Report on My Visit to the Doctor

Here's my report from seeing the kidney doctor (nephrologist) yesterday.  He really likes how I'm doing right now, all things considered.  Everything he and I talk about is within the framework of the fact that I have stage IV kidney disease.  Stage V is renal failure.   It's good news that my disease is progressing so slowly and, all things considered, my situation is pretty stable, also good news.  Now, while it's stable, it's not static.  I'm always getting a little worse.  The hope is that by keeping my blood pressure down (that's going great) and through my general care for my self (going really well) that we can keep the disease's progress moving slowly.

So, for now, things are about as good as they can be.  I feel great.  I have plenty of energy.  In the present, things look good.

For the first time yesterday, Dr Zachem said the words "inevitable kidney transplant".  Because of where my numbers are, he deliberated upon getting a hold of Oregon Health and Sciences Univ. to get the ball rolling on a transplant.  He decided to wait because of how slowly my disease is progressing, and we'll talk more in Jan. 2014 at my next checkup.

He promises to talk directly with me when the time for this conversation comes.  He knows I like it when our conversations are straight talk and he's good at it.

I'm a ways away from the stage of kidney disease when the transplant needs to happen, but it's a long process getting everything in place for it to happen.  I think it's safe to say that within the next ten years, I'll need a transplant. The transplant might (probably will?) need to come sooner.  It's  not predictable how much sooner than ten years it will happen; it's not predictable if my rundown kidneys will last another ten years. But, if the pattern continues that's been happening over the last 8-9 years, the transplant is a ways off.  As always,  I'll  take it appointment by appointment. 

When it comes to this disease I live with and talking with the doctors, I am always listening for alarm bells to go off.  None went off yesterday.  I'm still in good shape, right now,  given this disease. 

Dr. Zachem told me he'd never had a patient stay so stable for as long as I have been -- I've been seeing him for nearly nine years now -- and he's upbeat about things now and in the foreseeable future. 

I know that one day this disease will take more of my function away than I can live with and I know that to continue to live, I'll need someone else's kidney. 

I'm getting myself ready, especially inside myself, for when that day comes.