So my kidneys have decided to stop filtering at optimum capacity.
I’m only filtering about 38 percent, and am building up creatinine at a rather alarming rate. The upshot of this is I’m going in for a kidney biopsy. Any one been there? What am I in for?
Not scared, just slightly nervous. I don’t like needles. They bother me almost as much as clowns. I’m hoping they knock me out, but really have no idea how it’s done.
Stupid kideys.
I don’t have any experience with kidney biopsies, but I hope yours goes OK and that they don’t find anything serious. And I hope the person who does the biopsy doesn’t wear a clown suit.
Good luck, and feel better soon.
Sorry to hear your news. Sending supporting thoughts your way! 
Here is a website that has some info. Sounds to me, from reading that, like you could request whatever level of sedation you’re most comfortable with. If you’re really freaked out by needles (AFAIK, there’s always needles involved with any level of sedation), you could ask your doc for a dose of Ativan to take the morning of the test, to keep you calm. Also, if you feel like the post-test pain control is inadequate, advocate for yourself, or have someone there who will act as an advocate for you!
Good luck!
Thanks, guys!
norinew,I sent my wife the link about the precedure. I think she is more nervous than I am.
If there is a clown suit in the procedure room, there will be one less patient.
I’m hoping I don’t have to stay overnight. I’d like to convalesce in my own home, with lots of blackadder tapes and lavishes of tea.
If you do have to stay overnight, and can possibly swing it financially, this might be a good time to invest a little money in a portable DVD player; I’ve got a hospital stay coming up in a few weeks, and I found a tablet style DVD player at Radio Shack for under $150.00 after rebate, with a 9" screen! It also makes washing dishes much more pleasant when I can set up the DVD player and watch something while I’m working in the kitchen.
Tea? Do you drink lots of tea? IANAD, but it occurs to me that lots of tea has been implicated in the buildup of oxalic acid in the kidneys, right? It may be associated strictly with kidney stones, though. I dunno.
Firstly, best of luck to you and hopefully you will get thru this procedure with no problems. Secondly, do you happen to know what your creatinine is currently? And how rapidly has it risen? Have you had any damage to your muscles recently,
or have you been eating tons of protein? Are you symptomatic, for example fatigue, anorexia, itching, nausea? I’m an old neprology nurse, so if you want to send me any questions or just talk, my e-mail address should be in my profile. Sending you healthy energy and joining you in an anti-clown brigade.
All I’d be able to tell you is what happens to the little piece of kidney in the histopathology lab once they take it out. I work with biopsies now and then, but I’ve only been in the room once while the procedure was being done, and can’t give you much more information than the site norinew linked us to.
Well. Crap.
The good news is that is is not cancer. the bad news is that it’s Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy. Not nearly as sexy, we don’t have a telethon yet. No real treatment, just management of contributing factors like blood pressure, diet, sodium intake, that sort of thing.
Plainly spoken, I have anywhere from 2 to 10 years before I need a new kidney.
So, get your donor cards all in order. I don’t want to have to spike anyones drink, just to get a kidney. Nobody wants to wake up in a tub of ice, now do they?
Poop.
Bummer, yanceylebeef.
But I’ve seen tons of folks do well with a new kidney.
And 38% function can keep you going a long time, too.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
Oh, yancey, I’m sorry. But at least it’s the good bad news, hey? Tell ya what - I’ll give you my kidney in a second. It’s good quality, works well, comes from a 29yo healthy female who only drinks socially. Whaddya say?
Sorry about the bad news, but good to hear that you can manage it. Go out and buy yourself something nice - maybe it’ll cheer you up some.
Been there, done that, been on dialysis, had the transplant. 4.5 years later, still going strong.
Got any questions, lemme know.
Thanks Fish , I’ll send you an email soon, if that’s okay.
I’m not as feaked out as I was when the initial diagnosis came in.
As far as I’ve found out, diet and exercise are going to be the key. Cut down on proteins, cut down on salt, eat more veggies. Stuff I had planned to do after my honeymoon, anyway. The fish oil is different. Huge horse pills that make your burps taste like sushi.
I’m already on a course of treatment due to my high blood pressure (Thanks, Mom!). Turns out Lisinopril is the first thing they prescribe for IgA.
I’ll be monitored quarterly to see how everything is progressing. Every one of my friends and family have offered up kidneys, it makes me feel small in the face of their generosity. I am simply gobsmacked at the response from everyone.
Thoughts, prayers, and all kinds of good vibes headed your way.
And the next time I pee, I’ll think of you.
You just can’t ask for anything more than that.
I’m hoping you’re one of the lucky 90% - only 10% of those with IgA nephropathy progress to kidney failure. Hopefully your current situation with creatinine build-up doesn’t neccesarily put you in the 10%.
Last year I had a 25% drop in function that resolved within 3 months. It can happen.
Absolutely. I hope you haven’t already sent it, because I just deleted a bunch of spam.