How things change!
This year did not start out too good for me. At the beginning of January I went to see my GP as I had been feeling a bit off colour and had lost my appetite and was losing weight. I had a blood test the following morning and received a phone call that same evening from an “out of hours doctor” who sounded about 12 and rather scared. She basically told me my kidneys were not working and I should see my GP the next day. On seeing my GP I was diagnosed with Stage 5 kidney disease (end stage, they were only at 10% capacity) plus diabetes and was admitted to hospital immediately. Nobody knew what had caused the kidney disease and they didn’t know how much was chronic (ie irreversible) and how much acute (potentially reversible). I hadn’t had my kidney function tested for over 4 years so damage could have occurred at any point during that time. They were absolutely sure the kidney problem had not been caused by the diabetes.
I was immediately given a strong dose of intravenous steroids and put on medication for the diabetes. The steroids had a terrible effect on my blood sugar which went through the roof. I had a kidney biopsy which showed permanent damage but didn’t give them much information. The consultant told me she hoped my kidneys would improve but couldn’t say for sure they would, or by how much, as they had no way of knowing how much was reversible. She hoped they may get up to 30% but suspected that was the limit.
I continued to take oral steroids in a decreasing dose until the end of March and had consistently high blood sugar in that time. But my kidney function started to improve, I also lost more weight (deliberately this time) by following Diabetes.co.uk Low Carb diet. My latest test results show my kidney function is at 41%, the consultant tells me she thinks it has stabilised so it won’t improve but is far better than she hoped for. My diabetes has gone into remission and I am well within the normal range. I weigh nearly 2 stone 8lbs less than this time last year and I feel great. I am no longer taking ANY medication.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the garden looks pretty - I’ve got a wonderful family and friends (my husband especially was terrific when I came out of hospital), I had, and am continuing to have, fantastic support from the beleaguered NHS.
I never thought I’d say this back in January but isn’t life great?
This year did not start out too good for me. At the beginning of January I went to see my GP as I had been feeling a bit off colour and had lost my appetite and was losing weight. I had a blood test the following morning and received a phone call that same evening from an “out of hours doctor” who sounded about 12 and rather scared. She basically told me my kidneys were not working and I should see my GP the next day. On seeing my GP I was diagnosed with Stage 5 kidney disease (end stage, they were only at 10% capacity) plus diabetes and was admitted to hospital immediately. Nobody knew what had caused the kidney disease and they didn’t know how much was chronic (ie irreversible) and how much acute (potentially reversible). I hadn’t had my kidney function tested for over 4 years so damage could have occurred at any point during that time. They were absolutely sure the kidney problem had not been caused by the diabetes.
I was immediately given a strong dose of intravenous steroids and put on medication for the diabetes. The steroids had a terrible effect on my blood sugar which went through the roof. I had a kidney biopsy which showed permanent damage but didn’t give them much information. The consultant told me she hoped my kidneys would improve but couldn’t say for sure they would, or by how much, as they had no way of knowing how much was reversible. She hoped they may get up to 30% but suspected that was the limit.
I continued to take oral steroids in a decreasing dose until the end of March and had consistently high blood sugar in that time. But my kidney function started to improve, I also lost more weight (deliberately this time) by following Diabetes.co.uk Low Carb diet. My latest test results show my kidney function is at 41%, the consultant tells me she thinks it has stabilised so it won’t improve but is far better than she hoped for. My diabetes has gone into remission and I am well within the normal range. I weigh nearly 2 stone 8lbs less than this time last year and I feel great. I am no longer taking ANY medication.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the garden looks pretty - I’ve got a wonderful family and friends (my husband especially was terrific when I came out of hospital), I had, and am continuing to have, fantastic support from the beleaguered NHS.
I never thought I’d say this back in January but isn’t life great?