OK So this specific entry was mainly in response to gentleman who is considering becoming a kidney donor. The appended URL directly underneath this paragraph was a surmise from observation of a victim of heart and kidney failure. Some stuff in there might help some to make some decisions to improve the prospects of better treatment for a loved one in their own lives, and upon private request, point out some knucklehead medical doctors you DO NOT WANT ANY OF YOUR LOVED ONES AROUND!
Link to Another Article that might be semi-relevant:
https://www.kenyatalk.com/index.php?threads/potentially-useful-information-for-heart-and-kidney-patients-from-experience.58601/#post-1245884
DISCLAIMER: Just letting you know I will relay my scoop of it from a health perspective from situations I have observed. I am no medical doctor, and any medical information herein must be verified by an authoritative medical source, or else a licensed medical doctor in the relevant field.
LET’S SHOOT:
This first portion is truncation of a conversation with a guy who wanted to become kidney donor. Enjoy.
OK mine is fairly simple but I will just share a little information that I know about the kidney. This information I came upon, partly as a result of the fact that my died due to a combination of heart and kidney failure; really it was heart failure that got the ball rolling to devastate other parts and the very ENERGY greedy kidneys simply got starved, and one of the night mares any human being will come across and wish they were not there, kidney failure would be close to the top of that list.
You got 2 healthy as a normal average adult human being. For those not in the medical professional like myself, we usually assume it to be those two “relatively small bean shaped organs that filter stuff and make me pee eventually”. True, but the kidney does “a lot more than that”. The kidney is an organ in the body that, with the exception of the brain, and the heart, there is little else as critical as the kidney functionality. Before delving further would be to get a gauge of your lifestyle, and if any such factors as a heart condition(ABSOLUTELY important to look closer), smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, have a medical condition that requires a whole battery of medicines, and your Body Mass Index(generally the leaner body types, ceteris paribas or all else equal, tend to square out on the safer compared to the fella with a 50 inch waist belly. I stated this barrage of preconditions because some of those factors put you in a position of “susceptibility” to complications with the kidneys because they will need to work “double time” cleaning things out. You can live with one kidney for sure; however if you are a high risk candidate for kidney failure things can get complicated down the road. How? Because with one functional kidney remaining, the collective amount of “nephrons” , the functional component of the kidney, will have roughly double the work to cope. If no further complications arise that are kidney related you will age and get to play with your grand children who will always be happy to see “guka”. However, if something happens that started chipping at that one kidney, it will be more stressed alone, and may fail at some point, depending on specifics of course.
FUNCTIONS OF THE KIDNEY:
Kidneys are 2 bean shaped organs, about the size of a fist, that sit closer to your back in the upper part of the abdomen.
This organ is a HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION in your body. The kidney processes about 20% of blood that your heart pumps out; About 1.1 liters of blood flow through per second; they filter a whopping 150 liters of blood per day; 99% of the blood components flowing through is recycled back into the bloodstream! all the components in blood plasma are absorbed by with larger particles such as blood cells and proteins remain in the blood circulation system ; very energy greedy; at 0.5% of bodyweight by composition it burns through 10% of the energy; each kidney consists of 1 million nephrons(kidney functional units) that CANNOT be regenerated, even though the amount of work done inside the fewer individual nephrons can offset the imbalance in numbers case in point organ donation!
They are involved in the excretory system, and the circulation system as well. From school we laymen predominantly look at the kidney as an “excretory”(removal of toxins), and much less know about its CRUCIAL role in the “circulatory system” that keeps a nice fresh supply of oxygenated blood to the organs for use as fuel, and safely recycles the blood for further oxygenation etc. as the unwanted byproducts removed from the body.
Excretory System:
=>Filtration: Filters waste by products from the body, and generally the waste dissipates as urine. Urea from breakdown of proteins and creatinine from muscle breakdown are examples of toxins removed.
Most of the components of the fluids in your body get recycled back into the body’s systems, and a small portion makes it out as Urine.
Circulatory System Role:
=> Blood Volume and Composition: It helps to control the volume of blood in your body. Excess and waste fluids and solutes are excreted as urine.
=>Red Blood Cells :It helps in the generation of Red Blood Cells. The kidneys secrete a hormone called erythropoietin(EPO)–you will see that doped athletes frequently inject “extra EPO” to get more energy from the red blood cells via the hemoglobin. EPO assists the bone marrow in the manufacture of Red Blood Cells. Many people with Kidney Failure tend to suffer from anemia. Sure enough when my Dad’s kidneys failed he had to get rounds of “Sucrose” to supplement the deficiencies in red blood cells.
=>Blood Pressure Regulation: Helps to regulate your blood pressure through a mechanism called renin-angiotensin mechanism that juggles things around to control say sodium balance, or others to say increase arterial pressure when required etc.
Others:
=>Homeostasis: Helps maintain a state of equilibrium between different fluids, solutes, Ionic balance, pH levels, Osmolarity of fluids (pressure gradient that tends to flow from hypotonic-dilute, and hypertonic-high concentration).
