health-
So... I have significant kidney failure. Potentially end-stage, but this is not clear yet. Should hear more on Wednesday.
health update, +
This doesn't mean much for my kidneys, but it's positive nevertheless: my vision (likely affected by blood pressure) has been improving again! My left eye no longer has a tilt-shift effect
health, ~
This bit of history definitely hits a bit different now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Grote_Donorshow
diet (medical)
Some things that, surprisingly, I can apparently still eat large amounts of without issues:
- '100%' peanut butter
- pure chocolate
health, kidney issues update, ~
So, it's IgA nephropathy. It's not end-stage *yet*, but probably also won't be very long before it is - the estimate is 9% - 15% remaining kidney function.
Realistically I will need a transplant in my near future, and possibly dialysis as a way to bridge the time until that is possible. Dialysis is not a viable long-term option; life expectancy is poor.
However, for now things are still working well enough that I "only" need a diet, and don't need dialysis yet.
That could change in months, or years, it's hard to say. Overall, positive-ish news compared to the worst case I'd been anticipating.
re: health, kidney issues update, ~
@joepie91 Could have been worse, but this still sucks. Are you eligible for the transplant waiting list right now or does it have to get worse first?
re: health, kidney issues update, ~
@whreq The plan is to start the whole process of transplantation prep right away; medical eligibility analysis, education, and so on. So that everything is ready once it's needed.
The waiting list is not strictly first-come-first-serve (it's ordered by medical priority, more or less) so when you get added to it doesn't necessarily matter a lot directly.
There's also always the option of bring-your-own-living-donor, basically - in that case transplantation can occur as soon as there's a medical approval.
re: health, kidney issues update, ~
@joepie91 Oh, I didn't know that. I had always imagined that as a simple FIFO limited only to compatibility. I guess getting triaged as lower priority would generally be a good thing :)
re: health, kidney issues update, ~
@whreq It's *kind* of FIFO but with a bunch of modifiers. Compatibility is one, actually - if you are incompatible with >80% of donors, you pretty much get a fastpass to the first compatible organ that appears.
Likewise, being on dialysis bumps you above people who aren't. So yeah, generally speaking lower priority does mean you're actually less fucked :)
health, diet, amusing
The specific blood values have also led to the absurd situation that my official dietary guidance is now "eat less fruit/veg, and more cheese" because fruit/veg are high in potassium and cheese isn't high in anything in particular