Hello from austria (m , 26 years old )

[UltimaRatio]

Hey fellow board members - im here to introduce myself.
i guess i should start by telling my story - i ll try to keep it short - i promise .
Excuse me if my english is bad but as you might guess its not my native language...

allright - first off : i was or better i am a powerlifter - til october 2012 i was pretty mean looking with 144 kgs at a height of 178 cm.

in september 2012 i started to feel sick - i didnt have any pain, edemas or urinating problems - i just felt weak , my temperature was a bit up and i had to throw up a few times (i blamed that on my diet wich i maintained for my sport [over 8000 kcal a day and high protein and water intake ]) so i kept thinking it was a flu or something like that.
since im a very disciplined guy i kept on working , exercising (i was in preperation for my debut in 2013s season) and of course my "bingeeating" diet.
at the end of september 2012 i felt even worse and decided to stay at home and give me a break to get better - but after 2 weeks of resting it only get worse .
it was saturday night when i recognized that something wasnt right with my eyes - i saw everything blurry and had some "blind spots in my right eye . but being a "tough mofo" i thought it was because of the "flu" and went back to bed - hoping that these symptoms would disappear on the next day.
at that time i was hardly eating or drinking anything but sleeping almost 18 hrs a day taking aspirine to feel at least a bit better.

Well of course i didnt feel better and so i decided to finally listen to my girlfriend (im a stubborn guy ) and to see my optometrist on wednesday .
he told me that both my retinas were detatched and i should immediately go to the hospital - not the er but the ophthalmic clinic.
well - now he had my attention and i followed his advice by taking a cab instead of driving myself to the hospital ( turned out to be a pretty good idea - since i was almost blind ( 5 and 8 percent of my visus were left - i am still scared when i remember that i drove my girlfriend to her doctor on monday... ).

after 2 hrs of waiting the doctor called me in , took some photos of my eyes and was astonished - after a few minutes there were 6 docs standing around me and they all told me they never had seen such a case of fully detatched retinas without an apparent reason (ie. a trauma).

they started taking my blood and bp ... the bp was quite high ( 170/100) wich is very unusual for me - normally i am in the high 130s .
when the lab results came back about one hour later they were even more astonished .
my crea was in the high 18s - and i was still walking and talking . no siign of disorientation or other symptoms - they hadnt seen that happen before .

i got sent to the er ( walked there by foot because i needed some time to calm down and get my mind sorted ) of course they kept me over night - and the next day i suddenly couldnt urinate anymore.
it became more and more obvious that i had a serious problem .
after 2 days i got a permcath and had my first hd session ... crea kept going up (now 25). i was still orientated but feeling pretty sick .
since i still wasnt diagnosed they decided to make a kidney biopsy- wich failed in a pretty terrible way.
with the first 2 biopsy they didnt manage to get through my back muscles - the third attempt punctated an artery wich supplied 1/3 of my right kidney.
after 2 hours the pain got worse and worse - but they wouldnt believe me that it was really that bad (they thought im "bitching" about the normal pain after a biopsy)
2 more hours later the right side of my lower upper body was swollen as if i had swallowed a brick - so the docs finally started to listen to me ( to be true i was shouting and threatening them more than trying to convince them  ) and rushed me to the ct.

i had a hematoma of 1000 cc - and was rushed to an emergency surgery where the artery was shut down by a coiling (so i lost a third of my right kidney due to their mistake) - since i already had no kidney function i wasn't put to sleep - that were 3 funny hrs.

the next day i could only move in a wheelchair otherwise the wound would have opened again . and boy.... i hated that .
of course i still didn't have a diagnosis because all the probes were just muscle tissue.

