Kidney update

As many of you know, I lost considerable kidney function when I was on the mood stabilizer lithium for my then-manic depression. About a year or so ago, a doctor told me abruptly that my kidneys were so bad I'd need to go on dialysis.

I remember that terrible day. We all compartmentalize our lives. For example, I'm now in the 'blogging compartment' of my brain. That department is pulsing like mad as I type this up. Ba-deep! Ba-deep! See the red lights going off?

Well when I heard the word 'dialysis' I just about freaked out. I was sitting in the little exam room, you know, those horribly sterile little cells with the crunchy tissue paper on the raised exam table, I was in a chair, with a book on my lap, when Dr No Bedside Manners gave me the news.

Then he ran out leaving me alone with my thoughts.

And that's medicine according to Hippocrates?

The next two days the compartmentalization was foundering. Everything I did was punctuated by thoughts of Kidney Dialysis Kidney Dialysis.

And then, after that, I promptly forget about it. It's hard to picture ourselves as flawed after so many years of being healthy.

I do have a friend who I'll call Victor who took lithium and did indeed get a kidney transplant. Since then he and his wife Fran have been a great comfort to me. I emailed Fran this morning - she's the embodiment of the word 'polymath' - and wrote:

Fran, I could call the Kidney Foundation for the answer to my question except I know that they wouldn't know half as much as you do. When you get a chance, pls lemme know what physically goes on with the kidneys and why they can't successfully process sodium, phosphorus, potassium and protein.

Her reply came shortly thereafter - and she does have a day job but took time out for the reply:

Fran: Your body's clearing process (filters in kidney) is slower than normal.

If you don't cut back on minerals they accumulate in the blood and mess up your electrolyte balance. Victor got toxic one night when he had not drunk enough and was a bit dehydrated. Between the buildup of minerals and meds he was all messed up. They kept him overnight and rebalanced his system.

That's why on dialysis , which is used when your filtering function becomes negligible, minerals except calcium become problematic. But you
can't use the calcium either unless you have the factor to process it
which is supplied by the Epotein shots.

I told her to send along the Calcium handout.

This all illustrates the importance of good doctors and good hospitals. And the all-important patient as a well-versed partner.