POLL: Causes of kidney failure / disease - Please see if yours is shown here.

[Bryce]

I've got Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type 2 (Dense Deposits Disease), it's usually a very aggressive disease  which is usually detected in childhood and as a 90% chance of coming back after a transplantation, but I was 34 before I found out I had it and 37 when my kidneys failed, so heres hoping I'm one of the 10%. Although it is a genetic disease it is not hereditary so my son should be ok.

[JasonEb]

I got mine from Santa...I asked for a bicycle and instead he brought me membranoproliferative glomerummm....mumblemumble....itis.

Guess I shouldn't have left that flaming bag of reindeer poo on his porch earlier that year...

Oh, the doctors tell me it was from a random infection that attacked my kidneys, but I still think my Santa reason is the correct one...

~Jason E.

[kevno]

Reflux most likely from birth totally killed one kidney. By the time I was tested was 6 years old. Tried for four years to save the one kidney but failed, on hemo at the age of ten 1977.

A doctor misstake sent to late for tests

[smile24x7]

The cause of my kidney failure was the one two punch of type 2 diabetes and hypertension.   

[cabarle]

 

I was in the Navy during the first Persian Gulf War on an Ammunition Supply ship. The Navy suspects depleted Uranium is the cause of my renal failure.

All this time I thought it was the chow.

[dawson]

I loved the Santa story and wish I was half as creative!  Gosh, we're a witty crowd!

I have secondary FSGS probably caused by congenital absence of my left kidney.  My right kidney is enlarged.  I had a few years of UTIs before getting diagnosed at ages 28 - 31 (at 28 we knew there was a problem and almost 3 years later I was given a name of the disease , although it wasn't called FSGS at that time, at least by my doctors).   Another thought reading these - some of the side effects of FSGS are high cholesterol and high blood pressure and some of the people have listed these as causes yet not FSGS.

I'm also surprised at the poll because I thought FSGS was a small little sub-group of the whole kidney spectrum, but we seem to have a pretty strong showing.  Thanks - this was an interesting read.

[Orange County Ca]

The Doc said my failure was idiopathic.  I am fond of explaining to others that it means the idiots don't know.

First suspicion is that it was untreated or under treated strep throat when I was a kid and I did have several bouts of it in the 50's.

[dkerr]

PKD - my mother had it, I have it, my sister has it, my son has it, and I'm not sure about my daughter.  My nephro doesn't want me to check.  She's 31 and no sign of it yet, everything else in the world, but not this.  By the way ... nothing wrong with A&M - go Aggies!

My daughter got her B.A. at A&M and masters at BYU.  Did well for her.

[Mercurial]

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura

Swiped from www.medicinenet.com

"Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Medical Editor: Dennis Lee, MD

What is Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP)?

Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP or anaphylactoid purpura) is a form of blood vessel inflammation or vasculitis. There are many different conditions that feature vasculitis. Each of the forms of vasculitis tends to involve certain characteristic blood vessels. HSP affects the small arterial vessels called capillaries in the skin and frequently the kidneys. HSP results in skin rash (most prominent over the buttocks and behind the lower extremities associated with joint inflammation (arthritis) and sometimes cramping pain in the abdomen.

What causes HSP?

HSP occurs most often in the spring and frequently follows an infection of the throat or breathing passages. HSP seems to represent an unusual reaction of the body's immune system that is in response to this infection (either bacteria or virus). Aside from infection, drugs can also trigger the condition. HSP occurs most commonly in children, but people of all age groups can be affected.

What are symptoms of HSP?

Classically, HSP causes skin rash, pain in the abdomen, and joint inflammation (arthritis). Not all features need be present for the diagnosis. The rash of skin lesions appears in gravity-dependent areas, such as the legs. The joints most frequently affected with pain and swelling are the ankles and the knees. Patients with HSP can develop fever. Inflammation of the blood vessels in the kidneys can cause blood and/or protein in the urine. Serious kidney complications are infrequent but can occur.

Symptoms usually last approximately a month. Recurrences are not frequent but do occur."

[Wayne]

FSGS as well.  Pretty much like everyone else....I wasn't given an explanation.  They just said it wasn't hereditary...of course, they seem to be backing off a little on that now.

[Lucinda]

Mine was caused by dysplastic horseshoe kidney which is both rare and hereditary.  Whenever I am having an utrasound for something else, everyone asks if they can take a look at my horseshoe as they haven't see one before.  Nothing unusual there.  It just looks like a horseshoe with two kidney beans at each end. 

