Today was THE BIG day.....which meant I spent a lot of time with this.
This (for those of you that don't already know) is called a bonnet, and it sits conveniently over the toilet seat so you can easily collect your urine (which is WAY better than a using a dixie cup :)
It was a fasting appointment, so all I had this morning was this.....can't describe how terribly unsatisfying this glass o' water was.
I saw this posted on Facebook today and had to steal and share.....it's too funny not to.
Safe delivery of precious cargo is muy important!!!
Blood....always more blood.....
Also a random urine sample up arrival....
....tucked away neatly in a tiny little bag. They have specimen drop boxes all over the place. It's really amazing how it all manages to work and get the labs processed in time for my afternoon appointment :)
Here is the delicious treat I rewarded myself with after I had dropped off my specimen and gotten blood drawn. This is usually the highlight of my visits to Mayo :)
Okay, so, let's get down to the nitty gritty, yes?
Well, it didn't work.
In fact, according to the numbers, my kidneys are getting worse. And I've been blissfully unaware of my numbers since last November.
This could be a temporary blip, or the actual failure I've been waiting for, I'll never know.
I'm not surprised. I kept my expectations low. Yet I was still sad when Dr. F told me. I think he genuinely was too. He said he was sorry that he couldn't help me, and I believe every word of it. I'm a puzzle that can't be "solved".
So where do I go from here? Honestly, in this moment, I have no idea. I've spent 8 years looking forward to "something", never really knowing what it was, only that I had hope. And now I no longer have hope. So that's a pisser.
I'll discontinue the infusions now, and do a follow-up in 4 months to check-in. I'll start taking potassium supplements because I apparently can't eat my way into good numbers here (regardless of the amount of tomatoes and bananas that I consume).
For those that are interested in numbers, here they are:
Albumin: 1.7g/dL
BUN: 27mg/dL
Cholesterol: 306mg/dL (LDL 183, triglycerides 190)
Creatinine: 2.1mg/dL
Potassium: 3mmol/L
Creatinine Clearance: 31mL/min/BSA (this is my GFR......magic number for transplant listing is 20)
Total Protein: 16130 mg/24 hr
So now, I wait..........I don't really want to be cheered up. I want to whine and wallow for a bit. I'm allowed at least that.
