lupus nephritis

[poodlegal]

how many episodes of nephritis have you had? ive had it once so far 2 years ago stage 4,will it always happen again with a flare?

[farmerfester]

HI POODLEGAL

had lupus since 2002 had inflamed kidneys around 2003 for the first time had it mabye four times since. hopefuly you wont have nephtitis every flair g

[poodlegal]

thank u for your reply,u just worry how much your kidneys can take....just have to take it one day at a time xx

[pattismith in reply to poodlegal]

Do you have regular blood checks done ?

[farmerfester in reply to pattismith]

everay 4 weeks as on methatrexate they check heamo liver &kidney function

[pattismith in reply to farmerfester]

They should be able to tell by those results i your kidney function is being affected by a flare and act accordingly.

[MandaM]

Hope things go well for you. Look after those kidneys! By the time I was diagnosed with SLE in 2000 I already had a degree of kidney failure. I moved on to end stage failure, dialysis in 2005 and transplant in 2006. Now i'm a tadge concerned that after having no troubles since then I may possibly having a tiny shift downwards in function. I really hope not, hope that it's just a bit of dehydration that's caused an small elevation in my serum creatinines. Back to renal clinic at the end of the month and fingers crossed :0/

[gazzasoens]

Hi I got diagnosed with S.L.E. in about 1993 and I had lupus nephritis in about 1996 and was quite serious for a couple of years, but after they got it under control, I have been ok. Even with flares it doesn't effect my kidneys. Not everyone is the same, but hope it helps. x

[poodlegal]

thanks everyone,great to have info from people who are going through it,i have monthly blood tests too, best of health to you all xxxx

[LloydE]

i think with the Kidneys flares don't happen in the same way. One could be experiancing a Lupus flare, but the Kidneys could be unaffected. That's how it is with me anyway. Kidneys can last for around 120 years (I hate explaining this, as I am useless at explainging things) My consultant has told me that Kidneys have enough fuel / energy to last a long time (120 years). When my Kidneys went south a percentage of that extra fuel was used up. I was diagnosed in 1994 and now I have the kidneys of a 70 years old (I am 38). That's not so bad considering they still have enough fuel for another 50 years. I think with kidneys they have to be looked after spefically. When I was 1st diagnosed I had a Lupus Doc and a Renal Doc (as well as many others). At the moment I only have the Renal doc and I see him now every year (at one stage I was seeing the Renal doc once a week).

As long as you stick a lo / no - salt diet, low pottasium, red meat once a week and anything else you have been told to do to keep your kidneys working. If you have a Lupus flare your kidneys should be ok.

[poodlegal]

thanks LloydE,we spoke before when I first got dx 2 year ago,glad u are still keeping well x