Can You Get A Kidney Transplant If You Have Lupus

Selena Gomez Shows Kidney Transplant Scars In Powerful Instagram Photo

25 September 2020, 11:34

Selena Gomez had a life-saving kidney transplant in 2017 due to her lupus.

Selena Gomez has opened up about her kidney transplant, her scars and her insecurities in a powerful, new Instagram post.

Fans of Selena Gomez will already know that the 28-year-old singer had a kidney transplant in 2017, following complications with her lupus. Selena was diagnosed with lupus in the early 2010s and, by 2017, the autoimmune disease had affected her body so much that she needed a kidney transplant to survive. Selena’s close friend Francia Raisa donated her a kidney.

The transplant left Selena with multiple scars and now Selena has shown fans what they look like in a candid new photo.

How Can I Work With My Doctor To Monitor My Kidney Health After A Transplant

Its important to continue following up with your nephrologist to monitor kidney function, even after a transplant. While one healthy kidney can do the work the body needs, close follow-up with a nephrologist is important to monitor any changes that might occur. Your nephrologist will monitor your blood pressure, any signs of protein in the urine, and how well your kidney filter fluids. You will want to tell your nephrologist if you notice any changes, including: swelling in your legs, increased blood pressure, or changes to your urine .

Where Can I Get More Information About Lupus Nephritis

Lupus Foundation of America: www.lupus.org

Lupus Research Alliance: www.lupusresearch.org/

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/lupus

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/lupus-nephritis

Us in Lupus :

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How Do I Prepare For A Kidney Transplant

To get a kidney from an organ donor who has died , you must beplaced on a waiting list of the United Network for Organ Sharing .Extensive testing must be done before you can be placed on the transplantlist.

A transplant team carries out the evaluation process for a kidney. The teamincludes a transplant surgeon, a transplant nephrologist , one or moretransplant nurses, a social worker, and a psychiatrist or psychologist.Other team members may include a dietitian, a chaplain, and/or ananesthesiologist.

The evaluation includes:

• Mental health evaluation. Psychological and social issues involved in organ transplantation, such as stress, financial issues, and support by family and/or significant others are assessed. These issues can greatly affect the outcome of a transplant. The same kind of evaluation is done for a living donor.

• Blood tests. Blood tests are done to help find a good donor match, to check your priority on the donor list, and to help the chances that the donor organ will not be rejected.

• Diagnostic tests. Diagnostic tests may be done to check your kidneys as well as your overall health status. These tests may include X-rays, ultrasound, kidney biopsy, and dental exams. Women may get a Pap test, gynecology evaluation, and a mammogram.

The transplant team will weigh all the facts from interviews, your medicalhistory, physical exam, and tests to determine your eligibility for kidneytransplantation.

These steps will happen before the transplant:

What Are The Risks For Kidney Transplant

As with any surgery, complications can occur. Some complications mayinclude:

• Bleeding

• Blockage of the blood vessels to the new kidney

• Leakage of urine or blockage of urine in the ureter

• Lack of function of the new kidney at first

The new kidney may be rejected. Rejection is a normal reaction of the bodyto a foreign object or tissue. When a new kidney is transplanted into arecipient’s body, the immune system reacts to what it thinks as a threatand attacks the new organ. For a transplanted organ to survive, medicinesmust be taken to trick the immune system into accepting the transplant andnot attacking it as a foreign object.

The medicines used to prevent or treat rejection have side effects. Theexact side effects will depend on the specific medicines that are taken.

Not everyone is a candidate for kidney transplantation. You may not beeligible if you have:

• Current or recurring infection that cannot be treated effectively

• Cancer that has spread from its original location to elsewhere in the body

• Severe heart or other health problems that make it unsafe to have surgery

• Serious conditions other than kidney disease that would not get better after transplantation

• Failing to follow the treatment plan

There may be other risks depending on your specific medical condition. Besure to discuss any concerns with your transplant team before theprocedure.

More Information About Organ Donation from Johns Hopkins Medicine

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What Risks Are There For The Donor How Safe Is It

After being considered a match and scheduling the transplant, the donor needs to discuss the plan with the transplant team and what to expect post-op. While each facility is different, most can expect to stay in the hospital for 3-7 days and will need to regularly check in with their health care provider to monitor the health of their kidneys. They can continue to lead normal lives but need to be mindful of sports or lifestyles that would put their kidney at risk. However, we know from years of doing transplants that giving one kidney results in very little risk to the patient if they have no evidence of kidney disease themselves, or conditions like diabetes that could cause kidney disease.

