I have no idea what I am doing here since this is my first back since the change. Actually I much preferred the old forum. Anway, I had been in Physical Therapy for sciatica and was amazed that after 3 weeks I could walk around for a good while with no burning in my left hip and down the back of my leg. Two weeks ago this past Tuesday I went in for my first session of that week. That night my throat got scratchy and then I start to sneeze, couch, sneeze, cough. Hubby went and got some Robotussian cough syrup and some throat loungers.
Thursday I threw up all day long. Friday I didn't feel bad and we actually had company from Las Vegas (Jerry's cousin and wife) who were on way to east coast. Saturday I was fine til the middle of the afternoon. Started back to bedroom and suddenly found myself sitting on the floor on my butt. Actually crawled back here where Jerry was on computer and got on the bed for a little while, then started back to the living room--and went down in the hall again. This time face first and got carpet burn on the side of my face and bent my glasses and got a back eye. Came back in here and laid down for a while, then went to the bathroom in here. Got up off potty nd went down to my knees and then face forward. Luckily I was able to get my arms in front of me and face it arms rather than tile floor. Back on the bed and all the while hubby wanting to call 911. But I wanted to make sure I was here for the race that night. Lat chance for y guy (Jeff Gordon) to get in the chase.
The race was at 6:00 and jut before 6:00 I got off the bed and headed for livingroom. Got to the end of the hall and suddenly no legs again and I crashed into the wall and went down. Got to my hand hands and knees and went down again and this time I told Jerry he could call 911 as I could not even get to my hands and knees. When they got here my blood pressure was 70/40. Took me out to the ambulasnce and hooked up the BP cuff out there--and still 70/40 . Hubby told them I had had trouble with my bp dropping like that but it was always normal in doctor's office so he thought they didn't believe me. The medic said "Well, you have a record of it now. They zipped me over to Spahn Hospital in Corpus.
BP stayed low there also. They started me on IV and took a mess of blood. I stayed in the ER all night. Next morning a guy came in and said he was Dr. Nooruddin a kidnewy doctor and I was in acute renal failure. My kidneys were only working at 8% (cleaning my blood of toxins, etc)/. Also he needed to give me 2 pints of blood due to my anemia. When I had my heart stop back in March they gave me 3 pints of blood. Went thru all kinds of tests trying to find where I was losing and it and could find nothing. Decided I was just not making enough blood.
Also Dr. Nooruddin said I would be going on dialysis.They finally put me in a room that afternoon. nMext morning I was taken down to have the dialysis catherter put in my chst, and then x-rays for my chest because of my constant cough. Turns out I also had bronchitis for the first time in my life, and also sinus infection. So doctor was called in for that. Then I had dialysis Tus. Wed & thurs and Sat. . Normally is every other day for a week and then 2 days off, not 3 days in a row. But because my blood had so much toxins he wanted to clean as much as possible. The next week it would be on Tues, Thursday & Sat. They took me down and did a kidney biopsy on Friday and was sent it to the Mayo Clinic. More chest exrays. I was coughing until I could not breath despite having been on oxygen since arriving the Saturday night.Blood was taken every morning at 4:30 and results ready when the doctors arrived.
On the Monday Dr. Noorudinn came in and said he did not want to get my hopes up but my blood work had been improving every day. It said it was normal for the results to be a little better after dialysis, but my blood had been even better that moring than the day before, a day after dialysis. However we had to wait for the biopsy to report to come back. When he came in Tuesday he had a big grin on his face nd said my blood was even better that orning than day before and my biopsy had come back--the pat of my kindkey that had been damaged was the part that will regenerate and mine were already working on that. Had it been the other part I would have been on dialysis for life. Told me no dialysis tht day as scheduled. Said they would remove the catherter and I could go home the next day.
He also told me he was pretty sure it wa the metformin I was talking for diabetes that had messed up my kidneys. I had been on Januvia, Glipizde and 500 mg. metformin twice a day. But after my heart trouble, the new doctor seeing me in the rehab stopped my glipizde and doubled the metformin--this was in April. Dr. Nooruddin told me NO MORE METFORMIN, GOOING BACK TOGLIPIZDE AND JANUVIA.
I had been on antibiotics by IV and by tablet, plus cough drops called something pearls and robotussin cough syrup. Still had a cough but nothing like I had been when I had gone into the hospifal a week and half earlier. That afternoon I was taken down an ultrasound was done my thyroid--been on tyroid meds for over 5 years, but the doctor was concerned becaue it was little enlarged--showed up on one of the chest -=x-rays. Then had that catherter taken out of my chest.
Wed. morning Dr. Nooruddin came in and released. Later my cardiologist came in to release me. He said something I had not thought of. He said "Do you have any idea how lucky you re. Twice in 6 months time one of your vital organs was in complete failure...and here you sit getting ready to go home. You have have had lucky timing (I had died twice when my heart quit, but was able to be brought back and kept alive until they could operate in San Antonio) and then come in with complete renal failure, put on dialysis and after just 4 times of that, my kidneys were regenerating and I got off it, almost unheard of when you kidkney function had gone down to 8%. He is right. You know my heart does not beat on it's own. That little gadget implanted in my che t shocks it to make it beat. When they did the EKG they ere talking about my pacemaker spike before every heart bet. I asked Dr. Heath if it quit would my heart still beat and he said no. I do not have the "electrical pulses" that tell each side to bet so neither side will beat with those pulses which are provided by some of the wires in the pacmake. Yesm, I am very lucky to be alive sitting here typing.