=>Calcium/Phosphate metabolism: Helps to create a good balance of the 2. Processes Vitamin D3 into calcitriol which assists in calcium absorption in the intestines.
As you can see from above that there is a close correlation between the kidneys and the heart functionality in the circulatory system.
The kidneys process a staggering amount of fluid/solute exchange for its size and therefore need PLENTY of energy in the form of oxygen rich oxygenated blood. Remember I UNDERSCORED the importance of “if you have any heart related condition”-it’s simply the case that when your heart is thrown off or unable to deliver fully, there is strain on the kidneys in its various roles to restore proper equilibrium. Unfortunately this extra strain is coming at a time when, your body is not getting enough fuel because of the heart “not pumping” optimally. So the interplay here can result in a death spiral of deterioration between the kidney and the heart; as one makes the other worse, the other makes this one worse kind of logic. In this case having 1 kidney will make the stress work, for the remaining kidney is being taxed double-time. Generally the higher stress on the remaining kidney might cause gradual death of nephrons(kidney elementary unit), and I doubt the dead ones will be replenished, meaning kidney function will systematically be reduced as the nephrons disappear.
Causes Of Kidney Failure:
Kidney Donation: As a potential donor, if you suffer from diabetes, high pressure, both two, or there is strong genetic tendency towards the same two, think VERY HARD before donating a kidney.
=>Diabetes: This is the LEADING cause of kidney disease, particularly type 2 diabetes. Almost a staggering half of the cases trace to diabetes. If you are diabetic and considering to donate a kidney, its somewhat like a latent anti-life insurance policy. Increased blood sugar damages the filtration system for the kidneys. It releases chemicals that increase the porosity of nephrons, thus more proteins and etc. leak into the urine; and it tends to cause proteins within the glomeruli to combine, thus increasing abrasive forces that damages vessels further compromising filtration functionality.
=>High Blood Pressure: This is probably the second most common cause. High BP causes abrasion damage of the vessel walls in the glomeruli thereby reducing the ability to do its filtration duties. If you suffer from heart complications where your numbers are larger than 140/90, become more at risk for kidney complications. With BP pay more attention to the smaller number that is the denominator. That’s diastole or “resting BP”, gauges your system best because the numerator larger number or systole, can vary significantly and skew, since it is “on demand” kind of force, more when needed and vice versa. Remember a CARDINAL point of importance: causative factors for high blood pressure(which might be from heart, kidney, or both can quickly turn into a VICIOUS CYCLE, whereby the heart induced problem amplifies the kidney one, which further amplifies the heart one-a death spiral!
=>Smoking: The correlation here is indirect. Smoking will interfere with your circulation system, for instance by nicotine binding with oxygen and starving you of fuel, and you will note that weakened kidneys tend to result in red blood cell reduction, so you see how these issues can feed on each other through a knock-on effect.
=>Starvation due to Heart complications: If you have a heart problem that prevents it from properly nourishing the body, the kidneys might end up being “starved of fuel” and they use up ALOT of energy in performing its various roles. Insufficient fuel to the kidneys will gradually kill of your nephrons, and in tandem the kidney function will reduce over time, eventually leading to kidney failure.
=>Enlarged Prostrate: Many men above 40 years of age run a risk of getting an enlarged prostrate as they age. This imposes extra pressure on the urinary bladder right above it, and the pressure and through diffusion to the kidney, which can result in complications that will compromise the kidney functionality.
=>Congenital Factors: These are problems with the structure of your kidney itself that you were born with.
Kidney Failure:
Nephrons are the functional unit of a kidney, inside of which, are structures called the “Glomeruli”, which are a web of blood vessels inside a nephron that execute the filtration of the kidney.
Several Tests are used to estimate Kidney Functionality, mainly;
=>GFR - Glomerular Filtration Rate: This is an estimation of the rate of flow of blood through the kidneys. It can’t be measured directly so measuring creatinine levels(byproduct of muscle breakdown), GFR can be inferentially established. Kidneys normally filter the creatinine, and therefore the levels of creatinine can be indicative of kidney functionality.
=>BUN: Blood Urea Nitrogen: This is a measure of the amount of Nitrogen in the blood excreted in form of Urea. Urea is a byproduct of the breakdown of proteins and it is made in the Liver. The kidney cleanses the body of excess Urea.
CKD: Chronic Kidney Disease: This is the name of the condition when the kidney starts to lose functionality and there are 5 stages to it from 1 to 5 with CKD 5 being the most severe, also known as “End Stage” Chronic Kidney Disease, at which point the patient has suffered “kidney failure”. A normal healthy adult has a GFR of upwards towards 90 percent and with gradual reduction as we age so that in say a 75 year old man might have a GFR of say 75 and be considered perfectly normal for his age, because of course as we age, gravity, wear and tear, and other factors gradually erode the body systems. As you get older your body functions lower, and for many people who die naturally of old age, it’s simply the case that some biological processes crucial to the sustenance of life become incompatible with life, so the patient dies.