the next few days weren't that exciting except for the fact that i was loosing weight rapidly - i was already down to 105kg  due to bad nutrition - that poisoned my body even more.
after a while of dialysis treatment i started to feel a bit better and i was lucky because my friends , family and girlfriend were there all the time from day one . i have never been alone for more than about 30 minutes. with at least 10 visitors a day - i also had a pretty cool roommate who didnt mind having my friends visit me from 7 am to 11 pm .
but after a few days of feeling better i crashed because of a pneumonia - i couldn't even breathe sitting at my bed - i was rushed to the intensive care unit and had to be respirated by a big machine (not just a oxygen mask) , they gave me morphine and drained about 5 liters of water during the next hours . at least i was finally able to sleep after my visitors left ( i had 6 at one time which is actually forbidden at the icu , but i guess they didn't really "ask" to see me but just rushed in ).

after another week i was finally able to go home ... it took me about 20 mins from the car to my apartment ( third floor no elevator -.-).
i was put on dialysis schedule 3 times a week for 4 hours and my crea was about 10 weight went down to a minimum of 92 kg and i was miserable ...
i couldnt stand to see myself in a mirror - all of a sudden i felt so puny and weak it was depressing.
At that point i want to thank my family , my friends and specially my girlfriend for not abandoning me  . i wasn't really a fun person to be with anymore.

so against all odds i  started lifting again (only 3 times a week) - and after a while even my kidneys seemed to pick up work.

i slowly improved (physically and mentally ) and my health was better - i was able to urinate again - at first just about 500 ml a day but hey - drinking 500 ml more felt soooo good.

since there was a small chance that i wouldnt need a fistula i kept the permcath for about 6 months .

in march 2013 ( already back to 110 kg) i decided its time to move on since i hated that permcath thingy ( it was damn hard to exercise with that thing ) .
so i pushed the docs to find a way i could keep training - and after 2 weeks of discussions they reccomended pd with a very well secured pd catheter. so pd it is .

after a month of healing i got rid of the permcath and started capd- boy that was an ordeal ... no spare time ... running around bloated all the time - the capd consumed my whole day - i hated it.
So i urged my docs to give me a cycler - after 2 weeks of capd i finally got my baxter homechoice pro and i loved it pretty much from day one .  apart from a few travelling restrictions and bad sleep at night (only for one month ) it was great- i finally got my freedom back.

my kidneys made big steps towards normal behaviour - today im able to urinate up to 6 liters so i can basically drink whatever amount i want (lucky me  ) and my lab reports get better from month to month - even my weight and strength increased greatly.
right now my crea is below 10 , phosphate and kalium are in the low normal range of a healthy person and my weight is at 135 kg at the moment (still increasing). actually im even thinking about competing again ...
i havent got any edema since i got my cycler in april and i dont need any additional uf
even my renal kt/v went up big time (3.0 without dialysis at the moment  ) and 3,6 with dialysis plus my renal kt/v


well i guess that's it about me - if i forgot something i will edit that in later .

Regards
Phil

[cassandra]

Welcome to the site ultimaratio

   


Take care, Cas

[Rerun]

Hi Phil,  Very good for a second language.  I'm so glad you found us.  There was a weight lifter at my center too.  He finally got a transplant and is doing well and competing again. 

Come here often.  I'm glad you PD is working out.

Rerun, Moderator    

[CebuShan]

     UltimaRatio!
You've had quite a roller coaster ride! Glad to hear that your friends and family have stuck by you.
Where in Austria are you? I had a friend that lived in Innsbruck.

[UltimaRatio]

hey ! thanks for your nice words and for welcoming me

I live in graz ( 2nd largest city in austria - its still a rather small town i guess )

[Rerun]

I'm pretty sure you are the only one on this site from Austria.  Reminds me of The Sound of Music.

What is your health care like there.  Is it single payer (Socialist) or private insurance or private pay......

Rerun, Moderator   

[kristina]

Hello Phil and welcome to IHD.
I am very sorry about your Roller-Coaster-Ride and do wish you all the best.
Did the doctors find out what made your kidneys collapse without any warning?
Did you take by any chance Creatin and special Proteins during your training
and it upset your kidneys?

