The Diagnosis

November 7, 2017

34 Years old

I'd been fighting what I thought was a cold for a couple of weeks and it seemed to be moving to my chest. It was so bad that when I lay down to sleep, I couldn't breathe. There was something in my lungs that was making things uncomfortable and I didn't like it! Stubborn as I can sometimes be known to be, I decided I didn't need (or want) to go to the doctor, I just needed cold medicine (i.e. a Hot Toddy) and some good, restful sleep so I propped myself up and kept grumpily fighting it until my husband finally convinced me that this wasn't going to go away on its own. So Tuesday evening, we went to Instacare, thinking they would give me some kind of steroid or something to get rid of the fluid in my lungs, and I'd go home to sleep.

I was wrong.

When we got there my blood pressure was through the roof (130/80 would be a good number...mine was somewhere closer to 200/90...). They did a chest x-ray and didn't find pneumonia, which is what I was expecting them to find...or anything else for that matter. They couldn't diagnose me. They suggested I go to the E.R. instead to get a full work up and find out why my blood pressure was so high...and you know, maybe do it before I have a heart attack or something...

So we went to the E.R.

They did their tests. Poked and prodded, x-rays and ultrasounds for what felt like forever. Then, around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning they finally came in and gave me the news.

My kidneys are shutting down.

Now let me back track just a little here to let you know that when I was 8 years old I was diagnosed with type I diabetes. I'd been dependent on insulin for 26 years of my life at this point. I've had eye problems. I've had nerve damage in my feet. But the big scare for all diabetics is Renal Failure. And I was lying in the E.R. being told that is exactly what I have.

During my 4 day hospital stay I learned that my kidneys were working at about 20%. Dialysis and/or a transplant is an inevitability. It’s just a matter of when. Oh and all the food and beverage options that I so enjoy? They are a thing of the past. I learned that I'll have to limit my sodium intake, my potassium intake, and my phosphorus intake. I also learned that this is not something I'll ever get better from. This is a lifelong sentence. Dialysis can help, but it isn’t a cure. A transplant can help, but it’s not a cure. They are just treatments.

This sucks!