Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
National Kidney Foundation Forum
Visit the patient forums for information or post your own ideas, problems, help others, ect. But before you go read my story below. Thanks.
http://www.kidney.org/nkfmb/messages.cfm?threadid=E81C4CA5-17A4-8D04-94BF3E587E01E79B#last
http://www.kidney.org/nkfmb/messages.cfm?threadid=E81C4CA5-17A4-8D04-94BF3E587E01E79B#last
Friday, April 17, 2009
About Me and My Kidney Disease.
Hi, My name is Kelli Contreras. I have created this blog to communicate with fellow kidney patients. I feel it is important for us to be able to talk to one another about our disease. WE are the only ones who know what it is really like to not have kidney function. This is my story.
When I was 19 years old I gave my mother a kidney because she had polysystic kidneys. I of course was tested and had perfectly healthy kidneys. I got married in 1989 and had my first child in 1990. I developed high blood pressure during my pregnancy and was considered high risk because of only having one kidney. After the birth of my son, I just did not feel well. I had no energy and just really did not feel well. I developed sores in my mouth that I could not get rid of. The doctors gave me rinses for my mouth and they did not work. It was horrible. Finally the doctors drew some blood to see if they could find anything. My remaining kidney was failing. They did an open biopsy of my kidney. That is where they take a small piece of your kidney to have it analyzed. The first call I got was good news. The doctor said that with steroids my kidney failure could be reversed. A couple of days later I got another call saying that the doctor wanted to see me. I went in and the news was devastating. My kidney failure could not be reversed. Within a year I would be on dialysis.
The time finally came. Time to start dialysis. I had already had a fistula placed in my arm for dialysis access. My dialysis time at the kidney center was 5:30 in the morning. I remember going in not knowing what was going to happen. They tried placing my needles and could not get them in because my fistula was not quite developed enough. After several tries they finally got them in. I really did not know much about dialysis and what was happening. They tried to take 2 kilos off of my body. I was still urinating so I really did not need to have any fluid taken off. When I was finished I felt worse than I have ever felt in my life. My body felt so drained and I had the worst headache I had ever had. I thought to myself, if this is what this is going to be like I don't think I will be able to do this. I continued to feel horrible after dialysis treatments and really could not live my life as I had before. I became very depressed. My husband did not know how to handle my illness so things got bad with us. Nothing was the same.
I got a workup for a kidney transplant and was put on the kidney transplant list. I was lucky and got a kidney after 9 months of being on the list. I almost died after the transplant because they could not get my blood pressure down. I was in a coma for 2 days. After I woke up I felt like I had been hit with a Mac truck in the head. I thought the headaches I had after dialysis were bad, this was about a million times worse. I remember being in the room and wanting to scream at anyone who made noise. I was out of the coma but still could not talk because my head hurt so bad. I really don't remember how long I was in that state but when I came out of it they told me my kidney was working perfectly.
I remember a nurse coming in to explain all of the medications that I would be taking. They had talked about it before the transplant but not really about how much I would be taking of everything. I felt so much better than I had the last few days but still was not really feeling well. I was shaky and my head just felt like I could not concentrate. I was trying to listen to what she was telling me but I just could not focus. It kind of scared me because I thought I would mess up on taking my medications when I got home. There were so many to take.
When I went to the hospital for my transplant I weighed 117 pounds. I am only 5 feet tall. I was told that I would probably gain some weight because of the steroids. I gained 80 pounds in three months!!!!! It was devastating. I also was losing my hair on my head and growing hair on my arms and face. The steroids cause something called moon face. I looked like a different person.
My transplant lasted for 4 1/2 years. I then went back on dialysis in 1999. That was the year my mother passed away. The kidney I gave her lasted for 10 years. When she had to go back on dialysis she could not cope very well. She did not take care of herself and ended up getting staph that went into her heart. I think she could not handle the fact that I had given her a kidney and now I was on dialysis. She ended up pretty much just giving up. She was in the hospital and I was told that she was not going to live much longer. On February 13 1999 I got a phone call in the middle of the night telling me I should come to the hospital. The hospital was about 30 miles from my home. I drove by myself to the hospital hoping she would still be alive when I got there. I walked into the room and she was not responding to me talking to her. I told her that it was OK for her to go because I knew she was ready. Fifteen minutes later she took her last breath. I honestly think she was waiting for me.
