I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Introduction => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: Jaybird on October 05, 2006, 09:31:38 PM
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My story starts 3 years ago and its bad... but anyone thats going through dialysis probably thinks theirs is bad too.
I am fairly young for having kidney problems. Currently I am 27 years old, but I was diagnosed when I was 24. Anyway, I Joined the navy out of Highschool and got stationed in Japan. While I was there I met many beautiful women, the last of which I asked to marry me. A month after asking my "bride to be" to marry me the unthinkable happened. I went in for my annual physical, not thinking anything out of the ordinary. The following day I got called to return because of some "abnormalities". I had high blood pressure and the doctor wanted to ask me some questions about it. They decided it was because of some "ephedra" I was taking and gave me some more blood tests and told me to stay off the "ephedra". The next day the blood tests were back and they called me in again, but this time to the emergency room. I had a creatnine of 6. This being in Yokosuka Japan, they didn't have a nephrologist on base so they told the only one in Japan about me who was in Okinawa at that time. The hospital shipped me off to a local Japanese Hospital until the nephrologist got back. It was at this Japanese hospital that I received my first catheter in my life.... I hated it. I stayed in that hospital for 8 days until the military one got back in town. Then I was shipped back to base and the military doctor decided to place stints in my ureters. During this process he noticed I had a UTI infection. I developed it from the Japanese catheter. And get this, its a MULTI-DRUG resitant Psudeomonus. Meaning, I CAN'T GET RID OF IT. Anyway, the doctor finally decided to deport me to Bethesda Maryland for more tests. This would not have been a problem, but I was newly engaged and my wife had no fiance had no base rights or even access to America. SO... we got married the day before I left for Maryland. She could not follow me, so she stayed behind to finish her job as a school teacher. She wasn't able to join me in America for 9 months.
Anyway, once in America I was subjected to several more tests and told that I would not be returning to Japan and furthermore my Military career was over. I was not trying to be a lifer in the military, but I wasn't ready to quit. Anyway, my kidney problem was found out to be because of constricted uterers. They went in through my "pee-pee" and cut my tubes and re-connected them to make them better. This fixed the main problem, but my kidneys were by then running on 9% function. I totally denied being sick as much as I could after that. I did a good job at denying it for 2 years. But my anemia fluctuated to the point I couldn't ignore it in early 2005. I decied to get a fistula placed in my left forearm in February 05.
I still put off dialysis because I was due to have a baby and I didn't want to go thought dialysis while having a baby. That was May 2005. I continued to put it off for various reasons. In May 2006 I wanted to move to Georgia from Maryland, and I thought I could start dialysis once I moved. That is exactly what I did.
Once I got to Georgia and got established. I met with a nephrologist out of Piedmont hospital called Dr. Michael Katz. He told me about the "button-hole" technique and home dialysis. I was sold!
My main goal was a kidney transplant, and I have two donors willing to help me, but I have a multi-drug resistant pseudomonas. My current goal is to get accustomed to dialysis (which I have just started) and then get my old kidneys (where the UTI is at) removed surgically. After I remove my old kidneys, I will be able to get a transplant and STOP dialysis! WOO...
Thats my story thus far.
Wish me luck in getting this UTI stopped.
Jaybird
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Welcome Jason! This site is a great source of information and support. We look forward to hearing more from you.
:welcomesign;
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:welcomesign; and lots, and lots of luck sent your way ;D
BTW, my friend's son is a Marine, first stationed in Japan over 6 years ago. He married a beautiful Korean girl (born in Japan to Korean parents), who was working on the base. They went through the same problems getting her stateside when he was shipped home for a while. He is now on his 3rd tour in Japan and they have a beautiful little girl. My friend has been to Japan to meet the in-laws and to visit twice, and she LOVED Japan.
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Well, thank goodness you found us ;) Welcome to the best website/support group EVER!!! :) What a great introduction, sorry for all you've gone through and i hope you, your wife and new baby are all doing fine. Looking forward to hearing more about your "journey" :)
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Hi Jason,
Hope you find all the info and Support You Need From This Site, I Know I Did!
:welcomesign;
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Welcome Jason, glad to have you aboard.
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Welcome Jason,
Good to have you here.
Cheers
Alasdair
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:welcomesign; Thank you for your service to our country.
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Welcome, Jason, glad you're here! :welcomesign;
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Welcome Jason.
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Now THAT was in introduction. Good luck with the UTI and the transplant stuff. Oh by the way WELCOME!
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Just want to add my WELCOME!!! What an experience! It was very gripping! Now you have a large number of people sending very caring thoughts your way. We are with you in this, and look forward to good news from you. PLease don't leave us out (of the good or the bad). This is a place where you can feel free to vent when you want to.
Welcome again! A group hug from all of us - :grouphug;
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Welcome to our site Jaybird. Quite the story. I'm glad you are back in the States to deal with this.
:welcomesign;
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update on my UTI problem. I think i got rid of it with medicine. But the doctors arent so sure. I've tested negative 3 times in the last 2 months. If i test negative again, I will go ahead and get worked up for a transplant. However, the doc's want to still remove my old kidneys, they say thats the safest option. I don't know, but I want to keep my kidneys if I can. I don't know if its weird, because after I get a transplant i wont be using my old kidneys hardly at all anymore. I'll be hoarding 3 kidneys in my body. Freaky... But I still dont want to take my old ones out if its not neccessary.
-Jaybird
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Not wanting to go thru another surgery doesn't sound weird to me at all, Jay!
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I totally agree with jbeany - there are always risks with any surgery, so why do it if it doesn't really have to be done? You have the final word!
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This is for introductions. Please start a new post on this subject.
Rerun - Moderator (I'm back)
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This is for introductions. Please start a new post on this subject.
Rerun - Moderator (I'm back)
Uh Oh, you guys better watch out. :o
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My advice to you is remove the old kidneys I regret not having mine removed because they never figured out why the failed and are still questioning if they are causing other problems. I wish you the best of luck and hope your test comes back good!
Thread Locked - Introduction only!
Rerun Moderator