27 Jan. 2011

!!!! Bad News Is Good News !!!!

Today's nephrology appointment went better than expected. (It is still a weird way to look at it; but that's the reality!)

My latest blood work shows a precipitous 4% drop in kidney function. I am officially (once again) in End Stage Renal Disease at 18.2%.

Now I get to make decisions--
-Do I do home Peritoneal Dialysis?
-Do I do home Hemodialysis?
-Do I do clinical hemodialysis?
-Do I do nothing at all?

Well, that last one is a no brainer...of course I'll do something! Doing nothing would result in my death once renal failure occurs. NOT AN OPTION!

My real decision will be between peritoneal or hemo dialysis.

After already doing a lot of research, I am leaning heavily towards hemodialysis. The only question then becomes, do I do it at home, or at a dialysis center?

I'm taking a week to make the decision. I'll post the answer as soon as I make my choice.

Other labs are as follows:
(I'm giving two sets of lab values. The first is from today's results, plus the normal ranges. The second number is the results from my labs in late Nov. 2010.

-Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) is great at 71.9 (22.2-108.9) *Drop from 75.9
-Potassium (K+) 4.2 (3.5-5.5) *A slight rise from 4.0
-Glucose 104 (65-109) *Large rise from 95
-BUN 39.0 (5-26) *Extremely High, but a drop from 43.0
-Serum Creatinine 3.8 (0.5-1.5) *Rise from 3.2
-WBC 4.26 (4.5-11.0) *Drop from 4.90
-RBC 4.19 (4.7-6.1) *Drop from 4.40
-Hematocrit 34.7 (42-52) *Drop from 37.1
-Also, my doctor stated that the liver enzymes were good. (Sorry, but I'm not sure which numbers these are on the lab report.)

After all of these numbers, everything remains solely about the PCKD. I remain free of diabetes, liver disease, cardiopulmonary edema, etc. I really have been blessed that no additional issues have arisen.

And there you are. Progression...finally! At least I know why I've been feeling so lousy the past few months. While the news is welcomed, it is also a bit jarring. Planning for this is one thing--actually making the decisions is quite another. It must now become a part of the new normal. It will be unsettling for a brief time; but will soon be a matter of fact. No worries!

So, please continue to join me as I enter the next phase of my fight against Polycystic Kidney Disease. It remains a challenging, fascinating and difficult experience.
Let's see where it goes next...

Good Health to All!

ScottW