Right kidney atrophied

[drmind]

I recently had an MRI of my spine for back problems and one of the results noted was: right kidney atrophied. Since x-rays and an MRI two years ago showed I had two normal sized kidneys, this latest result was a total surprise. I had a telehealth session with my nephologist yesterday who seemed to think that it was an MRI machine error because of the way I was placed on the machine. I was able to view the MRI images and it looks as if the right kidney is atrophied. My nephologist is having me do another x-ray like procedure, but he seemed unconcerned. My GFR has remained stable at 31 for the past few years. Has anyone else had this happen and what treatment, if any, was required.

[Turtlepad513]

it wasn’t a sudden change, but mine is the same. As a kid, I had an ultrasound and they found out I only had the left kidney because the right was atrophied. At the time, they said it was fine. But my left kidney is at 20% as of last labs.

It’s good you already have a nephrologist. They will hopefully help you find the right treatment plan to delay dialgsis or transplant.

[drmind in reply to Turtlepad513]

Thanks for sharing your information. Sounds as if you did well for awhile with one kidney. Sorry to hear about the gfr 20 but with care, you can still do fine as so many people on this forum has reported.

[missdc]

I found out I had a kidney remnant after pulling my records from gallbladder surgery. They say it probably atrophied when I was a child.

I was really angry when I found out that nobody told me about having one kidney. I'd had surgery without any meds being changed.

When I finally found a competent kidney Dr, he diagnosed me with stage 1 to 2 CKD (it fluctuates)... and also I have renal tubular acidosis, which was greatly affecting my health and no one realized it was my kidneys. I have to use a special diet (low oxolate) and eat low sodium. But I'd say my health greatly improved. I would have preferred to know about these issues earlier bc it really affected my body a lot.

[drmind in reply to missdc]

Thanks for sharing your information. Glad you found out and was able to successfully treat your problem. Did they just leave the atrophied kidney in place?

[missdc in reply to drmind]

Yep, it is still there. I read some medical papers saying how they usually take it out. But because it atrophied years ago, they said it wasn't needed. If it had atrophied recently, they would have removed it. It's a place where infections like sepsis can land. But they told me not to freak out about it. LOL so I freaked out about the diseases instead.

[drmind in reply to missdc]

Thanks again. Now, I'm freaking out. Just kidding, but everyday its something else. They'll never take mine out because of my age. Oh, well, I'm going for a sonogram with dopler and I'll see what happens next.

[missdc in reply to drmind]

I know how you feel! I have a small collection of health issues and half of them are pretty rare. I get really tired of scans, specialists, etc and also the $$.... Especially when seeking a second opinion. (I always eventually see a second provider, even if it's just once)