I don't know Graz, but in my youth I travelled to Bregenz/Laterns and Hirschegg during my mountain-climbing holidays.
Later I listened to a very special classical concert at Schoenbrunn and the setting with the wonderful orchestra and illuminated chandeliers was very classy...
Later I made my musical pilgrimage to Mozart’s Salzburg... and a few years after that I had a glimpse at Rudolf’s Mayerling
and wondered whether it was really suicide or not, because after Rudolf’s death the Habsburg’s gave Mayerling away – just like that -
and it was immediately turned into a convent ...

... Is Andre Heller still around? I remember some of his early chansons...
... and there was another impressive Vienna chanson singer, but I don't remember his name right now.

Best wishes from Kristina

[UltimaRatio]

@rerun :
the insurance companies here are pretty much npos for basic insurance - there are different companies depending on what your profession is (for instance retired people have different insurance companies than students or civil servants) - but that comes on a pretty high tax rate.
ofc you can have a 2nd insurance - that will pay for better hospital rooms and higher ranked doctors (chief residents).

@kristina:
in hirschegg (near köflach) you were about 50 km away from graz .

the reason for my kidneys failing is still pretty mysterious
at first the doctors  believed the damage was done by my too high blood pressure - but that cant be the reason because i monitored my bp until i started to feel sick and it was at 140/80 max.
then they blamed my sport ( when im lifting my bp is of course very high due to the heavy weights used ) but thats unlikely as well since i was only lifting 3 hours a day for 6 days  a week - not long enough for this kind of damage.
i had a very strict diet ( 400-500 grams of protein per day . about 8000 kcal and of course i took a lot of supplements[proteine ,carbs , coffeine, bcaas ] to reach my high bodyweight) but that was ruled out as well because it wouldnt have caused the shrinkage of my kidneys - i mean it sure didnt help my health condition but it wasnt the real cause since i drank about 8-9 liters a day what should have been enough for this amount of proteine.
they had only seen this kind of damage once - that guy was a heavy drug user - but that doesnt make any sense aswell since i never did any drugs - i dont even drink.
so with all that ruled out its most likely that its a familial problem - my uncle and my brother (died at his birth) both had severe kidney problems .
of course taking aspirine for days when i became ill wasnt the best idea i had - guess thats what pushed my kidneys over the edge  .

im glad to hear that you enjoyed your stays in austria

i cant say if andre heller is still around - you dont hear much about him these days - maybe its because im not really into that kind of music


Phil

[UkrainianTracksuit]

What an interesting and detailed story to read.  Your kidney woes and health issues turned into quite a saga.  It’s great that your support system remained so strong.  Also, it’s good that things have settled and you’re thinking of competing again.  It’s beneficial (physically and mentally) when all of us can retain activities that we did before dialysis “took over”.

I’m a big fan of Austria.  Some of my happiest and most content memories happened in Tirol.  Time in Linz was more education oriented so not as much fun. 

While I know it’s not the same, I “sort of” understand the world of high calorie and high protein diet mayhem.  My boyfriend boxes so when he has to up his weight, I just stare in amazement at the intake.  I haven’t run into any powerlifters but I see a few weightlifters from time to time.  They seem to get jobs as gym rats.    (Yes, I know there’s a difference between the two sports.) 

[Shaks24]

    UltimaRatio

[Bambino_Bear]

 

[kristina]

@kristina:
in hirschegg (near köflach) you were about 50 km away from graz .

the reason for my kidneys failing is still pretty mysterious
at first the doctors  believed the damage was done by my too high blood pressure - but that cant be the reason because i monitored my bp until i started to feel sick and it was at 140/80 max.
then they blamed my sport ( when im lifting my bp is of course very high due to the heavy weights used ) but thats unlikely as well since i was only lifting 3 hours a day for 6 days  a week - not long enough for this kind of damage.
i had a very strict diet ( 400-500 grams of protein per day . about 8000 kcal and of course i took a lot of supplements[proteine ,carbs , coffeine, bcaas ] to reach my high bodyweight) but that was ruled out as well because it wouldnt have caused the shrinkage of my kidneys - i mean it sure didnt help my health condition but it wasnt the real cause since i drank about 8-9 liters a day what should have been enough for this amount of proteine.
they had only seen this kind of damage once - that guy was a heavy drug user - but that doesnt make any sense aswell since i never did any drugs - i dont even drink.
so with all that ruled out its most likely that its a familial problem - my uncle and my brother (died at his birth) both had severe kidney problems .
of course taking aspirine for days when i became ill wasnt the best idea i had - guess thats what pushed my kidneys over the edge  .