How Is Kidney Lupus Monitored

As you return to your doctors office, she/he will most likely keep close watch on your kidneys to ensure that your kidney involvement is not worsening. There is no all-encompassing test for kidney function instead, your doctor will use a number of tests to monitor your blood and urine. By obtaining a blood urea nitrogen levels and blood creatinine levels, she/he can monitor how well your kidneys are filtering blood. In addition, you blood pressure will be monitored, since high blood pressure is an indication of kidney degeneration. High levels of protein in the urine can indicate increased kidney involvement, since protein usually does not cross from your blood vessels into your kidney tubules and thus should not appear in your urine. In addition, tests of blood complement and anti-DNA antibodies can suggest inflammation that may be affecting the kidneys.

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What Causes Lupus Nephritis

No one knows what causes the disease. Your family history and things in your environment such as infections, viruses, toxic chemicals or pollutants may play a role in causing the disease. Men and women of all ages and races get lupus. However, about 90 percent of people diagnosed with lupus are women.

What Tests Are Done To Find Out If I Have Lupus Nephritis

Your doctor will do a physical examination, get your medical history, and do special tests. These tests include:

• Urine test to check for protein and blood
• Blood tests
• Check your levels of protein and cholesterol
• Check your eGFR to show how well your kidneys are filtering wastes
• Check for antiphospholipid antibodies and anti-nuclear antibodies at least once during your disease.

Kidney biopsy to look at a tiny piece of the kidney under a microscope

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An Important Note About Medications And Blood Pressure

Due to the silent nature of kidney lupus, it is very important that you take your medications daily as prescribed by your doctor. Even if you do not feel sick, inflammation in your kidneys and other organs can lead to permanent, irreversible scarring. Your medications can combat this inflammation right now, but permanent scarring will never go away. If kidney disease is allowed to progress without treatment, your kidneys will fail, and you will need to go to dialysis three times per week to have your blood filtered. The only way to get off dialysis is to have a kidney transplant, and organ transplant opportunities are not easy to come by. This information is not meant to frighten you, but merely to ensure that you understand how important it is to take your medications!

In addition, since the kidneys are tied intimately to the regulation of your blood pressure, it is imperative that you maintain a healthy blood pressure of 120/80 mmHg. If your doctor prescribes a blood pressure medication to keep your kidney lupus in check, be sure to take it exactly as prescribed. Limit your intake of salt to less than 3 grams per day, and try to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. The prognosis for people with lupus nephritis does not have to be grim it is important to remember that you play the most important role in keeping your body as healthy as possible!

What Can You Eat With Lupus Nephritis

In general, people with lupus should aim for a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It should also include moderate amounts of meats, poultry, and oily fish. If you have lupus, following a varied, healthy diet may help: Reduce inflammation and other symptoms.

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What Is The Treatment For Lupus Nephritis

The treatment for lupus nephritis focuses on preventing more damage to your kidneys. Finding and treating lupus nephritis early can help prevent serious damage. Lupus damages your kidneys by causing your immune system to attack them. To prevent this from happening, your health care provider might want you to take a medicine called an immunosuppressant. These types of medicines weaken your immune system so that it cannot harm your kidneys as much.

Your health care provider might also want you to take medicine to lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure is the second most common cause of kidney failure . Two common types of blood pressure medicine are ACE inhibitors and ARBs . These medicines lower the amount protein in the urine and can protect the kidneys from further damage.

Having too much fluid in your body can also raise your blood pressure and strain your heart. If your body is holding on to too much water, you may have leg or ankle swelling or trouble breathing due to the fluid in your lungs. Your health care provider might tell you to take a diuretic, also known as a water pill. This medicine can help your body get rid of some of the extra fluid it is holding on to. As a result, you may need to use the bathroom more as fluid is removed through the urine.

Tame The Immune System With Medication

Once diagnosed, the lupus patient’s overactive immune system is then knocked out with a combination of drugs with the goal of either slowing down the rate of kidney damage or putting the nephritis into remission.

But doing so leaves them at high risk of infection, Masani notes.

The base medication is the steroid prednisone, which he calls a “horrible drug. Any patient that has taken it will tell you that … It gives young women the heart and bones of a 60-year-old.”

Over the last 20 years, he says, doctors have had increasing success with a new anti-rejection drug called Mycophenolate Mofetil.

“It’s made a huge difference for transplant patients and for lupus patients,” he says, noting it has come to usurp chemotherapy as a first-line treatment.

The newer regimen is still rough on patients, he cautions. “All of these drugs have side effects. You get nothing for free. These young women with lupus go through hell on this stuff.”

The bottom line: Doctors can’t cure lupus nephritis, Masani emphasizes, but “we can treat it and hopefully slow it down so that not everyone ends up needing a transplant or dialysis.”