During the time I had my transplant I asked the doctor if I could have a baby. She said that I could. I became pregnant very quickly . On June 16, 1997 my daughter was born!! She was small but healthy. I felt so blessed. I now had my complete family. I always had wanted a boy and a girl.
Life was going well, my husband and I owned a small restaurant that was doing pretty well. We would bring our kids everyday as we worked.
We had the restaurant for a couple of years but when I lost my transplant I could not work as I had before. We had to sell the restaurant.
Surprise, surprise. It was the year 2000 and I was going to my dialysis treatments regularly. I started feeling kind of strange. My breasts started hurting and I was kind of nauseous. I thought maybe these were signs of early menopause. I was 38. Woman on dialysis usually stop having periods. I had not had one in a few years. It dawned on me. Oh my gosh, maybe I am pregnant. No, couldn't be. Since I did not have any urine to test they drew some blood at one of my dialysis treatments. On my next treatment I asked about the results fully expecting them to tell me it was negative. I'm sure you have figured out by now. POSITIVE!!!!!! I was pregnant. I called my husband and told him to sit down because I had a surprise.
Being pregnant and on dialysis I had to dialize every day. It was tough but I sure felt better having to do daily dialysis. I almost felt normal.
My third child Christopher was born August 23, 2001. What a miracle!!!!
After having to dialize every day when I was pregnant I was wondering if there was a way to be able to do daily dialysis. One day I came across an article in a kidney patient newspaper that I would get in the mail. They were looking for people who wanted to try doing home daily dialysis. I thought, count me in. I called them and within months I was doing home dialysis. My husband was my helper. I learned how to place my own needles. It was wonderful. I was so happy I did not have to go to the kidney center anymore.
My husband and I ended up getting a divorce. Very sad for all of us. We had been married for almost 17 years. I now live with my children and my oldest son is my helper. I do everything myself but he has to be here in case of an emergency.
Well that is my story. If you would like to email me my email is kellilee64@gmail.com. If you need to talk, have questions or just want to say hi. I especially like to talk to new patients because I know they have a lot of questions and I would like to help anyway I can. Please don't hesitate if you would like to talk. Also if you have questions about home dialysis, it is the only way to go. Of course it is not for everyone but If you think you might be interested let me know.
When I was 19 years old I gave my mother a kidney because she had polysystic kidneys. I of course was tested and had perfectly healthy kidneys. I got married in 1989 and had my first child in 1990. I developed high blood pressure during my pregnancy and was considered high risk because of only having one kidney. After the birth of my son, I just did not feel well. I had no energy and just really did not feel well. I developed sores in my mouth that I could not get rid of. The doctors gave me rinses for my mouth and they did not work. It was horrible. Finally the doctors drew some blood to see if they could find anything. My remaining kidney was failing. They did an open biopsy of my kidney. That is where they take a small piece of your kidney to have it analyzed. The first call I got was good news. The doctor said that with steroids my kidney failure could be reversed. A couple of days later I got another call saying that the doctor wanted to see me. I went in and the news was devastating. My kidney failure could not be reversed. Within a year I would be on dialysis.
The time finally came. Time to start dialysis. I had already had a fistula placed in my arm for dialysis access. My dialysis time at the kidney center was 5:30 in the morning. I remember going in not knowing what was going to happen. They tried placing my needles and could not get them in because my fistula was not quite developed enough. After several tries they finally got them in. I really did not know much about dialysis and what was happening. They tried to take 2 kilos off of my body. I was still urinating so I really did not need to have any fluid taken off. When I was finished I felt worse than I have ever felt in my life. My body felt so drained and I had the worst headache I had ever had. I thought to myself, if this is what this is going to be like I don't think I will be able to do this. I continued to feel horrible after dialysis treatments and really could not live my life as I had before. I became very depressed. My husband did not know how to handle my illness so things got bad with us. Nothing was the same.
I got a workup for a kidney transplant and was put on the kidney transplant list. I was lucky and got a kidney after 9 months of being on the list. I almost died after the transplant because they could not get my blood pressure down. I was in a coma for 2 days. After I woke up I felt like I had been hit with a Mac truck in the head. I thought the headaches I had after dialysis were bad, this was about a million times worse. I remember being in the room and wanting to scream at anyone who made noise. I was out of the coma but still could not talk because my head hurt so bad. I really don't remember how long I was in that state but when I came out of it they told me my kidney was working perfectly.
