• Drugs

Patients who have undergone a kidney transplant will have to take drugs to prevent the organ from being rejected for the rest of their lives.

Anti-rejection drugs are called "immunosuppressant drugs" because they reduce the immune defences of the body, which perceives the new kidney as foreign body to be attacked. In general, all immunosuppressants make the patient more vulnerable to infections caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi.

The efficacy, tolerability and reliability of these drugs have been improved over the last twenty years.
The new generations of immunosuppressants have reached levels of safety unthinkable in the past.
Some of these drugs may cause increased appetite, weight increase and sometimes diabetes, hypertension and increase in blood cholesterol in some patients.

• Diet

Diet is very important in the control of kidney transplant. While a transplant means the end of a series of cause of anxiety such as the dependence on dialysis, thirst and diet it still does not mean absolute freedom with regard to food intake, which must be balanced and must also bear in mind the anti-rejection drugs being taken.

You will be able to eat everything every day, but not to excess.
However, there is a dietary guide for kidney transplant patients which answers your questions about diet.
In any case, each patient must discuss dietary guidelines with his nephrologist, and they will be personalised to meet his individual needs

• Sport

Most patients receive transplants after a varying length of time on dialysis, which has made substantial changes to their bodies, with a significant reduction in the ability to perform sustained physical effort.

The muscle, cardiovascular and bone systems suffer most from the period of kidney failure. The transplant itself, with its immunosuppressant therapy, has a negative effect on muscle structure and may lead to a rise in blood pressure.

To combat the loss of muscle mass and bone demineralisation, and to help normalise blood pressure, regular and fairly intensive exercise is needed.

Any exercise must be preceded by a muscle warm-up and combat sports, football and basketball are not recommended, because they require violent effort and because the rhythm of these games does not allow a good cardio-respiratory rhythm to be maintained. You may exercise in the way you like best, bearing in mind any bone, joint or muscle pain, tendonitis or brittle bones deriving from corticosteroid drug therapy.

• Walking

Brisk walking is the most basic form of exercise and is suitable for anyone and can be done everywhere.

At moderate speed (3-4 Km/hour) and on level ground, it has a beneficial effect on the cardio-circulatory system. Patients can start walking sessions of this kind straight after they are discharged from hospital.
At a higher speed (6 Km/hour) it can become a real sport, or even a form of athletics, with real benefits for the cardio-circulatory system.

If you do not like exercise, are overweight and do not have joint disorders, the ideal routine is to walk for 30-60 minutes every day at an average speed of 5 km/hour.

• Jogging

This is the faster version of walking (7-10 Km/hour). You should work up to this gradually, alternating shorter and shorter periods of walking with longer and longer bursts of running.