im glad to hear that you enjoyed your stays in austria

i cant say if andre heller is still around - you dont hear much about him these days - maybe its because im not really into that kind of music


Phil

Hello again, Phil,
Thanks for all the information.

I don’t blame you that Andre Heller is not your kind of music. I just looked him up on the Internet
and his songs have deteriorated very much. He also seems to have developed into a raving exhibitionist
without having anything to say ... perhaps I was overestimating his songs when I was a teenager...

... Are we talking about the same Hirschegg? I was thinking of the Hirschegg in Vorarlberg Kleinwalsertal...
...which also had a tax-free status “in the old days”... ?

Please forgive me for my asking but I did not come across a powerlifter ever before and I was wondering how
your body was dealing with all the Protein and Kreatin intake over the years and how your kidneys have dealt with it ...

My own kidneys (10-12% function, no dialysis) show my very frail kidney function through my high Creatinine and Urea.
All my other blood tests are completely normal and have been normal for many years.
I don’t need any supplements to assist my kidneys or my body despite the fact that I am pre-dialysis... 

I also know for sure that I suffer from a kidney disease called chronic proliferative glomerulonephritis
(many, many years ago a kidney biopsy was taken and I was diagnosed) - and I also know through ultrasound etc
that my kidneys are extremely small and scarred because of my ongoing chronic kidney disease...

Because of my kidney-situation I was wondering, what else could be done to curb my high Creatinine levels
... and I have read that some boxers/weight-lifters and power lifters have  a very high Protein and Kreatin intake
through their “binge-eating” diet...

I was wondering if any doctors know how a body can “get rid” of an overproduction of Creatinine and Protein
because body-builders/boxers/powerlifters  obviously seem to be able to "to get rid" of it  ...

My hope was that your doctors had some answers to that question ...
and I thought that if for example powerlifters/body-builders/boxers would all suffer from kidney failure as a result
of their “binge-eating” diet with too much Protein/Kreatin intake, they surely would not take such a high risk...

What do you think?

Best wishes from Kristina.

P.S. My kidneys first failed in 1971 (coma, Uraemia) and I was told by a Professor who was into preventative medicine,
that only a strict vegetarian diet might give me some assitance to keep my kidneys going ... without dialysis and/or transplant...
In all these years I had to make absolutely sure to have as little Protein-intake as possible to protect my "two little fighters" ...

[UltimaRatio]

hey guys and girls .

Thanks again for welcoming me to the board

@Ukrainian Tracksuit :
yeah the intake can be humongous . actually it still is - i just cut down the protein intake to a reasonable level - atm its 800grams of steak and 1 kg (unboiled weight) of rice  additional i take 2 weight gainer shakes ( 50 grams of protein - 220 grams of complex carbs each ) and 200 grams of complex carbs during my workout a day .

What weightclass is your bf competing in ?


@kristina :

Dont be sorry for asking - actually im quite astonished over the attention my "story" gets - so im happy to answer all your questions as good as i can .
apparently we are not talking about the same hirschegg - yours is pretty far away from graz

actually i didnt even have a high creatine intake - i tried it 2-3 times and it didnt even help me in terms of strength or size .
the proteine intake was ofc huge .

the powerlifting trick to cope with this high intake is easy : the magic word is protein synthesis and keeping yourself hydrated .
as long as you train hard and build muscle you spend most of the proteine for repairing your muscle cells as long as your calorie intake is high enough - the only thing you have to do in addition is drinking so that the remaining waste ( which isnt much after the synthesis) gets flushed out good .

