House Of Underwood

Next week, we are binging on the latest season of House of Cards.

Diagnosis: Glomerulonephritis

Photo from www.vetnext.com.

In 2008, I was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, a disease described as the inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidneys called glomeruli. I feel nothing at all. I look healthy as a matter of fact; my urine tells me I'm not. Under the naked eye, my pee looks fine. Under a microscope, however, red blood cells are present, not to mention traces of albumin. I may be wrong, but to my understanding, albumin is a type of protein that shouldn't be excreted by the kidneys. When albumin is present in the urine, it is an indication of a kidney disease, which should be taken seriously. Let me tell you this: glomerulonephritis has no known cure as of the moment. Like cancer and diabetes, it is manageable, though. 

My initial reaction when I learned about this disease was paranoia. I likened myself to a person with terminal cancer who has weeks or months to live. I had many sleepless nights and I thought of my condition the whole time. Then I decided to approach a doctor, a specialist in kidney diseases—a nephrologist. I met two nephrologists. The first one who made the initial diagnosis did not make a good impression. She is the kind who makes anyone regret the day he was born. She wasn't rude or something but she made me feel desperate. She sermons a lot like my mother. She didn't give me prescription drugs or something, but she advised me to avoid meat and protein-rich foods. And that made me not like her even more. I didn't waste more time on her so I decided to look for another nephrologist. This time, I could tell that I was right with my decision to get another renal doctor. I can tell that this second doctor is smart—she knows what she's taking about. During my first visit in her huge office, she allowed me to eat meat and almost everything but in moderation. In moderation. She actually said low salt diet and matchbox sized meat plus plenty of fruits and veggies. No sodas and ramen. Ugh! Okay, so on my second visit, she prescribed me the following medicines I should take everyday: fish oil (Omacor), Micardis (anti-hypertensive drug), and Acalka (anti-stone formation drug).

Fish oil is said to have anti-inflammatory properties according to a few medical studies I found on the internet. It does not cure the disease. It only slows down the rate of progression. And fish oil is known to have many health benefits. Micardis is an anti-hypertensive drug. Hypertension is one of the symptoms of someone with an advance stage of renal disease. I don't have hypertension, but the doctor explained that this drug could make the inflamed glomeruli relaxed. Then the third drug, Acalka. In 2010, I had kidney stone in my right kidney. I'm a stone former. This very tiny stone eventually passed out of the body without drug or surgical intervention. The stone was extremely small but it was painful as hell. Acalka helps to make the urine less acidic. Kidney stones, however, are not just formed out of uric acid. FYI.

Last month, the doctor told me to continue taking the meds and have an ultrasound and urine albumin/creatinine ratio test prior to my next visit. I have no idea why she wanted me to have an ultrasound, but the albumin/creatinine ratio test is a must. It's an alternative to the 24-hour urine collection test. These tests measure the kidney's function rate.