So, people have asked and I figured I should put some actual facts up here instead of a series of vague, whiney status updates. (Or, in addition to whiney status updates... can't promise to quit those. )
When last we left off, around May-ish, all was well as far as I could tell. Blood pressure stable, kidney function 50% (not great, but holding.) I was staying to a low sodium/ low cholesterol diet and things were beginning to look pretty normal.
August: Last week I was not feelin' so good, so I decided to go to my Dr just to make sure everything was cool. Lab tests were NOT COOL. So more lab tests. And more lab tests. A week later I feel a bit like a pincushion, and it appears that my kidney function somehow slipped from 50% to 16 %. 16% is not good. We are not sure if this was slowly creeping down all summer or if it suddenly went down in response to this latest flare-up (although it's probably the latter.)
So, options:
1) This dip in kidney function is in response to an acute attack of Kidney Gremlins and function will return to normal (50%) in a few weeks. This is the happiest option, so I vote for this one. (Like I have a say?)
2) Kidney function stays here and I use immunosuppressant drugs to keep this from happening again. (And maybe increase function?) These drugs have crappy side effects, which is why we didn't try them before now.
3) Kidney function continues on downward turn and reaches 10%, at which point I will be declared to have End Stage Renal Disease (which really sounds like a scarier condition than it is) and I go on dialysis and start looking for someone's kidney to steal. Good news here is that I'll qualify for Medicare and Uncle Sam will start paying my medical bills.
Now, in order to figure out which option this is, and HOPEFULLY get a real diagnosis (surprisingly, Kidney Gremlins is not a medical term), I will probably need to get another biopsy while things are (apparently) active. I do not look forward to this, since the last one hurt like a bitch. However, the complication I had then is not a common one, and they don't seem to think I'll spring a leak this time, so we're not looking at a two week recovery again. (Although that was a great excuse to sit in bed for two weeks and watch the Olympics on TV...) I really don't want to tell my new boss at my new job that I'm taking a week off...
In conclusion, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and concern. Your support has really been awesome. Also, I want to point out that this is going to be damned inconvenient but not life threatening. If Osama Bin Laden could be that busy while on dialysis, so can I. Maybe that's a bad example. My point is, I will figure a way to keep on keeping on, so don't worry. I've got a great support system here and I've got Jesus and I'll be fine.
I leave you with the chorus from my new favorite song:
Ain't no rhyme or reason,
no complicated meaning
Ain't no need to over think it...
Let go laughing!
Life don't go quite like you planned it,
we try so hard to understand it.
Irrefutable, indisputable
The fact is it happens.
(Sugarland, "It Happens")
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