Kidney Update

I went to a new kidney doctor on Friday.  I changed insurance plans  and although my old kidney doctor was still contracted with my plan, my primary doctor highly recommended this nephrologist so I decided maybe it was time for a change.  I mean why not?  I have changed every other aspect of my life, so why not start new here as well?

I am embarrassed to admit that I have been remiss in going to the nephrologist.  I am well past the time for my yearly check up.

I really like him.  Turns out he is one of the best nephrologists in Orange County.  I have been so fortunate to have such great doctors.

He asked me how my creatinin levels were.  Ummm..I don't know?  How about the amount of protein in my urine?  Not sure about that either.  Am I monitoring my blood pressure at home.  Uhhhh...nope.

He gave a great big sigh.  I am the worst.  patient.  ever.

I need to start monitoring my blood pressure at home again.  Not every day, but a few times a week and keep a journal of my readings.

I can't take Advil, or Motrin , or any other NSAIDS.  At all.  My last nephrologist had said it was o.k. to take them sparingly.  I was taking them occasionally for headaches, but over time I had started taking them a bit more.  Once a month for headaches.  Then maybe once a week.  Last week i took Advil three times for a headache.  Oy.  Not good.

At my next visit he said we will go over some medications I can take that will work on the headaches as well as the Advil(Tylenol does nothing for me).


He is worried about the flare ups I have been having (so am I).

 He is concerned I am not getting enough sleep. He says I should try to get to bed earlier. That is easier said than done. I am supposed to get at least nine hours a night.  Preferably ten.  That is so not going to happen.  I would have to  go to bed at like 8:00, and since I am not three years old that simply isn't going to happen.  He thinks I should at least rest more on the weekends.

 Out of about ten things we talked about,  at least I'm doing one right.  I do rest a lot on the weekends.  I sleep late and try to get in a nap too.  Sometimes it makes me feel lazy.  I need to try and get over that.  I have an illness and my body needs rest.

When you have a chronic illness that isn't visible on the outside, people forget that you can't always do the stuff "normal" people can do. Heck even I forget it sometimes. Until I start having flare ups, and then I am reminded how much stress/ not enough sleep/not eating right can affect my body. We spent a good amount of time discussing dialysis, and the odds of when I might need to have it in my future.  I'm not gonna lie, that scared me.  I spend a lot of time trying NOT to think about that, especially since it is still a ways in the future.

Sometimes it's best to face things straight on though. He seems like the kind of doctor that will make me do that.

I gave a urine sample and a lot of my blood(seriously, like six large vials of it) and we will meet again  in one  week to go over the results.

We'll see where we go from there.