Aaaand, I'm in the hospital...

[Dragonflight]

The nurse pointed out with a shake of her head, that some patients in the past will occasionally try to cut corners by measuring common baking soda. It's not the same thing. Which leads me to believe Hazard is right. It's not just baking soda. Also, it's a pre-measured and very precise amount at highly purified concentrations, instead of someone guessing teaspoonfuls of food-grade powder.

[hazard]

Looking into it, I suspect they're using it as an internal antacid to decrease the acidity of your urine. Baking soda would do two things; it reacts in your mouth and stomach, and it's mixed with an acid already, so it'll 1) do fuck all to your pH balance and 2) react in a place where you will not benefit from it.

Well, I suppose it'll do another thing.

It'll increase your sodium consumption, so...

[Dragonflight]

Since I've been watching sodium consumption for several years already, I can adjust for this. The girlfriend of a friend of mine has been on this due to having Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, which impacted her kidneys. She says this treatment absolutely works, and yes, a dietitian will be adjusting my diet, probably to reduce salt as much as possible to make up for what the pills add. Since I already don't add it to anything (with the possible exception of french fries,) I'll adapt.

[hazard]

You should inform your nurse/doctor if you already have a sodium intake sensitivity.

That said, if you generally eat home cooked meals and don't use store bought seasoning blends your sodium intake should already be fairly low.

Well, unless you have a strong preference for chips, cheese and cured meats.

[Dragonflight]

It's not a sensitivity. Just recognition of how much salt gets added to foods that I don't need. the fact that it has a knock-on effect in managing blood pressure is just a bonus.

Salt-buster special: Cracked pepper & olive oil Triscuits, with a thin slice of salami and a slice of old cheddar cheese. I'm certain that violates a few dietary plans, but it sure sounds tasty.

[robkelk]

That it does.

And for the rest of the forumites, Canadian diets tend to run high in salt. IIRC, one of the very first Bob the Angry Flower strips mentioned this.

[hazard]

Most diets that depend on large quantities of processed foods are high in salt. Note that this includes stuff you wouldn't think is a processed food, like bread.

(Or, as the Dutch food safety authority would put it, ice cream, because US and presumably similar Canadian store bought factory produced bread doesn't meet the standards for bread but does meet the requirements for ice cream)

[Dragonflight]

So the official word is IGA Nephropathy. A form of autoimmune disease which targets the kidneys. The goal is to retain what I have left, and see if the process can be interrupted. Given they still serve their purpose, my odds are better than if they weren't, but it's still something of a gamble.

After a delay, I'll get out tomorrow.

[classicdrogn]

Not the best news, but at least there's a path forward for mitigation and treatment. Hopefully the situation keeps getting better.

[Black Aeronaut]

Yeesh. So nothing that a transplant would help with, save in the case your kidneys actually go kaput.

Still, let us know how the treatment is going.

[Bob Schroeck]

Yes, please keep us informed.

[Dragonflight]

So, more scary news. Senior kidney doctor says that if the decline is slow, I might get a few years. If it's falling off a cliff, I'll be on dialysis before the summer is out. And right now, they don't know which it is. His advice? "If anyone wants to donate a kidney, take them up on it." @_@ The scary part is that it wasn't a joke. He was being deadly serious.

[Dragonflight]

I feel like Aaron, now. Starting with a flip attitude, and ending staring Death in the face. Trying to beat of the stark raving terror right now.

[Black Aeronaut]

Stay frosty, man.  We have time enough to figure this out.

For anyone considering donation:
https://www.kidney.org/transplantation/l...r-donation

I'm considering, but I'd like to make sure that there aren't any factors in play that will shorten the life time of the donated kidney.  Because, unfortunately, they do have a life expectancy after being transplanted and I can only spare one.

If only this were the liver instead.  I know that a living-donor's liver will grow back the missing bit, and we already know mine is top-notch for performance.

[hazard]

I know some of you would rather not consider this, but keep in mind that the kidney is an actually pretty important piece of equipment for your body and it's redundant for a reason.

Now, ideally that won't be needed and we'll develop an artificial kidney that does not trigger an immune response, or a treatment plan that either cures or effectively handles the problem. But just because that's the preferred solution doesn't mean it's going to happen.

[robkelk]

So the official word is IGA Nephropathy. ...

I should know better by now - don't go looking up these things. Mayo Clinic's page on what Dragonflight has, for the curious.

[Dragonflight]

The "in a nutshell" version is that there's actually nothing physically wrong with my kidneys... except for the blood disease I was born with, which triggered for some unknown reason and is causing scarring in the kidney filtration tissues.

[Dragonflight]

So anyway, my latest kidney news is sort of holding steady. I was expecting more bad news, but instead, it seems to be staying put at the moment. We don't have enough data yet to say if this is indicative of a slow decline, or if it's just a hiccup, but when I show symptoms, I'll know when it's time to look at dialysis. For the moment, we're taking a wait-and-see approach, while tweaking medication. The new lifestyle and diet doesn't change, but I might get longer without dialysis.

If the kidneys show a gradual decline anyway, however, I could be on dialysis realistically sometime within the next six months to a year.

[classicdrogn]

That's about as good as the news could be, I guess? Not exactly congratulations material, but holding steady is better than getting worse.

[ECSNorway]

Good to hear you're at least not doing worse. Keep getting good news!