[okarol]

Mine was caused by dysplastic horseshoe kidney which is both rare and hereditary.  Whenever I am having an utrasound for something else, everyone asks if they can take a look at my horseshoe as they haven't see one before.  Nothing unusual there.  It just looks like a horseshoe with two kidney beans at each end. 

Hey Lucinda - did you ever see this thread? http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=8105.0

[Krisna]

Mine was glomerulonephritis of unknown origin!  By the time I was diagnosed I was already end stage and my Nephrologist said there wasn't any way of knowing for sure.  My doctors and surgeons now days say it was probably a Staph infection. 

[okarol]

Mine was glomerulonephritis of unknown origin!  By the time I was diagnosed I was already end stage and my Nephrologist said there wasn't any way of knowing for sure.  My doctors and surgeons now days say it was probably a Staph infection. 

It's amazing how many cases of ESRD have unknown causes!

[paris]

Do the docs just tell us that when they don't have the answer?   I keep thinking there must be some reason besides "idiopathic" --or is he just calling me an idiot?

[kaci]

Hey, you left out Henoch-Schoenlein Purpura, the type of renal failure that killed Mozart!  It is not a statistically important cause of renal failure, but I had to mention it because I just love to say, "Henoch-Schoenlein."  "Schoenlein" is also German for "pretty little thing," a term of endearment sometimes used among lovers there, but it does not describe the horrors of that disease very well!

This is what has caused DH's kidney failure.

[libran925]

I am amazed at all the causes of kidney failure. I knew about PKD (which I and my daughter have) and diabetes. Also high blood pressure. There hereditary stuff is discouraging, passing on a pesky disease to your child. And that child has two children of her own. So, we can only wait and see what will happen to them.

[SuzanneFord]

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus which isn't diabetes and should have its name changed to "George" so medical types stop trying to test my blood sugar.   It means insipid/clear urine actually, my older brother looked it up years ago, they used to test for diabetes by (grossness warning) tasting the patient's urine and if it tasted sweet the diagnosis was diabetes mellitus (type 1 or 2 I guess) and if it had no taste at all it was diabetes inspidus which is a kidney defect.  Some children are born with it and some people acquire it from lithium used as prescribed which is what happened to me.  I also didn't get decent medical care when I was in the acute phase of it which is probably why I ended up with kidney failure.  In the acute phase I was in the ICU putting out 10 liters of urine a day.  I still have polyuria to this day which also confuses any new medical types because they can't compute kidney failure patient and needs liquids constantly or will dehydrate to death.

[kidneyguy]

mine was prune belly syndrome

[overthepond]

I have never been given a definitive reason but suggestions my kidneys ceased to grow when i was 11.

What makes me laugh is that in my notes it states "Familial nephropathy" which to me means inherited from my family which as i am the first that we know of makes me laugh 

[Jamesw]

My kidney disease is officially hypertensive, however my hypertension was not discovered until my kidney function was at twenty percent, which is also when my kidney disease was discovered. I have bruised my kidneys a lot throughout my life, the last time was a couple of years before the kidney disease was discovered. My nephrologist sees this as a possible cause of the initial damage to my kidneys which would have then lead to hypertension which finally killed my kidneys. I was twenty eight when I was diagnosed with CKD, I wasn't out of shape or overweight, the only explanation for my hypertension is kidney failure, the only explanation for my kidney failure is hypertension hence the probable initial cause being physical injury.

[cosmickelly]

I was diagnosed with diabetes (type 1) in college.  They said then that with the symptoms I was having, I had it as a child. Then, when I went to get evaluated for a transplant, they said my pancreas was pumping insulin like crazy.....so, the "official" diagnosis now is Type 2. I am now not eligible for a pancreas.

Have an AWESOME day!!

Kelly

[idahospud]

I have PKD as did my mom and her dad and so on I am the 5th genration with PKD . My doter has polups there not sing PKD yet she's only 22 I pray to god she never git's it  but i know there's a good Chan's of it  I was surprised as how many different coses of CKD there are out there   Carol

[Katey]

I was surprised to see my disease of medullary cystic on this poll and that someone else suffers from it!!  Wow this is a great poll to get a general Idea of all things that can cause KF
 

[502Blues]

Alports according to what my medical chart says, I never had a kidney biopsy so how could they possibly diagnose that