It's Complicated....

Welcome back Kidney Warriors! I've spent the last week celebrating my 44th birthday. I feel very blessed to be here to celebrate another birthday because my journey with Chronic Kidney Disease has had so many bumps along the way. What I take away the most from living with this illness is that although we may end up at the same place every kidney patient has their own journey to get there. During the last few years I have been dealing with some complications which comes with the territory of living with long term kidney issues. Today I wanted to discuss some of complications and how they have affected my life.

High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney disease and it's something I have dealt with since I was age 22. Cardiovascular issues including heart failure is just one of most common problems associated with long term CKD. Controlling blood pressure has always been a struggle for me. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to congestive heart failure so its important to take all blood pressure medications prescribed by your nephrologist or cardiologist. Another complication of CKD is anemia. This is something that I have battled since almost the day I was diagnosed. It has also led to having many blood transfusions. Blood transfusions are both good and bad. When the hematocrit gets too low it can lead to complications like shortness of breath and dizziness. For more information on anemia please review the section of blog called "Anemia and Fatigue in CKD" Another issue with having many blood transfusions is the blood becomes high sensitized. And if you are trying to receive a kidney transplant this makes you harder to find a match. At the same time blood transfusions can be lifesaving and have saved my life on several occasions. I just had my 30th blood transfusion in December.

Bone and mineral issues are another complication of CKD and affects almost every kidney patient. When the kidneys are unable to maintain proper levels of calcium and phosphorous it can leads to thinning and weakening bones. This often leads to bone and joint pain. Bone fracture is another symptom of low calcium and high phosphorous in the blood. This is the reason it's so important to follow a renal diet and control phosphorous levels. For more information on renal diet refer to the section of the blog called "Sodium and potassium and phosphorus oh my" Vitamin D is another important mineral for healthy bones. As the kidneys fail they are unable to produce hormones like calcitrol. Calcitrol helps the body maintain balanced levels of calcium and phosphorous and proper PTH levels. When PTH levels are too high the body takes calcium out of the bones. This also can lead to weak and thinning bones. Over the last few months my PTH levels have been on the rise and has caused me some bone pain.

  



As you can see living with chronic kidney disease comes with its long term complications. This disease has taken it's toll on me over the last few years. All I can do is keep fighting and moving forward. I have always been a fighter and that's what I'll continue to do. Today there are over 99,000 waiting  for a kidney transplant like myself. What I need more then ever is more people to become organ donors. This weekend I was honored to meet a women who was part of a donor family. It was very interesting to hear her perspective on having to make that final decision. Her son had died at age 29 and it was his wishes to be an organ donor. It was very touching when she told me of all the people her son had saved. I was honored to be able to tell her "Thank You" and express my undying gratitude for filling her sons final wishes. 

I want to thank you for joining me once again on this journey. I look forward to your questions, comments, or concerns. 

Keep on fighting, all you Kidney Warriors!

~Kidney Blogger