Re: New Here - Cat

July 27, 2005

Hello cat, I'm so sorry that you are having all these medical problems. You

found a great group for support though. I saw that you were questioning about

headaches and fatigue. I have had a lot of fatigue from the Igan. Mine seems to

get worse in the winter though, most probably from fighting off colds or

bronchitis and the gloomy weather. I had my protein spill decrease about 60% a

couple months ago. Before i found out that I had more energy. I couldn't figure

it out until I went to the neph and found out everything had improved. The

headaches may be that from high blood pressure. I briefly stopped my BP med and

had really bad headaches for a week straight and I never get them, so it may be

that your BP is high enough to give you headaches. You should probably call your

doctor and ask him about the headaches, because even at 140 you are still border

line hypertensive. I was only at 146/90 when I was started on ramipril. I hope

that everything gets under control and the headaches

subside. Welcome again! Jill H

little_bird_cat little_bird_cat@...> wrote: Hi ,

Thank you for the welcome to the group and for your help.

At the advice of my doctor I have a bp machine at home in which I

check my pressure here and there. It's usually around the 140/90

mark which is higher than my doctor would like (he's recommended

110/70) but from what I've seen and heard about Bp, my number

although above the norm is certainly low compared to what some people

out there are walking around with!

This whole glucose thing is new. Recent tests have showed an

increase in my blood glucose level but it's always been within the

normal range, it was just this month that the number jumped over the

normal range so if it's still high in 6 months then I'll be started

on medicine...by then I hope to have an understanding of diabetes as

I have no clue now.

I wanted to ask, I find myself tiring more easily these days...could

this be related to the kidney problems or would I have no symptoms

this early on? I also get headaches, pretty much everyday.

Cat )

>

> Hi Cat,

>

> A very warm welcome to the group. Pierre has already answered

your

> questions about glomerulonephritis and IgAN, but I just wanted to

welcome you too.

>

> Your labs look very good and obviously the goal is to keep you

stable where

> you are. Please do keep a very close eye on the glucose and/or A1C

levels

> because diabetes all by itself is a risk factor for kidney failure.

>

> The other thing that is very important is keeping your blood

pressure at a

> good level. Once you are diagnosed it is important to be

monitored regularly

> to keep abreast of any changes. With your levels, that may only

be once or

> perhaps twice a year, but I just want to make sure your glucose

and BP is

> checked frequently so you can avoid other risk factors.

>

> Welcome again!

>

> In a message dated 7/26/2005 9:50:16 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

> little_bird_cat@y... writes:

>

> Hi to all that are a part of this group.

>

> I was diagnosed with IgAN and have also heard the term focal

> glomerulonephritis used, are these two diseases one in the same?

>

> I'm just beginning to learn about this disease, it's impact on

daily life

> and the course it takes throughout the years.

>

> My recent labs show 300 proteinuria, large amounts of blood in

urine, 65

> serum creatinine, creatinine clearance 2.37.

>

> I currently am on blood pressure meds, stanin and diuretic. My

doctor told

> me that my blood glucose numbers are leaning towards diabetes so

perhaps

> after my next appointment I'll have whatever medication is used to

control

> diabetes added to the daily mix.

>

> Do these numbers sound like what others are experiencing?

>

> Cat

>

July 27, 2005

Hi Jill,

How long have you been dealing with IgAN?

I've always been an energetic individual who could go non-stop on 5-6

hours of sleep...these days I find myself getting exhausted by mid

afternoon and with 8+ hours of sleep nightly. I haven't mentioned

anything to my Nephrologist as I didn't want to come across as being

a whimp. I thought I'd ask here to see if others experience fatigue

and at what level of disease did it affect them.

