters, we’re

unfortunately faced with determining the greater and lesser evil.  It’s a

delicate-balance thing, judging these King , sometimes-impossible medical

decisions (not just “dare we lessen immunosuppression and risk organ

rejection,” but… “is now the time to transplant?”

& /or “should we opt for living donorship, or hang in there and await

cadaveric?”  The last 2 are vitally important, as it’s truly naïveté

at its best to think a transplant will actually “fix” you.  Consider

all those transplanted for hepatitis: one report maintains the virus can actually

replicate at a t-r-e-m-e-n-d-o-u-s rate post-tx, doubling every 2 days.  And

yet, sooooo many get txd for hepatitis, when, for so many of those recipients,

their virus will return, and soon.  Sooooo much of the critical cadaveric liver

shortage would be eased if medical science was able to CURE hepatitis, since

this takes such a big piece of the available organ pie (i.e., compared to tx

reasons like PSC and PBC). 

For the transplantee who is able to

surgically thwart the grim reaper’s first attempt, (s)he must never grow too

complacently comfy, because cancer will a-l-w-a-y-s try to be the trump card

(because of immunosuppression).  That being said, Jim may not have been laying comatose

in an ICU bed (as we were told he likely would be before an organ would ever become

available to him, in his blood type group, on his then-waitlist, in our San Diego

county neck of the woods), but he nevertheless was indeed essentially dying

before our very eyes, before our son gave his gift on 12/7/01, and now Jim’s

ALIVE and, relatively speaking, doing superbly well, knock on wood, all things

considered.  Jim would love to embrace comfy denial, but me?  Complacent? 

Nahhh…. I just made sure Jim dodged yet another skin cancer bullet, just

2 weeks ago.  But life remains good, with grandson number 2 expected in just 3

months’ time.     

Maureen (wife of Jim, blah blah, gotta

dash out the door, sorry!!!  What, you were expecting the super long tag line? 

LOL!!!)   

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of jsgrieme

Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006

10:41 AM; To:

Subject: Re:

Transplant Drugs

Todd is 2 years post transplant is currently on 2mg Prograf twice a

day.

Joanne (mom of Todd)

GitaneB@ wrote:

For those who have had transplants, I am

just curious about what

anti-rejection drugs you are taking after what

period of time after

transplant. >

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I'm coming up on 5 years post-tx and I'm taking 2 mg Prograf, 5 mg

prednisone, and 75 mg 6-MP (Purinethol). The 6-MP is actually more to

deal with Crohn's than the liver, however.

Rich in KC

Crohn's, cryptogenic cirrhosis, 2 liver txs 5/2001

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