Let me start by saying that if you have not read any of my other blogs you may not know but my husband and I have horrible luck; with the exception of adopting 3 amazing kids and marrying each other that is. In 2004 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, had the tumor removed and went through 33 days of radiation. In 2005 I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, I went through tumor removal, chemo therapy, radiation, prophylactic bilateral mastectomies and many reconstructive surgeries.
The reason I mention our bad luck is because this past August my husband started having really high blood pressures and they could not figure out why. They had him on 19 pills a day and it was still dangerously high. They finally thought Hum maybe his kidney is having a problem.
Did you know that elevated blood pressures are one of the first signs of kidney disease? Nope neither did I. They did an ultrasound on his kidneys and other than a kidney stone they looked ok, however his blood pressure was not being able to be controlled. They finally decided to do an MRA; it is like an MRI with something different, I am still not really sure what. The MRA showed that his right kidney had decreased blood flow so our primary doctor thought he may be onto something and referred him to a vascular surgeon. The thinking was that maybe they would have to do a stint (like they do on hearts) and that would open the artery for the blood to flow easily.
When we met with the vascular surgeon he ordered a nuclear scan to see how much flow the kidney was getting. I joked with my husband from all the radiation from his cancer and now his nuclear test he may now glow in the dark.
The day the nuclear test was done we received a call within hours from the vascular surgeon telling us that his right kidney had little to no blood flow and was essentially dead. Apparently when kidneys die they give off an enzyme that increases your blood pressure. I still am not sure when or how this kidney of his decided to kick the bucket but it is now officially dead.
Now I forgot to mention my husband has been a diabetic for 20 plus years. His diabetes is well controlled but kidney disease goes along with diabetes. The vascular surgeon referred him to a urologist for kidney removal.
This is where our journey through kidney disease and a new eating plan is going to begin.