Aging Gracelessly

Around 7 NOV 2013, my kidneys - dormant for nearly a year- started being uncomfortable and wreaking havoc on my sleep. It seemed kidney stones might be coming my way again.

30 DEC 2013 was the date of my CATscan. 3 JAN 2014 was when my G.P. called to give me the mixed bag of news which appears to be my lot.

On the plus sign, no sign of kidney stones or non-stone blockages. That's good.

On the less good side, my right kidney is showing signs of calcification both in the passages and organ tissue. If I understand correctly, this means reduced efficacy.

It appears this calcification is a consequence of some cholesterol issue. Untreated, renal failure in the right kidney is possible. The left may be clear now but that could change.

The intervention appears to be starting to take a statin daily, get back to the gym, lose more weight and take omega-3 supplements. Also useful is drinking water, perhaps demineralized, limiting salt, watching blood sugar, and avoiding drugs hard on tje kidneys. Unfortunately this includes many painkillers to help with the ache/claw-in-side discomfort which isn't wonderful. Also grapefruit is off my menu.

One issue right now is the statins are pricey. I am making choices between hand physio to fix my scarred and problematic hand vs. drug meds. $54 for the starins isn't cheap and physio is $140/hr. Have to see what I can afford.

I can go back to the gym and use my wind trainer. I can walk in temps to about -10 C. I can drink water. Hopefully the statin will halt the kidney damage.

It is frustrating to be close to the life I always wanted but to have my future impinged upon by this condition.

Still, I am grateful for my blessings and supports. They make things easier.

Treasure your health. It underpins most other agendas.