Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Another doctor's visit

I had another visit with the nephrologist today. I guess I better get used to it, becasue apparently I'm going to be seeing a lot of him(like every 6-8 weeks for the rest of my life.) Every time I go there I can't help but notice that I am by far the youngest person there. By far. I mean, like the other people in the waiting room have walkers, and are accompanied by their adult children who themselves are by far older than I am. They all look at me quizzically as if to say "Are you sure you are in the right place?" It makes me uncomfortable(not the elderly people, just the way they look at me). It seems to me like it is not that common for a person of my age to suffer from kidney disease. I don't know if this is true, that's just the impression I get from the waiting room. Either that, or there is a retirement community very close to that office. Anyway, on to the test results. They are still suprisingly good. The protein leakage in my urine is down to .6 grams. That's less than one gram, and down from 5 grams three months ago. It is still considered abnormally high, but given where we started, the doctor is quite happy. Unfortunately, that is all he is happy about. He is unhappy about A. My weight. I gained four pounds this month. Ouch! I have gained back ten of the twenty pounds I lost. He says I have to at least try to keep my weight the same, despite the Prednisone. Yeah, O.K. I'll get right on that. And B. My lack of exercise. I received a very stern lecture about the importance of exercising five days a week and how it is imperative to my health. I hate to exercise. I have no excuse for why I don't do it. I have plenty of time. I just don't want to. Because I hate it. So there. But I know he is right, so I went and bought a couple of DVD's that I think I can do(I am sooooo uncoordinated). So it's Cardio three days a week, Yoga two and strength training on the yoga days. I am going to commit myself to this. Because it is important. For me, and for my daughter.

5 comments:

t said...

Hey, congrats on the protein being so much lower. That's fabulous news! I hear you on the diet. And exercise. So very hard when there's so much else depressing stuff going on in our lives. I hope the new DVD's are a good motivator. I've been doing my treadmill lately. It's hard to get the routine going but once you do it is definitely easier.

Anonymous said...

Its hard, I know!!! What about a buddy? It always helps me to have someone else, that way I can't back out.

Stacey T. said...

The feeling of "being out of place" won't go away. I'm sorry. I had to have a total knee replacement when I was 30. I had to go to some classes, and therapy and everyone was at least 75 in there. It was terrible. The best thing is that you are taking care of yourself.

Kim said...

You're not alone...I hate exercising too. I'm not a lazy person, but I just cannot stand exercising.

That's great about your protein level being so much lower. I hope you continue to see such terrific progress!

Joannah said...

I had a student three years ago with kidney disease, and a friend has had kidney problems, too. I myself have kidney stones. So, I'm thinking it's the location of that doctor's office. Hey, trying going to a urologist's office - you probably have already, huh? Anyway, I was the only woman in the whole place! The rest were guys getting vascectomies. Nice...

I'm still enjoying my pilates and yoga hybrid classes. If you ever want to meet up for a walk, give me a call. I'd love to have a walking partner now and then!