I saw my nephrologist yesterday and things aren't looking good. My hematocrit peaked at 33 at my last visit and is now down to 28. My glucose is a bit high, which is most likely a side effect of the Prednisone...Speaking of Prednisone...
Difficulty sleeping (check)
Fatigue (check)
Excessive night sweats (check)
Uncontrollable Shaking of Hands (check)
Shortness of Breath, especially at night (check)
Last but not least, my creatinine has reached 5.6, a level that the Head of Transplantation at Washington Hospital Center said would be appropriate for transplantation. My nephro and I feel that we should use this kidney until it doesn't function anymore, so I'll be waiting a couple more months. In the meantime, I'll be getting access for dialysis just in case. It's an outpatient surgery where they cut open my arm and connect my vein to an artery. I really don't want it, but it makes dialysis safer and easier. The vein grows larger to accommodate more blood flow and it will look like I'm hiding a climbing rope inside my arm. I've seen some on transplant patients that look seriously scary.
I know I keep talking about Kidney Failure in apocalyptic terms and I really shouldn't. This guy Shad Ireland has completed an Ironman Triathlon while living on dialysis. I have so many questions, but I suspect there are no answers. As a transplant athlete, I was pushing the boundaries with my ultracycling habit to the point of amazing my nephro docs. I suspect that as a dialysis athlete, I will again be pushing those boundaries. I wouldn't be able to do solo RAAM, but team wouldn't be out of the question, maybe a transplant team...
P.S. The only good news to come out of my DR appointment? Lipitor is working and my cholesterol is down reducing my risk for heart disease.
One of the issues I have with Prednisone is the "Loss Of Contact With Reality" "Extreme Changes In Mood". If you've ever heard Limp Bizkit "Break Stuff" you know that's about what I'm feelin.
I've had a couple instances lately where I've really had to bite down hard on my lip to keep my mouth shut.
Incident One: I was at a General Meeting for one of the bike clubs I belong to, I've been a member since it was first formed and I've been riding with the core group of riders for several years. The whole purpose for the club is to support Randonneuring in the Mid-Atlantic Region, basically the club is dedicated to putting on brevets. Brevets in the US are generally under the jurisdiction of RUSA, who in most cases answers to a club in France. RUSA has appointed Regional Brevet Administrators (RBAs) to organize and supervise events in their areas. Our RBA gave us an Ultimatum, either he was given total control over the club or else he was walking. I wanted to jump up and scream "How dare you, you..." followed by a string of endlessly repeating 4 letter words. "feelin' like a freight train first one to complain leaves with a blood stain"
So, I mostly kept my mouth shut for fear of releasing a prednisone induced tourette's.
Incident Two: I've written about doing penance at Little Gym, waiting for my little Ballerina to get out of her class and me keeping my mouth shut despite the INANE conversations being held by the women also waiting for their ballerinas. It felt like they were purposefully slamming men, and their mother in-laws as if they were baiting me into their conversations, but I kept my mouth shut, none of my business. So, I nearly went off on some random mom at the Little Gym yesterday as she butted into my conversation with a friend.
"Damn right I'm a maniac you better watch your back cuz I'm fuckin' up your program"
At 5 milligrams a day, I can control it; at higher dosages, I can't. ABL warned me that if my dosage climbs any higher she will divorce me.
I've gone through kidney failure twice. The first time in 2000, my mother donated a kidney; and again in 2008, I'm on dialysis waiting for a breakthrough in immuno-suppression medicines before seeking a new kidney.
