Sorry to read your news. I wish you well for a speedy recovery.

I also didn’t know that the kidneys regulated blood pressure - so thanks for that little bit of information.

Dude, I'm gonna spare you the sympathy as everybody else has you covered.

It's far from ideal, clearly. But here's my take:

You know it's treatable, with your medical knowledge you're in a fantastic position to know the ins and outs and you appear to have caught it early enough to prevent any lasting damage. I say crack on, get the surgery and get it out of the way ASAP. Then look forward to the rest of the year knowing you have it handled. You're smart enough to not panic and to totally handle it. And when you do, you gain even more courage to face future challenges. This is your year. Be positive. I'm doing it for you

Also, don't worry about your family etc. You're the most important person in your life and you should act accordingly. Be specific in asking for what help and/or support you need from them and make sure you get it. Outside of that, you know everybody here is rooting for you.

Pm me if you want.

It's always rubbish when you find out you need surgery to fix something.

I have to say though. I haven't had to make any adjustments or anything from only having one kidney. I eat, drink, exercise etc as normal. I would even say that I have been fitter than ever before since the transplant.

Obviously not a cause but something to note anyway.

If it is something that can be fixed then I would definitely go for the surgery. As for telling your family, absolutely tell them. Regardless of any weddings or anything they will absolutely want to know and help you through.

Besides, if the surgery is a fix and you come out fine within a few weeks you should be back to normal as though nothing had happened (hopefully).

Anyway, all the best.

That's interesting. What about things like cancer?


Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. I had a headache for over six months before I decided to do anything about it, mainly because it wasn't severe and I just figured it was a tension-type headache. As for the kidney cysts, my own train of thought leads directly to removal but there is the option that medication to control the blood pressure may be enough. The problem is I've seen so much surgery, I know so much of what goes on and the potential risks that it genuinely frightens me. I'm not worried about the care I may receive but more about the risks and complications of surgery.

I've told my parents but I've really downplayed it. The kidney problem is likely to be congenital and for them, they've inferred that it's not anything severe as it would have shown something up sooner if it was. I've not corrected them. My uncle recently died aged 42 so it's still very much fresh in everyone's minds. Speculating about what may happen could very much mess up their minds.

Oli, thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it if things progress the way I think it's headed. Peeps, thanks for the sympathy. I'm going to try and forget about things until after my exams. Will update things in progress.

Bugger - just seen this.

Take it from an old codger who is apparently 1 in 750 and born with only one good kidney. Insurance has never been an issue as long as you're up front about it, in fact the only issue I've ever had is not getting into the forces when I tried to join up. I have a diseased kidney which has shriveled up but the survivor has increased in size by about 25% to compensate and if you end up getting one taken out, your survivor will do the same. My advice would be to talk to the consultant - he will guide you through the process although the decision whether to take it out will rest with you. If you've already made the decision and the consultant agrees then you will be back to normal in no time.

Please don't worry, try and keep positive because most of the things you are worrying about won't happen. You will get a mortgage and you will get insurance - IIRC mine costs me an extra tenner a year - that's almost 3 pence a day Tell your folks now and tell them in a positive way (see where I'm heading). The less you make of this the less worried they will be. And for goodness sake don't let a small(ish) issue like this prevent you from doing your utmost in the forthcoming exam - the exam will affect your future a lot more than the kidney will. Trust me - it's just a small inconvenience.

If you need to talk, PM me your number and I'll phone you. In fact, do it as soon as you see this and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Al

+1 to everything Al said.

OK, you have to have surgery but (for the doctors at least) it's a fairly routine thing and you should be back on your feet in no time.

Hey, enjoy your short time of being pampered while you sit on a sofa for a few days

It affects your Life Insurance Premium, but for mortgage purposes, as long as you have life insurance (there are specialist companies out there for 'at risk' people) they aren't bothered from a mortgage point of view.

I met with the surgeon last week and he agrees about taking it out. Needed to go for tests to find out how much it is functioning and what the blood supply to it is like.

Spent this morning in a CT scanner. My first experience and an interesting one.

I remember when Blue Peter did fund raising for such things, and there were only a couple in the country.

Now half the people I know have been through one, often for relatively harmless ailments!

Sorry to hear that.
If they remove just one kidney, can they give you a donor one to replace it so you still have two?

I may be wrong but I don't think they will. They save the donor organs for people who have no functioning kidneys at all, you should be able to live perfectly well and normally with one as long as it's working properly.

In theory, you can survive fine with one kidney. What they need to assess is what happens if they remove the "bad" kidney. You don't want to be in a situation where the "good" kidney is doing worse than expected and you take out the "bad" kidney.

If you have no kidneys, you need dialysis and on the list for an organ donor. Provided my left kidney is working fine, they can remove the right kidney. Potentially it could ease my blood pressure so no tablets and improve my blood count.

I'm guessing the scan and other tests will give a very good idea of how good the good one is..?

I don't know anything about kidneys. Is it possible to remove a part? I've read they can do it with livers which are amazing organs in many ways, but a kidney is not a liver...

The doc will keep an eye on your overall health and specifically the bad kidney. You may be at the point now where the bad kidney is affecting your health to the extent that removing it will lead to an improvement and if that's the case (and the good kidney is indeed good) then all will be well. Be positive and move on with your life so one day you can look back and think "what was I worried about"?

Al

I don't think they can. I know they pretty much can't 'repair' kidneys. Pretty much the only options if it goes wrong are 'try and support it while it heals itself' or 'take it out'.

Jon