CKD 5 End Stage CKD or nephropathy: This is Kidney Failure. This is reached once the GFR drops below 15.
BUN Blood Urea Nitrogen: This some kind of measure of toxicity in your blood. It gives an indication of the amount of Nitrogen in your blood from Urea. Urea is a waste by product that is created when proteins are broken down and it is made by the liver. Readings significantly higher than 20mg/dl might potentially be indicative of kidney failure or issues.
At this stage probably sooner rather than later one of three things will happen:
=>Kidney Transplant: You get a new kidney via a transplant (As you had proposed in your case, where you will be the donor, and your relative the recipient).
=>Dialysis: Basically you will be placed on a machine an average of maybe 2 or 3 times a week, so that machines can help to filter toxins out of your body.
=>Death: Failure of number one and two means
YOU WILL DIE.
Effects Of Kidney Failure On The Body:
=>Severe depletion in energy level
=>Suppressed Appetite: Toxin accumulation, some of which makes it to the salivary glands contains compounds similar to that used to make toothpaste, therefore food tastes and feels like metallic or swallowing toothpaste.
=>Systematic Starvation: From the problem above. You will basically slowly starve to death, or rather, until a critical mass is reached when a crucial body function collapses and takes you out.
=>Mother of all pain episodes, which if you had never observed before, can be very distressing. On the abdomen, back, and shoulders particularly-just described as sharp stabbing pains.
NOTE: Kidney Disease generally can be dramatically slowed down but NOT entirely cured. It’s simply because the “nephrons” functional unit of the kidney, cannot be regenerated once dead. Catching it early will enable your system to minimize risk factors the patient will be more comfortable and adjustments in diet, correct medication etc.
I will best summarize that with kidney failure, a best summary will be TOTAL DEVASTATION of your body, with very substantial pain, and if exacerbated by a corresponding heart malfunction such as a Heart Failure, a VICIOUS DEATH SPIRAL will put one on a fairly fast track to the grave!
I introduced the heart right above for a good reason. When someone gets heart failure(LVEF-Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction) less than 40 and other factors-meaning fraction of blood taken in by ventricle that is in fact pumped to the rest of the body south via the aorta which is the Left Ventricle’s purpose. Healthy ranges are 50 to 70. You have noticed the Heart and Kidneys, are very close team members in control of Blood Pressure, Blood Volume, Red Blood Cell supply etc. So heart failure will likely start STARVING the kidneys the “energy-greedy mboshos”.
KIDNEY FAILURE CAN BE DIFFICULT TO DETECT UNTIL TOO LATE!!!
Nature has designed the kidneys and made them very resilient to underscore their importance, but this very privilege, has a sneaky blank side; the incipient phases can be hidden until as much as 80% function is lost without being detected, in which case the remaining nephrons work HARDER individually to compensate, so that resilience that enables one to donate kidney etc. creates that crucial blind spot.
=>My Dad’s Kidney Failure was diagnosed when he got to GFR less than 15(Less than 15 is end stage), in BIG Part due to professional malfeasance, and I kinda thank God I didn’t meet him face to face the time my Dad got admitted second time, I would have knocked him out! 4 Days into his admission with 2 major organ failures and he had slid the file to some residents and had NOT appeared at my Dad’s bedside one time! I called his ass and almost shouted him dead if such a thing was possible. That stupid cardiologist NEVER issued a referral for my Dad to a Nephrologist, just to keep all the consultation fees, when his kidneys were dying for 9 ears, as he did those very same tests that disclose this condition, only for us to find when he didn’t have any kidneys left. The ONLY thing he said was when my Dad had a second heart attack with heart/kidney failure prognosis that “they might do dialysis” and never said why either. I told that idiot, that was the last act of professional malfeasance h will exact on my Dad, and I took him from KNH to Aga Khan and he was dead about 3 months later.
That is why I wrote this other article which someone may gain one or two pointers from for a loved one, for the things I was learning very bitter and always too late, and told anyone who wanted to get that cardiologist at KNH pointed out to ask me privately, so they don’t lose their own loved one under him.
Symptoms Of Failing Kidneys:
The most important defense mechanism is “Frequent Kidney Screening”. Depending on your risk profile, that annual check can help you catch the problem early and be more effective.
Some of the symptoms that may manifest are:
Note: These symptoms can really get mixed up if one got heart conditions because of the similarities, one of the reasons it can be caught very late.
=>Blood in the Urine
=>Excessive Foam in Urine-indicative of extra protein presence in the urine.
=>Occasionally pain to the touch on the kidney areas(upper abdomen towards the back)
=>Unusual nausea and fatigue
=> Feeling Disoriented or confused.
=>Feeling cold when others are warm.
Anyway my friend good luck in your ventures and hopefully one or two things here in might help you in your decision making process. I will paste part of this under a different headline which might get caught by someone else in a different context and maybe prove somewhat useful.