Every quarter, I go for a medical review at the UMMC Rehabilitation Clinic. The most recent was last Wednesday. I had a blood sample taken, sent in 24 hours worth of urine and had an ultrasound done on my kidneys and bladder two weeks prior to that.

Like all other reviews before that, I always approach the appointed day with trepidation. Would the blood tests show further deterioration of my renal function? I go through this period of nervousness without fail every time. What I fear most is impairment to my kidneys will come to a stage where I need to undergo dialysis thrice weekly.

The results for the renal profile the creatinine level at 294 umol/L. That is not much different from 299 umol/L for the specimen taken on December 26, 2008. I am still studiously adhering to a low-protein diet regime for most days save for the occasional indulgence. The figures for the 24-hour urine creatinine was within range. The ultrasound of my kidneys showed the size of the right kidney at 8.9mm and 7.9mm for the left kidney. They are small compared to healthy kidneys.

The review this time has shown that there is progress in the impairment although slower than I had anticipated. This is positive news no doubt. What I need to do is to keep up with the low-protein diet, take the once daily Detrusitol SR 4mg religiously and perform clean intermittent catherization (CIC) as scheduled, and pray that this pair of impaired kidneys will sputter on till my time is up.

Tags: 24-hour urine creatinine, CIC, clean intermittent catheterization, kidney failure, ultrasound, UMMC

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 15:02 and is filed under Chronic Renal Failure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.