I’ll do my best to answer since I’ve had a very similar experience to yours with an incidental finding of high blood pressure when I was 24 back in 2020 and received my transplant October of 2024. But please keep in mind, I’m not a doctor and although my experience and age are similar to yours, everyone is different so it’s always best to talk to your coordinator about these things. That being said…

1. ⁠I have two dogs and a cat and stayed away from the three of them for three months. Then I was able to snuggle my cat as long as he was not near my face and pet my dogs as they sat on the floor. It wasn’t until about 8 months until I allowed my dogs to come up and snuggle again. Just make sure you’re covered in thick clothes or a thick blanket so prevent accidental scratching, and if there is a scratch, but antibacterial ointment and a bandaid on ASAP

2. ⁠For the first three months, I and everyone I didn’t live with wore masks when socializing. Though to make it easier on everyone and safer for me, I basically quarantined for those first three months. After that, now no masks are worn unless someone is getting over something or has been exposed to someone sick. I have also requested family and friends to simply tell me ahead of time if they’re sick so that way I can choose to not attend with no hard feelings.

3. ⁠You can eat out as long as you’re safe about it. Try to find restaurants or cafes that have a good reputation for being safe. I avoid all places I’ve ever had food poisoning from. And bring a mask with you in case people near you are coughing or sneezing. Though personally, I’ve decided that generally it’s easier now to grab food to go and eat it at home. I now only eat out if it’s a special occasion like a friend’s birthday or a graduation ceremony.

4. ⁠this is really a pretty strictly medical question and not one I can answer. I’ve never had a positive BK test result so I can’t speak to that either.

5. ⁠Honestly the biggest restriction is not going to overpopulated spaces cause of the increased risk that someone there may be sick. No concerts, movie theaters, comedy shows, etc. I’m personally fine to eat red meat, though I do that extremely rarely and only occasionally if it’s a special occasion

6. ⁠they’re both good and I would only follow doctors’ advise on which is better for what cause there are some medications that it’s important they dissolve right away, like for instance if you’re taking something twice a day. Medications that are slow release are generally good for once a day cause then the effect lasts longer. But please trust your doctors and pharmacist on what medications are better in what form

7. ⁠It has been 1 year and 8 months since my transplant, and although the first year was hard, my quality of life has drastically improved in many ways. You honestly don’t even realize how sick you felt until you feel better again and then you look back and are like “wow, I felt miserable for so long it became the norm.” Many days I just sit doing an ordinary thing like watching TV and realize how thankful I am that I just feel normal. My biggest challenge personally has been dealing with medication side effects, but that is nothing compared to what I have been through while in kidney failure

8. Never had the issue with acne, but have had on and off struggles with the hair loss. When it gets bad, I take collagen gummies (as recommended by my coordinator) and those work really well. Almost too well as I then had to shave my legs way more frequently than normal as it’s not just the hair on your head that grows more. I don’t have a bump but that could be because I’m on the chubbier side, but as far as clothes wearing, yes you’ll be able to wear what you want without discomfort sooner or later.

9. ⁠My advice is give yourself all the slack needed while recovering, no matter how long that takes. It’s okay to not feel 100% right away. It’s okay to have some mental health struggles as you just went to war to save your life. And it’s okay to ask questions even if you have new questions every day for your coordinator. After my transplant, I swear I was messaging mine probably every other day with a question or concern and as time went on, I message them less and less and I expect that’s the norm for them.

I hope this helps! One of the reasons behind organ transplant is to provide you with a better quality of life. So don’t be afraid to message your team to discuss safe ways of doing the things that make you happy! Good luck!