Hi and Welcome

I am glad you are returning to the doctor in a week.
The doctor will order some more tests if he has not done so already....a CT scan or ultrasound. Possibly more urine and blood work.

Are you on a blood pressure medication?
Have you been following up with doctors over the years with your kidneys?

Please keep us posted...best wishes..

Hi and thanks for your reply

I'm doing everything I can to get my blood pressure down naturally because I really want to get into the Navy - but they won't let me in at these levels...I suppose I'll have to sit it out and see what the doc thinks when I go back for the follow up - maybe they'll have to put me on medication then. It just seems so wrong to be going through this at my age. My immediate family have low to normal blood pressure which is another reason why I'm concerned and looking at possible causes.

I had some follow up consultations up until I was about 15 then they signed me off as being ok.

I go back to the docs on Friday so my fingers are crossed until then....I'll be drinking plenty of water in the meantime

(Thanks again )

Keep in touch with update..

Yes definitely get some tests. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

Hi, BP still all over the place, I had a couple of glasses of wine on Monday night - probably not the wisest idea, but I'm not a regular drinker... In the morning I had pain in my right kidney (the one which has the damage), but my left side was hurting also - this went on for about 48 hours. I'm sure that the pain from my left kidney is new... but perhaps it's psychosematic (spelling??!) : S - hopefully.

I have my appointment tomorrow afternoon so I'll let you know how it goes - thanks for your kind words : )

Well, my BP is still high and I have cystitis which explains the blood and possibly the protein. The nurse showed me the results for the urine test and I noticed the phrase "Casts NOT present" which I'm assuming relates to white cells from the kidney if there is an infection - this is just what I have read on other websites so I could be wrong; does anyone know? I'm back for blood tests this week.

BP still high so assuming that there currently isn't any further kidney damage, I'll be working on lowering it so no more damage is done - fingers crossed (last BP reading was 200/104.)

wow that's high isn't it? Did they put you on medication? Did you know that one of the functions of kidneys is to control blood pressure? Check this out.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jht ml?identifier=4647
Take care and good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Back again! I've seen a blood pressure nurse and she's referred me to my local hospital to have a belt fitted which will monitor my BP for 24 hours apparently.

That was really interesting and helpful info about kidneys and blood pressure - thanks. The blood test didn't pick up anything abnormal re kidney function so it's looking good on that account (it did show that I'm anemic). I'm not on meds at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if I am soon - Navy probably now out of the question : (

The doc has called me back tomorrow and I'm going to quiz him about high blood pressure and preventing kidney damage then.

Thanks for your help, Claire : )

Hi, well... I've had some tests and it looks as though the high blood pressure is a direct result of the damage to my right kidney. The doc is putting me on blood pressure tabs temporarily and I've got to have an Isotope (?) x-ray.. The blood pressure can be eradicated, but is seems that I'll have to have the damaged kidney removed to do this. They're just making sure that my left kidney hasn't been damaged by the high BP also (they found high renin levels when my blood was tested). I'm glad I changed doctors as if I hadn't, this probably wouldn't have been picked up until further damage had been done.

Thanks, and keep up the good work with the forum - it really does provide people with support and useful information. Best wishes, Claire : )

Your welcome and thank you. I hope you are feeling better soon. Good luck with everything. If you need to share, we are always here.

Hi, here's the latest. I've been on blood pressure tabs and the level has come down, though not far enough - yet!

Apparently my damaged right kidney is leading to production of a hormone which increases my blood pressure (renin). I don't know how long I've had high BP for, so am now concerned that my left kidney could have been damaged - the first indication of high BP was 13 years ago, and it hasn't been monitored until now.

I've not yet been for an x-ray or to see the Nephrologist (I live in the UK and our health service is shot to pieces, they say I'll be contacted as soon as an appointment becomes available).
I'm a bit worried now... since 2005 I've not felt as I should. I became anemic (still am), wasn't eating properly, covered in bruises - especially on my legs, had neuropathy diagnosed (still have it) and have swelling around my eyes some mornings (my face goes puffy). Lesions on my brain were also picked up on an MRI scan when they were looking into the neuropathy - it's not MS, but no-one has looked any further into it. It's only since this kidney thing cropped up again that I've begun to wonder if they're linked. I'd appreciate your thoughts...

I get a regular sharp stabbing pain in my bad kidney - like a cold knife being run through. They think this kidney has around 5-10% function, but will know more after the scan. Hyperthetically (at this point!!) how long could it take for a healthy kidney to sustain damage if blood pressure levels have been running at 190/110 and the other kidney has very little function?

Thanks, I appreciate it!!