well i guess most massive guys would step back if that was a standard risk in that sport ( well actually it is a standard risk of bodybuilding - but that comes from dehydrating for the stage)
BUT : i still regret nothing i did - i was very happy with my body as it was - and ofc with my strength (bench 310 , deadlift 330 , squat 290 [all values in kg]) so id do it again anytime , even if it would be the reason for my kidneys to fail ( which it isnt ) .

regarding the diet : since i am a big boy again  it would be a huge mistake to cut down my intake . if i did that i would devour my own muscles by loosing weight and thats even more poisonous than eating a considerable amount of red meat.
apart from that it would get me back to a depression if i lost that much weight . and who knows : i might even get rid of dialysis soon anyways - since my values are getting better and better and i dont have any water problems i ll do a big checkup in jannuary 2014 and see if i can escape that machine a bit longer .
its a miracle because the recovery started when i went back to my old workout plan ( 6 times a week for 2-3 hrs HEAVY lifting [best so far bench 255, deadlift 310, squats 250 all in kg again]) and picked up my old diet but with restricted proteine intake.
and i would never change a winning system
guess im pretty lucky after all

feel free to ask anything you want

All the best

Phil

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Wow, that is some protein intake!  However, like you said, you’re working out hard and turning that into muscle so it has a job to do rather than simply “pass through” the system.  I can understand why, even as a kidney patient, that it is needed and works with your condition.  Like you said, I’ve heard the biggest risk in these sports to the kidneys is dehydration.  In that case, you’re lucky to have no fluid restrictions.  Also, (sorry, more questions pop into my head.  I know I’m an annoying person) I know that you’ve already addressed creatine and protein not being issues.  However, were you taking any other supplements with sport-legal ingredients that may have caused renal impairment?  Anything natural?  Another silly question but is this your diet all the time or do you up your intake before a competition knowing that you‘ll need extra help?  I’m just curious about sports diets!  Personally at home, I hear about “regular time” diet, training camp diet, pre-fight diet and post-fight diet.  The different percentages and amounts just sounds like birds chirping to me.       

As for my boyfriend, he boxed as a cruiserweight mostly but now he’s upped a class to heavyweight.  You know, it’s kind of funny but lifting did come up during our first date.  The only experience or “knowledge” of kidney disease my boyfriend had was through some guy in a gym back home in Belarus.  He mentioned a  “shot putter turned hulk” who “blew out his kidneys”.  (Sorry, sometimes he has the vocabulary of a rock.)  Instead of focusing on the diet like you, this guy apparently was a supplement hog and I quote “he was on ‘roids too”.    

[UltimaRatio]

just go ahead and ask .

supplements used :
Proteine and carbs
complex carbs
caffeine
arginine ( opens up blood vessels and therefore lowers blood pressure)
some carb bars wich mainly consist of oats - so not really a supplement
Glutamine
bcaas

so basically just harmless stuff everyone knows and takes (through normal nutrition).

thats my bulking diet . but since i am bulking all the time to gain strength its my everydays diet since about 6 years ...
only things that changed after my kidneys failed are amount of proteine and i dont use salt anymore ( i am very strict in terms of dieting - guess i am used to it).
if i d just want to keep my mass and not gain additional weight id cut down carbs - but since i want to see whats possible with my restrictions i wont do that too soon .

no need to excuse for your boyfriends vocabulary - i know and use worse words
with roids its a bit difficult . there are few roids that can cause kidneys to fail - mostly short esthered products that increase bp (to be true the damage then is done by the blood pressure , not the "juice") .
the easiest way to kill your kidneys is for bodybuilders dehydrating (adipex , lasix and whatever they use to get dry ) and workout boosters (there were a few "legal"[available in every sports shop with a proteine corner] ones like jack3d in which they found amphetamine [ephedrine like substances ]).
but i guess thats not the place to discuss the cons of taking roids and boosters .

[Poppylicious]

Hi Phil, and  .

Love your detailed intro, but not the circumstances which it speaks of. And - for what it's worth - your English is pretty good, even better than a lot of the students (ages predominantly 16-19) I work with.

