Patient Q & A Q: I would love to hear more about ways to boost your immune system...Ive heard good and bad about taking vitamin C supplements...I believe other than being compliant with meds, diet, dr appts and labs our only other worry after transplant was staying away from common bugs/illnesses. After transplant you cant take a lot of over the counter meds like a decongestant for example so we have always looked for ways to boost our immune system or at least keep everyone else in our home educated on avoiding these common bugs or illnesses so its not passed on to our son. These were my major worries after transplant other than rejection. A: As far as boosting your immune system, as long as you are not on a dialysis restricted diet, the best way to boost your immunity is a healthy diet filled with fresh vegetables and fruits. Not only fresh veggies and fruits, but also a great variety of them is very important. It almost sounds like a cliche, but those government health ads and the pyramid scheme are a culmination of our best knowledge and research to date. I have personally put together my diet notes (look for the very first Note created on this page) and try to follow them (without being overly restrictive). I prefer to add foods to my diet and allow unhealthy choices to fall by the wayside b/c Im already full on the healthy stuff as opposed to restrict myself from eating certain foods. And like you, I personally take 500 mg of vitamin C every day. I also take a garlic pill 3 times/week and an iron supplement 3 times/week (I used to suffer anemia, could be in part from being vegetarian, but I think I had it a lot as a younger girl as well. The supplement is minimal and completely eliminated my anemia!). Having good hygiene and healthy air to breath is another way to help ward off the viruses and bugs. Not every situation is under our control, but when you *can* avoid situations where you are sure to expose yourself - DO! If you see someone hacking away in the line at the grocery - take another line! My sister was months out of her transplant, but still attended my wedding, we just made sure all the guests knew that if they were even slightly ill, wed prefer they decline to allow my sis to attend. So one thing you should definitely add to your regimen - which goes for ALL organ transplant patients - is SUNSCREEN!!!! The anti-rejection meds have the adverse effect of increasing the production of cancer cells, which is why it is important to seek a close match and reduce the amount of transplant meds required as much as possible. The only cancer we have control over directly is skin cancer - your lifelong exposure to the sun and the damage it causes subdermally can come back to haunt us later on - so lather yourself in sunscreen - the days of baking in the sun are OVER! Bake with sunscreen if youre going to bake to limit those harmful rays - and yes, I still sound like a commercial, but its true! My sister has had about a dozen pre-cancer spots removed since her transplant and she is all about her sun protection now. Unfortunately - it is lifelong exposure, not JUST now (and she used to be a swim instructor and never wore sunscreen, ouch!). So do your kids a favor and be sure to lather that sunscreen on every couple hours if they are in the sun! I hope this helps! Ill post a link to the dietary notes in the comments for those that are curious :-)
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 01:43:44 +0000
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