I remember a nurse coming in to explain all of the medications that I would be taking. They had talked about it before the transplant but not really about how much I would be taking of everything. I felt so much better than I had the last few days but still was not really feeling well. I was shaky and my head just felt like I could not concentrate. I was trying to listen to what she was telling me but I just could not focus. It kind of scared me because I thought I would mess up on taking my medications when I got home. There were so many to take.
When I went to the hospital for my transplant I weighed 117 pounds. I am only 5 feet tall. I was told that I would probably gain some weight because of the steroids. I gained 80 pounds in three months!!!!! It was devastating. I also was losing my hair on my head and growing hair on my arms and face. The steroids cause something called moon face. I looked like a different person.
My transplant lasted for 4 1/2 years. I then went back on dialysis in 1999. That was the year my mother passed away. The kidney I gave her lasted for 10 years. When she had to go back on dialysis she could not cope very well. She did not take care of herself and ended up getting staph that went into her heart. I think she could not handle the fact that I had given her a kidney and now I was on dialysis. She ended up pretty much just giving up. She was in the hospital and I was told that she was not going to live much longer. On February 13 1999 I got a phone call in the middle of the night telling me I should come to the hospital. The hospital was about 30 miles from my home. I drove by myself to the hospital hoping she would still be alive when I got there. I walked into the room and she was not responding to me talking to her. I told her that it was OK for her to go because I knew she was ready. Fifteen minutes later she took her last breath. I honestly think she was waiting for me.
During the time I had my transplant I asked the doctor if I could have a baby. She said that I could. I became pregnant very quickly . On June 16, 1997 my daughter was born!! She was small but healthy. I felt so blessed. I now had my complete family. I always had wanted a boy and a girl.
Life was going well, my husband and I owned a small restaurant that was doing pretty well. We would bring our kids everyday as we worked.
We had the restaurant for a couple of years but when I lost my transplant I could not work as I had before. We had to sell the restaurant.
Surprise, surprise. It was the year 2000 and I was going to my dialysis treatments regularly. I started feeling kind of strange. My breasts started hurting and I was kind of nauseous. I thought maybe these were signs of early menopause. I was 38. Woman on dialysis usually stop having periods. I had not had one in a few years. It dawned on me. Oh my gosh, maybe I am pregnant. No, couldn't be. Since I did not have any urine to test they drew some blood at one of my dialysis treatments. On my next treatment I asked about the results fully expecting them to tell me it was negative. I'm sure you have figured out by now. POSITIVE!!!!!! I was pregnant. I called my husband and told him to sit down because I had a surprise.
Being pregnant and on dialysis I had to dialize every day. It was tough but I sure felt better having to do daily dialysis. I almost felt normal.
My third child Christopher was born August 23, 2001. What a miracle!!!!
After having to dialize every day when I was pregnant I was wondering if there was a way to be able to do daily dialysis. One day I came across an article in a kidney patient newspaper that I would get in the mail. They were looking for people who wanted to try doing home daily dialysis. I thought, count me in. I called them and within months I was doing home dialysis. My husband was my helper. I learned how to place my own needles. It was wonderful. I was so happy I did not have to go to the kidney center anymore.
My husband and I ended up getting a divorce. Very sad for all of us. We had been married for almost 17 years. I now live with my children and my oldest son is my helper. I do everything myself but he has to be here in case of an emergency.
Well that is my story. If you would like to email me my email is kellilee64@gmail.com. If you need to talk, have questions or just want to say hi. I especially like to talk to new patients because I know they have a lot of questions and I would like to help anyway I can. Please don't hesitate if you would like to talk. Also if you have questions about home dialysis, it is the only way to go. Of course it is not for everyone but If you think you might be interested let me know.
I can now say I am content with dialysis. Of course I have my off days but I have finally come to the realization that this is my life. I can be negative, depressed and miserable. Or I can just do it and do the best I can. I am so blessed with my children and everything that I DO have. And I Thank God for my life.
Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Kelli.
National Kidney Foundation Forums
http://www.kidney.org/nkfmb/messages.cfm?threadid=E81C4CA5-17A4-8D04-94BF3E587E01E79B#last
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