Help......

[Stumpy13]

Hi, I am a 52 year old type 1 diabetic with two below the knee amputations. I have just spent 4 days in HDU for a servere chest infection, and kidney failure. They were astounded to hear that I have never had my kidneys tested..........no one will tell me. What the treatment is? They had a filter machine ready for use, but was never used. Any ideas for a very scared person

[googie]

That is very unusual for your kidneys not to be monitored considering you are type 1!

First of all, please don't panic (easier said than done). It may have been that at that moment in time they thought you needed dialysing, but after some other tests and the fact that they started to treat you, things may not have been as bad as they thought and they will definately be watching you now. Do you have another appointment to go to?

If you ever get worried about something, please post on here, someone will always be here to answer a question if they can x You are not alone x

[Tearsofaclown]

Hi Stumpy13, My heart went out to you, so I just wanted to let you know. It is awful, when you receive these kind of shocks, as on the one hand you don't want to appear silly, and on the other you don't want to be blinded by medical jargon. I found it extremely unusual that you aren't already receiving kidney checks, from your GP in view of the diabetes. But, I also think it might be worthwhile, if you gave them a call, for a chat as they'll receive the hospital report and have more information, and can translate it into easily understood words that present less anxiety-provoking-thoughts. If your GP practice has a Nurse who handles all the diabetes patients, it might be worth talking to that person, too. Now that you have been picked-up by the System, I am sure they will ensure you receive regular checks in future and will be kept informed of anything they find.

Take Care.

[michel49]

I really am sorry to hear about your plight; as someone has mentioned, I am a bit at a loss to understand why your kidney function was not being monitored.

That said, from what I have read, it is not at all uncommon for kidney failure to be brought on by bad chest infections (or at least to become bad enough to be picked up). Mine became apparent after a nasty bout of sinusitis, during which I was given massive doses of anti-biotics; I am now aware that my kidney function had been bad for a while before the infection, but that was the straw that broke the Camel's back, so to speak.

This new problem, on top of your existing problems sounds like just a kick in the teeth, and, if you are anything like me, the idea of kidney failure (and all that that can entail) sounds pretty horrific. For your sake (and this is just from my own personal experience and therefore maybe unreliable), kidney failure brought on by the type of infection you suffered, may be the type that will improve slowly after you have got over the infection - you might well ask someone about that.. My thoughts really are with you, I am so sorry to hear of your plight...

[googie]

yes, michel49 could well be right. When I was first diagnosed I was imminent transpland or dialysis, but after a month (once they started to monitor me) my function shot up. That was over 20 years ago. It could get better xx