No one knows what caused my kidney failure. Asymptomatic almost to the end?

[CatonTheRoof]

Hello dear friends,

Most of you know my story but to those that don't know it...

I'm a 23 year old Colombian,  I was 21 back when this spiritual, mental and physical training started.     

I was living my dream. Had went to study to the beautiful city of Prague, had amazing friends, and overall i thought my life couldn't be more perfect.   Now I'll try to tell things in a chronological order:

February 19th 2011:    I went to a night club that was very hot inside, I felt dehydrated for the first time.   Took a coca cola inside the place,  then went out (it was around -10 degrees outside)  and took a tram.  I was so thirsty, that I went down the tram way before arriving to my home station.   Asked for a cold bottle of coca cola.      Then went home, and while arriving home spoke with my mother through phone (opening the mouth in the middle of the cold)   when I arrived home I felt tachycardia for the first time.

February 19th to March 2th: What first appears as a sore throat, progressively worsens in these days. I thought I had got the flu.       Yellow mucus, then mucus with blood.    I didn't consider I should go to the doctor,  my way of reasoning was "this is just a cold, it'll get better by itself"  I didn't have a thermometer, nor a blood pressure analyzer, etc.     Even though my mom urged me to go to the doctor, I didn't.   I commited the mistake of going out to a restaurant at night during Tuesday 22th of February, then I felt abnormal chills.   On thursday, I went to the university, and even though I felt weak,  I still thought it was just a bad flu.   I went to a Chinese restaurant with great appetite.      During this evening, I feel a bit of nausea, had a bit of diarrhea.  From this moment on I developed something strange.  I would still feel a great appetite, but whenever I wanted to eat,  I would feel full after just a bite.    I contact the international insurance on Saturday, and they reply to me on monday...   that afternoon I went to the doctor for some analyzes, a nurse says that I probably had a bacteria (respiratory infection)    but she tells me to return next morning for complete analysis.

By this time, I felt I would faint while waiting for the metro, felt trully weak and thirsty all the time. Finally, next morning exam's reveal that I have some nasty kidney disease, that I never though I would have.    Directly to the ER..

Hyponathremia, and other conditions are revealed.   I have also lost 4 pounds in a week,   my creatinine is around 6,3.        In the ER they don't consider necessary to do dialysis though,  first they wanted to try other ways around.     Eventually minerals are stabilized, and 50 mg of Prednisolone daily are given to me.   Creatinine improves in a small way, as well as also hemoglobin (11..      I'm given permission to travel back to my country in middle of tears.  And well, here in a stupid clinic they suspended me the prednisolone for 4 days,  and that made the condition lot worse.   On April, I end up on dialysis.



So,  I would appreciate the opinion of you people that have experience on this. As I consider that sometimes we patient through empiricism, we end up knowing more than doctors lol.

Do you think I already had the kidney failure and the bad flu pushed it to the limit?  if so, how is it possible that I felt normal up to middle February?

thanks in advance

[sullidog]

I was in your same situation, all winter of 2009 I felt tired all the time, then in the spring other symptems came with it, and I had fainting episodes, Like you I thought it was the flu since that was the year where swine flu was popular, well they told me I had anemia, an urgent care did, but I wanted anohter oppinion so I didn't have a family doctor so they refered me to one, well turns out I had kidney failure (who knows how long?) anyways they did a biopsy and the byopsy showed I had acute kidney failure do to cold medicine which I wasn't on anything, let alone taking meds for a cold which I never did because I hated pills and couldn't even swallow them. So yes it is possible that you had this before you knew about it.

[CatonTheRoof]

Overall I think that Ancient Chinese Medicine is true on this.  That Winter,  can be the true kidney killer.   Such cold can harm kidneys a lot I have been told by alternative doctors.

But you know, this is very weird.  Before going to Prague I seldomly went to parties here in Bogotá, nor ever did drugs/smoke.           Then on December I got a very nasty flu while travelling to poland,  but recovered three days later. So when this happened again on February, I thought the same would occur.

At least I have conserved many functions of the kidney.   And my hemoglobin is on 14, without needing EPO or Iron. Is this weird?        If papers showing blood results didn't exist I would think I was healthy judging from the urine and energy I usually have lol.  Only thing I get is chills sometimes.

[amanda100wilson]

Who knows?  You sound as if you are beating yourself up a bit about not addressing your issues sooner, but you didn't know either.  We're you treated by antibiotics for your throat infection, because the thing that springs to mind to me, is strep throat which can damage your kidneys.   I doubt that you had the flu, since the flu does not last for three days.  With the flu you are sick for at least two weeks and you would not be doing anything.  If you have the flu, you really fell like you are going to die.  There is a very good chance too that you already had kidney problems.  The early stages are very insidious and symptomless outwardly.  I had 25% kidney function before I was diagnosed.