Dialysis in about a year

[ODAT]

synopsis of kidney doctor visit today.
Love the doctor!

Kidneys are both the same size, both slow

stent (artery to kidney 70% blocked) will not improve kidney function and could possibley worsen it

15% kidney function

Creatine on 8/28 (before hospital) 3.3, now it is 3.1 Yay! (got up to 4.9 due to dye in stent procedure)

Diaylsis begins - probably in about a year

Fistula placement - as soon as possible

Calcium, phosphorus, and postassium ok

blood pressure 130/60

Go back to kidney doc in 10 weeks. Making appt with vascular surgeon soon. Mom's spirits - so, so. Her ankle is real beat up from this reaction she got in the hospital. It is all crusty and pulls. Her fingertips look like she's soaked them in water for a week and now they are all peeled. Her pcp will look at tomorrow. Still don't have a definite - and I doubt we ever will - on what this reaction was to (Plavix, stent drugs or stent itself, or dye).

talk to you all soon ! take care
Kim

[livecam]

There's a lot of good in what you know now.  You'll be prepared with a good access ready to go on day one which puts you at a major advantage over most patients who end up with a temporary access and are then faced with the creation and development of a permanent one.  Also this puts you in a position to be listed for transplant either now or very soon rather than having to wait until after you've started dialysis.  Other than that your numbers look decent so it looks like you are heading into this eyes wide open and with the path ahead well planned.  Keep it up!

[ODAT]

Hi livecam! It's my mom who has the kidney failure. She is 74 and is not eligible to get a transplant. Was told she was too old. The doctor definitely said we want to avoid doing an emergence access point. Of course, you can't be sure the fistula will not fail. Kidney doc said to push the vascular surgeon for a fistula. If it fails, then you do the graft.

[livecam]

Whoops!  My bad Odat..and my best to your mom!

[Sunny]

Tell your Mom to hang in there. Creatinine level of 3.1 is survivable for quite a while without dialysis. My creatinine level has been that high a few times over the years and each time the docs tell me to get ready for dialysis. Each time I have managed to regain kidney function. Right now my creatinine is 2.8 and I take High blood pressure meds to ease the work on my kidneys. What has worked for me is eating a very low protein diet (21 grams a day on average), drinking plenty of fluid (2-3 litres per day), and not overexerting myself. I also try to keep my weight low so my organs aren't working overtime to function. I've managed 7 years with ESRD. The kidneys may not last forever, but it could buy time with appropriate care. Good luck to your Mom. Find that glimmer of hope and grasp it.

[ODAT]

Wow, you really picked a great name because your post emits great rays of sunshine! It just made me feel hopeful. God Bless you and thanks for the tips. I asked the kidney doc what mom could do to help her situation. He said diet and exercise are important, besides keeping her blood sugar in check (diet). She's still on prednisone until Friday so her numbers are in the 200's. Hopefully the blood sugar will go down once she's off prednisone.