 

[kristina]

@kristina :

Dont be sorry for asking - actually im quite astonished over the attention my "story" gets - so im happy to answer all your questions as good as i can .
apparently we are not talking about the same hirschegg - yours is pretty far away from graz

actually i didnt even have a high creatine intake - i tried it 2-3 times and it didnt even help me in terms of strength or size .
the proteine intake was ofc huge .

the powerlifting trick to cope with this high intake is easy : the magic word is protein synthesis and keeping yourself hydrated .
as long as you train hard and build muscle you spend most of the proteine for repairing your muscle cells as long as your calorie intake is high enough - the only thing you have to do in addition is drinking so that the remaining waste ( which isnt much after the synthesis) gets flushed out good .

well i guess most massive guys would step back if that was a standard risk in that sport ( well actually it is a standard risk of bodybuilding - but that comes from dehydrating for the stage)
BUT : i still regret nothing i did - i was very happy with my body as it was - and ofc with my strength (bench 310 , deadlift 330 , squat 290 [all values in kg]) so id do it again anytime , even if it would be the reason for my kidneys to fail ( which it isnt ) .

regarding the diet : since i am a big boy again  it would be a huge mistake to cut down my intake . if i did that i would devour my own muscles by loosing weight and thats even more poisonous than eating a considerable amount of red meat.
apart from that it would get me back to a depression if i lost that much weight . and who knows : i might even get rid of dialysis soon anyways - since my values are getting better and better and i dont have any water problems i ll do a big checkup in jannuary 2014 and see if i can escape that machine a bit longer .
its a miracle because the recovery started when i went back to my old workout plan ( 6 times a week for 2-3 hrs HEAVY lifting [best so far bench 255, deadlift 310, squats 250 all in kg again]) and picked up my old diet but with restricted proteine intake.
and i would never change a winning system
guess im pretty lucky after all

feel free to ask anything you want

All the best

Phil

Hello again Phil,
Thanks very much for the information, it is very much appreciated.

I have another important question about the amount of liquid you drink.
For example: I weigh 55.6 kg and I drink approximately 2¼ litres (filtered) water per day and I arrived at this quantity after researching
on the Internet about liquid intake according to my weight in my particular end stage kidney failure (10-12% kidney function no dialysis).
I do not know what your weight is or your daily liquid intake  -  but is it proportionate to mine?
I also don’t know if there is a difference between males and females as regards of liquid intake and I would very much value your thoughts on this.

I assume that Protein builds tissue (i.e. muscle) and I have been wondering whether more Protein may even  re-generate tissues in the kidney
which eventually may lead to an improvement in kidney function. This said, I have always been told by doctors that I should not have
too much Protein . So I don’t know what the answer could be?

Thanks again and kind regards,

Kristina.

[CebuShan]

@Kristina:

As far as protein intake, I believe that it changes depending on whether you are predialysis or on dialysis. I struggle to keep my albumin (protein) levels up but I have been on Dialysis since 2010.

[UltimaRatio]

@poppylicious: ... well thanks for the compliment then

@kristina:

as i stated in one of my previous post my weight is now at 135 kg ( still increasing).
The amount i drink is varying : most days i drink about 5-6 liters , on hotter days , extremely exhausting workout days and when i go out with my friends (twice a year) its closer to 10 liters .

so in my opinion :
our liquid intakes are pretty much equal. i dont think that there is a difference between men and women , but there surly are differences regarding activities like sports.
also you have to keep in mind that its dependent of your remaining renal functions . i d say with about 2,5 liters you should be perfectly fine (but thats only MY opinion).

regarding protein intake : yeah you are right . the muscle building process is called protein synthesis - i mentioned that topic in my last post.
but i dont think that our health problems are comparable in this term . I am already on dialysis , thats why i experimented after reading some german articles (that were passed on to me by a friend [pharmacist]) on the possibility to help your kidneys regenerate by using branched chain amino acids (certain protein combinations) .
i cant even say if it was helping my kidneys to start working again since i dont even know what made them fail in the first place.
it also could have been my sport , my diet or even pure luck.
all i know is that when i started my diet and lifting again they got better from day to day - as i said before i might even be able to stop dialysis treatment .
at the moment i eat 300 grams of proteine a day ( after the 40 g loss to peritoneal dialysis its about 1,9 grams of protein/kg bodyweight) and that works perfectly fine for my body.


BUT : since you are PRE dialysis i wouldnt take that risk to lose the remaining function of your kidneys .
you can try it when and if you have to undergo dialysis treatment (then you will be eating 1-1,1 grams of protein/kg bodyweight anyways) but for now you have too much to lose .


Best wishes
Phil


 

[kristina]

Thanks for your comment CebuShan,
It seems that diet on dialysis and pre-dialysis are very different matters
and I think therefore I should be cautious.
I send you my best wishes and all the best,
Kristina.

Thank you Phil,
That was an extremely interesting reply and I value your honesty
about how you deal with your own situation.

I share your thoughts on my situation in that I feel I have too much to lose by experimentation,
especially as I have survived so long without dialysis and on exactly the same vegetarian diet year on year...

I suppose because I have been maintaining 10-12% kidney function without dialysis for so long
I am tempted to do something to assist my “two little fighters” to regenerate and get going again...
But perhaps the risk of trying something else might be too great
considering there is no real supportive evidence that something may work.

I thank you again and I wish you good luck with everything,
Kristina

[UltimaRatio]

Thats probably a very smart decision.
You still can ask your nephrologist if you can try bcaas (at first i tried with 10 grams of protein a day). If hes up against it i would keep everything the way it is now.

Youre welcome , if you have any further questions always feel free to ask .

Phil

[kristina]

Thank you Phil. I get your message - proceed with caution.

I know a doctor who may be able to give me some medical advice on bcaas.
In case he cannot assist or advice me I shall keep on with my current vegetarian diet regime
and review my situation as I go along.

There is one thing that has always puzzled me about my kidneys.

In 1971 I was taken by ambulance to hospital having been found unconscious.
I was diagnosed with complete kidney failure and uraemia
and I remained in a coma for several weeks.

I was never put on dialysis but instead I was put on many drips.
My kidneys had slowly recovered to ~ 5 % function
when I was discharged with regular outpatient reviews.

I still wonder what these senior specialists at the hospital put into the drips
to inspire my kidneys to slowly get back into working order again?

At the time I was too unwell and much too young to comprehend what was going on
and I hardly understood what happened to me and when I began to realize
the great medical achievement of these senior doctors at the hospital,
it was too late to ask them because they were "not with us” anymore...

Ever since I have never ever come across a doctor/nephrologist
who was able to explain to me medically
what the doctors at that time might have put into those drips
to assist my kidneys to recover...

I have also wondered if my “two little fighters” performed the miracle by themselves...

I do hope for you that your kidneys get back into complete working order again
and I also hope you find a happy balance to keep your kidneys going whilst enjoying your powerlifting.

Good luck wishes from Kristina.

[UltimaRatio]

that drips you got in hospital sound a lot like cortisone to me - that can help to get your kidneys working if applied quickly after they failed.
they tried cortisone as well when i was in hospital but that let my pneumonia get humongous . ( that one that brought me to the i.c.u.)
i guess there is no simple way out of your situation .
if i was you i would go find me a proper nephrologist and ask him all the questions you have - by that you would at least get clarity

[kristina]

Thanks Phil, you are possibly right...

The next time I see a nephrologist I shall go into more details about this.

Thanks from Kristina.

[msf21]

Welcome to the site. I am 31, so I can relate to what your going through. I have been looking for people closer to my age to connect with.  Austria is great. I have been there many times, mostly to Vienna, Salzburg, and Hallstatt area. I wish I could go back, and I am sure I will eventually. I have been trying to pick up some german, with mixed results. With out regular practice i sometimes forget a few phrases. I hope its all going well with you.