No more dialysis

[chessicle]

I thought I'd share a nice, and unfortunately vanishingly rare, event with you.

I saw a chap in clinic who has been on dialysis for about eighteen months; anti-inflammatory drugs had done for his kidneys.  And blow me - his kidneys had got better!  He hasn't dialysed for four weeks tomorrow, and his Creatinine has been steady at 180 mcmol/L (~2mg/dL in American) since then!  Now, kidneys do recover from some insults, but not eighteen months later!  He is a phenomenally lucky man.

[Sluff]

Unbelievable, good for him. guess it don't matter why, I hope the best for him  .

[stauffenberg]

The statistics say that in 1% of all cases of endstage renal failure there is a spontaneous recovery of renal function.  If the cause of renal failure is acute tubular necrosis, such as can occur after severe dehydration, for example, there can be spontaneous recovery of renal function after as long as two years on dialysis.  When I first developed my auto-immune attack on the kidneys, I was taken off dialysis a few times for a week or so, but eventually had to return full-time.  Unlike most parts of the body, which tend to get better spontaneously if they go through a period of recovery, the kidneys, like the retinas, tend to get worse over time once they have suffered serious but not total damage, even if they do rise to a brief period of recovery of function.  You may well see that spontaneously recovered patient back on dialysis after a while.

[RichardMEL]

wow! That is amazing... I am sure that guy is enjoying every minute of it. If it was me I would treat it as though it might go away any minute! I hope he is having a beer for all the rest of us right now!!! Because damit, I really WANT a ice cold beer.... NOW!!!

[shivashankerprasad]

is it chronic renal failure or acute renal failure?
acute renal failure is a reversible disorder and patients get recovered after months on dialysis but CRF is irreversible and cant be cured.

[Laurie]

My situation is similar. I was on dialysis for 9 months following complications after a C-Section. My kidney function improved enough and dialysis was no longer needed. That was December 2001. Now, 5 years later, my kidneys are failing and I will once again need dialysis.

[Sluff]

My situation is similar. I was on dialysis for 9 months following complications after a C-Section. My kidney function improved enough and dialysis was no longer needed. That was December 2001. Now, 5 years later, my kidneys are failing and I will once again need dialysis.

At least you got an additional 5 years. I guess it's better than nothing.

[Laurie]

Yes, I'm very thankful for the 5 years. It allowed me to have a somewhat normal life starting out as a new parent.

[angela515]

I remember when I first went into renal failure when I was 15, my dr's put me on cytoxin treatments (chemotherapy) for 18 months, my kidneys went back to normal, then 2 years later I was going into kidney failure again, they wanted to do the cytoxin again, but this time i had no insurance we were inbetween insurance companies, and so they couldnt do it, and said "Well see you in 5 yrs when you can start dialysis." Basically we cant do it u cant pay so go let them fail. I blame them to this day.

[chessicle]

is it chronic renal failure or acute renal failure?
acute renal failure is a reversible disorder and patients get recovered after months on dialysis but CRF is irreversible and cant be cured.

I find it more useful to think a bit more carefully about the definitions.  In essence, acute renal failure is the loss of kidney function which is possibly recoverable - eg ATN as mentioned above.  This may require dialysis, but may just be apparent in a rise in the Creatinine.  It is usually acute - ie happens in a relatively short time.  ATN doesn't usually take more than a month, at the outside, to recover

Chronic renal failure is the permanent loss of any percentage of normal renal function.  Once it reaches a certain stage, it does tend to get worse, though over a fairly prolonged period of time.  An injury, again such as ATN, can happen to someone with chronic renal failure - acute on chronic renal failure.

End-stage renal failure is irreversible renal failure requiring dialysis (or a transplant) to keep someone alive, and well.  (I guess there are those of you who would argue about the final part of that definition!)

My chap has been left with fairly advanced chronic renal failure which is likely to progress to end-stage renal failure.  He must have had severe acute on chronic renal failure which has now recovered.  By definition, he has not had end-stage renal failure - it has reversed!

At the end of the day, of course, it is all human-derived definitions for how a biological system works - and therefore fundamentally flawed.

[goofynina]

The Lord works in mysterious ways doesnt he?

[MattyBoy100]

wow! That is amazing... I am sure that guy is enjoying every minute of it. If it was me I would treat it as though it might go away any minute! I hope he is having a beer for all the rest of us right now!!! Because damit, I really WANT a ice cold beer.... NOW!!!

Poured into a glass out of the freezer. 

[goofynina]

I have only known this to happen to one person at a clinic i used to go to, after 4 years, VOILA, he got all kidney function back,  "I believe in Miracles"