As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my regular nephrologist has referred me to a university medical center nephrology department. He says I should have much more renal function than I've got. My function plummeted to between 14-15% this past December. My nephrologist thinks this is due to severe, chronic dehydration related to sodium deficiency. He has me ingesting 3000 mg of sodium daily right now. I do feel better and, incredibly, am not having much trouble with fluid retention. But he's not sure what is causing this and so can't be sure how to treat it.
So, after a four month wait, I'll finally see the university nephrologist tomorrow, Wed, Aug 16th. My emotions are all over the place. But more than anything, I'm just hoping for some answers--even if that does mean dialysis.
Well, thanks for taking time to read this post. I have really appreciated your willingness to share what you've each learned as you have adjusted to living with chronic kidney disease. It has lowered my stress and given me hope. So, I will go to this appointment with much less stress.
Marj
Best wishes to you, Marj. If you do start dialysis and your choice is peritoneal dialysis, feel free to ask me any questions as I have been on PD for a year. Or, of course, you can always post your questions to this forum for people to respond to.
Thanks for posting. Keep us updated. Hank
Hola Marj,
¡Mucha suerte en tu cita! Creo que una vez más demuestra que la función renal no se entiende tan bien como los consultores nos quieren hacer creer. Entiendo plenamente las ansiedades en estas circunstancias y tengo la sensación de que los trastornos bioquímicos que resultan de una mala función renal también causan algunos cambios mentales. ¡Así que esperemos que una opinión fresca traiga algo que te ayude!
KenR
Espero que tu cita vaya bien y los nuevos médicos puedan averiguar qué está pasando. Siempre es una preocupación cuando tu TFG es bajo, en cuanto a cuánto tiempo podrás aguantar antes de tener que hacer diálisis. Mi TFG ha estado alrededor del 20% durante varios años ahora y estoy bien, aunque un poco cansado. Tengo EPO y hierro intravenoso y, junto con inyecciones de vitamina B12, esto me mantiene libre de anemia. Encontré que leer algunas literatura sobre diálisis me ayudó a preocuparme menos, y las personas en el foro siempre son un gran apoyo.
My eGFR was stable at 28 for four years. It suddenly plummeted to 14-15 last Dec. my nephrologist had just told me he expected it would be 8-10 years before I was in renal failure. Then 4-5 months later I was suddenly in renal failure.
Clearly my data isn't typical. But that doesn't mean there is anything that can be done to regain any function.
I saw the university nephrologist today. More lab work is underway. But he was immediately talking dialysis with me. He asked when the was scheduled to see my r gulag nephrologist again. He then started talking dialysis.
So, I'm thinking dialysis is going to be a part of my life very soon. I've definitely decided I want to try PD dialysis first with the hope that it will work for me. Not only can this be done while I'm asleep at night, it is likely also somewhat easier on my heart given that it would occur daily.
The big question is whether I'll actually feel better on dialysis. If not, I'm not going to be all a hat excited to go through this on a daily basis.
Well, I'm clearly experiencing some emotional upheaval with all of this. But I expect I can and will adjust to whatever I have in front of me.
I appreciated your words of support as I headed in for this doctor's appointment.
Marj