My headaches unfortunately have been with me longer and I've taken

measures to rule out some other things with no avail. I didn't

consider the BP aspect because I didn't consider my borderline

hypertension to be that much of an influence. I was started on

Altace a few years back but the side effect of a cough ordered my

doctor to change my med to Teveten, in which I'm currently on

800mg/day. As a side note, my husband has had borderline BP for

years now and the doctor keeps telling him to change his diet and

exercise more...none of these have helped. I finally got on his case

about it and when he went to the doctors his reading was high but

instead of doing something then, the doctor told him to come back

another day that week to see what his reading was. Perhaps I was

started on meds so quickly because of the kidney problems or maybe

it's a case of different doctors have different criteria before they

start something. Either way, maybe an increase in the BP med will

help with the headaches, as my Nephrologist wants my BP at 110/70 and

I haven't seen that number in quite sometime.

Thanks for your insight,

Cat )

> >

> > Hi Cat,

> >

> > A very warm welcome to the group. Pierre has already answered

> your

> > questions about glomerulonephritis and IgAN, but I just wanted to

> welcome you too.

> >

> > Your labs look very good and obviously the goal is to keep you

> stable where

> > you are. Please do keep a very close eye on the glucose and/or

A1C

> levels

> > because diabetes all by itself is a risk factor for kidney

failure.

> >

> > The other thing that is very important is keeping your blood

> pressure at a

> > good level. Once you are diagnosed it is important to be

> monitored regularly

> > to keep abreast of any changes. With your levels, that may only

> be once or

> > perhaps twice a year, but I just want to make sure your glucose

> and BP is

> > checked frequently so you can avoid other risk factors.

> >

> > Welcome again!

> >

> > In a message dated 7/26/2005 9:50:16 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

> > little_bird_cat@y... writes:

> >

> > Hi to all that are a part of this group.

> >

> > I was diagnosed with IgAN and have also heard the term focal

> > glomerulonephritis used, are these two diseases one in the same?

> >

> > I'm just beginning to learn about this disease, it's impact on

> daily life

> > and the course it takes throughout the years.

> >

> > My recent labs show 300 proteinuria, large amounts of blood in

> urine, 65

> > serum creatinine, creatinine clearance 2.37.

> >

> > I currently am on blood pressure meds, stanin and diuretic. My

> doctor told

> > me that my blood glucose numbers are leaning towards diabetes so

> perhaps

> > after my next appointment I'll have whatever medication is used

to

> control

> > diabetes added to the daily mix.

> >

> > Do these numbers sound like what others are experiencing?

> >

> > Cat

> >

July 27, 2005

Cat,

I first had blood in my urine at the age of 19 (10 years ago). I was in a minor

car accident when i was in Boston visiting a friend and the doctor found blood

in my urine. That was the beginning of the human guinea pig life. I was put

through a lot of testing and after awhile that just kept giving me antiobotics

for a UTI eventhough I never had any bacteria. I guess he thought that maybe it

would help. I think my protein started showing up in my urine at 23 or so. It

slowly crept up. My urologist finally sent me to a nephrologist when I ended up

at the ER with totally black urine, large amounts of protein. At the time i had

a temp of 103.7 . Looking at the labs now and understanding them, I was at about

47% function and the advice from the ER doctor and nurse " you don't have an

infection... I think that you should get an AIDS test. I was finally diagnosed

with Igan by biopsy in October 2001. It was a long road because I have other

things wrong with me. A painful bladder and uteran

disease and other more minor things. My whole urinary track from begining to

end is a mess. I always joke to my mom that I grew up near a nuclear waste site

since i have so many things wrong while everyone else in my family is completely

heathy.

Sorry that was so long. You will find that about 70% of the people in this group

battle with fatigue. It is the hardest part for me to deal with this disease. It

doesn't make life fun when you are always in pain and feel like you haven't

slept in weeks! Do you know how much protein you are spilling? When mine was at

it's highest it was only about 1 gram. I was so tired all the time. Now it's

about 2mg and I have so much more energy. I hope that you can get your energy

back!

With your husband. Sometimes people have " white coat hypertension " where their

blood pressure rise when at the doctor's. Maybe he is waiting to see if it

different when he comes in again. Hope everything works out! Take care of

yourself and your husband! JillH

little_bird_cat little_bird_cat@...> wrote: