Biopsy next week

My kidney transplant appointment and possible biopsy have been moved from the 25th to the 18th. I'll most likely see the nephrologist in clinic, and then he will determine whether or not I need to stay in the hospital for the biopsy. My nurse called again today to tell me of the new date and to also tell me to come prepared to stay. I'm assuming that I will wait around in clinic for my labs to come back, and if they haven't improved, they will send me over to the hospital for at least an overnight stay. How long I stay will of course be determined by what the biopsy shows.

During the biopsy, they numb the area over the kidney, and insert a needle, like the one above, through the skin until they reach the kidney. They then take a small piece of the kidney to be sent to pathology for testing. They will test it for infections, rejection, medication toxicity, and probably other things I don't know about. I should know pretty quickly what it shows, but say if it's an infection, we might not know exactly what "bug" we are dealing with for a couple of days. My nurse does expect it to be prograf toxicity or rejection. I'm a tough case because of my lung transplant, and any increase or decrease in anti-rejection meds can affect my lungs, so they will have to work very closely with my lung team before making any changes to my medication.

My nausea is better today, so maybe my body is preparing itself for The Cheesecake Factory tomorrow. ☺