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How Common Is It For Lupus To Affect The Kidneys

Lupus mostly impacts women ages 15-44 and lupus nephritis is more prevalent and often more severe in African Americans and Hispanics than in Caucasians. Studies have shown that minority women who develop lupus at a younger age tend to have more serious complications. Up to 60 percent of people with lupus will develop kidney complications. Women of color are especially at risk.

Pop Star Selena Gomez Reveals Kidney Transplant

There arent words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend, she wrote. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”

Gomez, who also posted a photo of the scar from her transplant surgery in the same Instagram post, promised her fans that shed reveal more details about her health in the near future.

I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you, she said.

The entertainer has been public about her battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease that prompted her to take some time off last year to deal with anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

In 2014, she had chemotherapy to treat the disease.

There are two types of lupus. One form, discoid lupus, only affects the skin. Systemic lupus erythematosus, however, harms the skin, joints, kidneys and brain and may be fatal, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

“Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can, among other things, affect the kidneys,” said NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres. “If it causes the immune system to attack the kidneys enough they can fail, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant.”

Systemic lupus causes the bodys autoimmune cells the defense system which usually protects against disease to attack tissues and organs like the kidneys, triggering inflammation.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Lupus Nephritis

Lupus nephritis can cause many signs and symptoms and may be different for everyone. Signs of lupus nephritis include:

• Blood in the urine : Glomerular disease can cause your glomeruli to leak blood into your urine. Your urine may look pink or light brown from blood, but most often you will not be able to see the blood cells except with a microscope.
• Protein in the urine : Glomerular disease can cause your glomeruli to leak protein into your urine. Your urine may be foamy because of the protein.
• Edema: Having extra fluid that your kidneys cannot remove that causes swelling in body parts like your legs, ankles, or around your eyes.
• Weight gain: due to the fluid your body is not able to get rid of.

What Is Kidney Failure

This is a diagnosis determined based upon bloodwork, the evidence of the effectiveness of the kidneys filtration function as well as the impact on the body. Kidney failure is when the kidneys no longer filter effectively to sustain the bodys needs, usually when functioning at less than 15% of their capacity.

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Why Might I Need A Kidney Transplant

You may need a kidney transplant if you have end stage renal disease. This is a permanent condition of kidney failure. It often needsdialysis. This is a process used to remove wastes and other substances fromthe blood.

The kidneys:

• Remove urea and liquid waste from the blood in the form of urine. Urea is made when foods containing protein, such as meat, poultry, and certain vegetables, are broken down in the body. Urea is carried in the blood to the kidneys.

• Balance salts, electrolytes, such as potassium and sodium, and other substances in the blood

• Produce erythropoietin, a hormone that aids the formation of red blood cells

• Regulate blood pressure

• Regulate fluid and acid-base balance in the body to keep it neutral. This is needed for normal function of many processes within the body

Some conditions of the kidneys that may result in ESRD include:

• Repeated urinary infections

• Polycystic kidney disease or other inherited disorders

• Glomerulonephritis, which is inflammation of the kidney’s filtering units

• Hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare disorder that causes kidney failure

• Lupus and other diseases of the immune system

• Obstructions

Other conditions, such as congenital defects of the kidneys, may result inthe need for a kidney transplant.

There may be other reasons for your healthcare provider to recommend akidney transplant.

How Long Will A Kidney Last After A Transplant Do You Need To Get Another Transplant Down The Line

Studies have shown a much higher success rates in recent years than in the past. While results vary, people under proper follow-up can expect significant increase in their healthy years. Most can expect a transplant to last a decade or more, depending on the disease process. With close follow-up with your healthcare team and adherence to treatment, the organ could continue to function for many more years.

It is very important to continue watching for signs of changes in the kidneys, including edema, blood pressure changes, and urinalysis. You should talk to your doctor if you have concerns or notice any signs of change. However, sometimes a transplanted kidney will fail. Those patients may need to go on dialysis, but we always try to see if they can get another transplant.

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What Are The Signs Of Kidney Lupus How Is It Diagnosed And Classified

Swelling of the ankles and abdomen may be a sign of kidney disease, but the problem with kidney lupus is that often people are not aware that it is occurring until they visit the doctor for lab tests and blood work. Testing for the disease includes urinalysis, which your doctor will check for items such as red blood cells, red blood cell casts, and protein that has leaked from your kidneys into your urine. In addition, she/he will most likely ask you to perform a 24-hour urine test and determine the efficiency with which your kidneys are filtering blood by measuring your creatinine clearance. Lastly, your doctor may also recommend you to a kidney doctor to perform a biopsy to determine the class and degree of your kidney involvement. There are 6 levels of kidney lupus and the class in which your disease falls will help your doctor to design a specific course of treatment.