Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Still Here

I know it's been a while since I posted.

I do check in from time to time and readership of the blog is at an all time high. BK Virus and Fistula are the two most frequent search words used to find the blog which would indicate that readers are new to BKV and dialysis and are searching to hear from a fellow patient. The occasional comment bears that out. I can't say how moving that is. When I started telling my story, I had never talked to someone with PKD, let alone BVK.

But that's a good thing. No news is said to be good news and that's the case here.

Had a checkup at the Transplant Center this morning and labs were great. Well, for me they were great. The big number is creatinine clearance which shows how the little kidney is working and today it was 2.8, which is the lowest I've had since my bout with BK Virus a couple of years ago.  Normal for a healthy kidney is 0.6-1.3. My clearance seems to fluctuate between 2.8 and 3.3 and that's my new norm. The kidney was scarred and damaged by the BKV inflammation so I live with some of the tiredness and ankle swelling that goes with chronic kidney disease. Aggressive medication keeps my blood pressure down, that's what really damages the kidney.

I go back in three months. We'll do a 24 hour urine sample, a Glofil test and a bone density scan and get a detailed profile of just how the little kidney is performing. That will be just after my 6th anniversary. See you then.

Right now I'm off to set up my next colonoscopy. Fun times coming up!