You're lucky if you make it to D

[MooseMom]

I would never have known I had CKD until I got pregnant, had pre-eclampsia and still was losing protein after giving birth.  That was 19 years ago, and I have been pretty much asymptomatic ever since, despite having gfr 16.  My fsgs was discovered entirely by accident.  After the initial diagnosis, I was treated for high blood pressure (which was never really high, but knowing about my ckd, the doc wanted to keep my bp as low as possible, so treatment was largely preventative), but no one ever told me about the correlation between ckd and cardiovascular disease.  Once I moved back to the States, I had a physical after getting remarried purely for insurance reasons; that was 6 years ago, and it was the first time my cholesterol had ever been checked.  Again, the extent of my kidney problem was discovered entirely by accident.  I see now that I am extremely lucky that more damage was not done during those years I was "undertreated".

Rightside, I can understand how, if you are not diabetic or hypertensive, most docs wouldn't think "CKD" when faced with a patient presenting such symptoms as you described.

Silverhead, I understand your intention.  The moral of the story is to trust your instincts and remain vigilant.

[Sunny]

My cholesterol has gone sky high. I thought it was perhaps the blood pressure med I was on, but apparently it might have happened anyway.As stated here somewhere, one could eat cardboard and we could still end up with high cholesterol. It appears treating this is critical for preventing cardiovascular problems. Well, I learn something new everyday at IHD.

[okarol]

About Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem. In the US alone, 26 million adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk for developing it. Most people are unaware that they have CKD or may be at risk.

The term CKD refers to the five stages of kidney disease – the early stages (stages 1 and 2) as well as kidney failure (stage 5).

There is growing evidence that early detection and appropriate treatment may be effective in:

    * Delaying the onset of CKD in those at increased risk
    * Slowing CKD progression
    * Decreasing the development of cardiovascular disease in people with CKD.

Most people with CKD do not die of kidney failure – they die of heart disease! And heart disease, which is the cause of 40-50% of the deaths in CKD, occurs as early as stage 3.

From National Kidney Foundation's "Professional" section http://www.kidney.org/professionals/KLS/aboutCKD.cfm