Zappit
Staff member
I've been fortunate for the last year, as my IGA Nephropathy has been in remission. For those that remember, I was diagnosed almost four years ago, and we caught it late. My kidneys were 25% atrophied, with about 63% scarring over both of them. Not good.
Then, over the next two years, I was in a hell of a fight, taking massive doses of steroids in order to knock my immune system down and stop it from attacking my kidneys. I dealt with acne, fluctuating blood pressure, thinning of my hair and tooth enamel, (stayed sexy, thank goodness
) weight gain, chronic hiccups that lasted for days due to a rather unique reaction to the drugs I received via infusion, and extremely vivid nightmares that occurred every other night.
I wasn't supposed to recover as well as I did. I was supposed to have about 10-20 years before a transplant became necessity. But I got better. I was told I might never need a transplant. My kidney functions were way better than they anticipated. I stayed that way for over a year.
And then I lost my grandfather. My condition can be triggered by a number of things, and stress is one of them. I had an extremely difficult time coping, (kinda still am) and I really did myself in. I tested positive for protein in my urine a few days ago, and saw my doctor today. The good news is, the kidney function has not changed. I'm still as good as I was. The bad news is, my protein was up, getting close to the point it starts damaging my kidneys again. I'm doubling my blood pressure meds to get that under control, and it might just set things right again. We're checking it again in two weeks. I've done research on my own, and IGA Nephropathy does commonly recur, but recurrences can be fairly easily treated. My doctor sounded optimistic we get it under control. He did mention, however, that the stress from grief can throw a body off for up to four months before it gets back to normal, so this might be a few long, scary months.
Just cross your fingers for me for the next couple weeks. It might be a simple fix, and I really hope it is. I DO NOT want to go through everything again.
Then, over the next two years, I was in a hell of a fight, taking massive doses of steroids in order to knock my immune system down and stop it from attacking my kidneys. I dealt with acne, fluctuating blood pressure, thinning of my hair and tooth enamel, (stayed sexy, thank goodness
) weight gain, chronic hiccups that lasted for days due to a rather unique reaction to the drugs I received via infusion, and extremely vivid nightmares that occurred every other night.I wasn't supposed to recover as well as I did. I was supposed to have about 10-20 years before a transplant became necessity. But I got better. I was told I might never need a transplant. My kidney functions were way better than they anticipated. I stayed that way for over a year.
And then I lost my grandfather. My condition can be triggered by a number of things, and stress is one of them. I had an extremely difficult time coping, (kinda still am) and I really did myself in. I tested positive for protein in my urine a few days ago, and saw my doctor today. The good news is, the kidney function has not changed. I'm still as good as I was. The bad news is, my protein was up, getting close to the point it starts damaging my kidneys again. I'm doubling my blood pressure meds to get that under control, and it might just set things right again. We're checking it again in two weeks. I've done research on my own, and IGA Nephropathy does commonly recur, but recurrences can be fairly easily treated. My doctor sounded optimistic we get it under control. He did mention, however, that the stress from grief can throw a body off for up to four months before it gets back to normal, so this might be a few long, scary months.
Just cross your fingers for me for the next couple weeks. It might be a simple fix, and I really hope it is. I DO NOT want to go through everything again.
