No Buts Going To Be Bronchoscopy

Clinic day arrived and I got there early hoping to get home early, but to no avail :(

Since my last attendance last month my lungs hadn't massively improved. I had still been able to managed 150 lengths of the pool in the previous week , but I had found it harder to do.
I had also been told that my tacro levels (Anti-rejection) were still high at the last blood test and I had been unable to arrange another test so had left this till clinic!

Got the bloods done without too much trouble and the X ray looked okay, but it was my lung function that let me down it had gone down again.I knew that  this was not good and worried what was causing it.
When I saw the Doctor she felt the same and asked me to come into Harefield Hospital for a admission. I was booked for CT scan and  a Bronchoscopy the next day  I was disappointed but realized that I should find out what was causing this and get some treatment

I arrived back at Harefield with my wife and son at 2100 and was admitted into Fir Tree ward where I had waited for my transplant to go ahead. We talked about the parallels while we traveled, as it was a similar time of night when we were driving there the night of my transplant.My wife and son then left me quite quickly so they could get home

I could see that the process was worrying for both of them because rejection was one of the possible reasons for these problems to arise!! It bought up memories in all of us about how it was when I was ill.
Left on my own I started to consider what rejection would mean should it be found, although very treatable with present mediation it holds a great fear for all transplant recipients I decided to put these thoughts away till I needed to worry about such things.

Throughout the week I had been posting my support for my friend Kimberley Liane Kneil who's blog I follow  and who had been having a really hard admission after having a bug. I had joked that if my lung function was still poor I would join her. Prophetic words that proved correct, except she was on Rowan ward downstairs.I posted a message to her on FB and we arranged to meet up during my time on the ward.
I grabbed a couple of bags of crisps  to eat before I went Nill by mouth from midnight and settled down to watch a DVD to pass the time till my Bronchoscopy with some trepidation.
The Bronch and CT scan went well and it was all over by 11am but it left me worn out and sore. I hoped that I might get some results that day, but the Hospital had been busy and nothing came back that day.
I was able to visit Kimberley and spend a bit of time chatting with her:) She is about to celebrate one year transplanted in July and I remember hearing about her call and successful transplant while we were on holiday in Sussex last year.She has been having some problems with her Kidneys since her admission and i really hope that things improve very soon! I would urge you to read her Blog if you want to know more.

I spent the next day Looking out of my window to a great view

finally I got fed up and went for a walk to pass the time waiting for the results of the tests, eventually results turned up there was no evidence of rejection but they did find some inflammation and suspect acid reflux or viral infection.So I have been put on a couple of tablets and need to come back to clinic next week if things don't improve they will bronch me again and they want to repeat the impedance test I had done before to check if acid is coming up from my stomach to my lungs on 1st may what joy!! 

Never mind I am going home for the present so I am happy  :-)

Harefields for Test Results of Impedance Study

Tomorrow I am back at Harefields for the the results of a quite important test that I had done the last time I was at Clinic.This could result in me needing another operation if the results are not good,I am worried and have not been the best company the last couple of days as I have been preoccupied with the outcome.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook  may have heard about the test I had done but for those who don't I will explain about what I had done and why.
During my last stay in hospital I had several tests done including biopsy,CT and bronchcoscopy there were no abnormality found regarding infection or results from biopsy.The CT scan had indicated there may be a problem with my oesophagus closing off completely, and  there was a positive result for a test called oil red stain. This I was told could indicate that I was having gastric reflux and  the way to find out was a impedance study.

This sounded interesting what did it involve?
 I was asked to attend the respiratory function and I was fitted with a nasal gastric tube containing several sensors along its length, this was then fed into my nose down my throat and into the oesophagus  stopping short of the stomach this was then attached to a monitor box which I wore over my shoulder for the next 24hours I was told that I had to push buttons to indicate when I ate and when I slept and other buttons if I experienced any pain or discomfort lucky for me I didn't.
The whole process was irritating to say the least and I was aware of the tube for the whole 24 hours and I  tried  a sandwich just after it had been fitted  and after had a soft diet for the rest of the evening.Liquids were okay but taking my medication proved to be easier than I thought it would be.
By the end of 24 hours I was wanting to pull the tube out myself and I do admit that when it was finally time to removed it was bliss!
The League of Friends did good business as I stocked up on bacon and sausage rolls and cheese and ham toasted sandwiches that day before I went home.
  
Why would I have this done?
 It seems that sometimes people can suffer from reflux from the stomach and this can get into the lungs and cause damage, encourage rejection and infection.This has happened to another lung transplantee I know this problem has caused him a great deal of heartache including a need for radiation therapy to eliminated his immune system to deal with rejection problems. So I was aware of the issues that could occur if it was left, and I was happy to find out earlier rather than later.
I am hoping for a positive outcome  but if it turns out I have a problem it can be treated using a operation to wrap the stomach around the top of the oesophagus this is done using keyhole surgery and stops the reflux getting into the lungs.
I must admitted that the whole process is wearing me down and I long for the day when I will be able to take full advantage of my new lungs and see my lung function improve and continue to improve.
I have improved, but in the back of my mind I worry that things might go downhill again, I need to get better than this and hope that a solution can be found as to why I have not.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow watch this space for the next instalment!