Hi from "the other boards"

Hello lovely people! I came onto this forum because I noticed there were a few posts on kidney disease and I wanted to ask a couple q's. I am a first-year medical student and have been quite unwell since I started in September - 15-20 bathroom trips/day to have diarrhea, a 25-pound weight loss, intermittent fever, hypokalemia, serious bruising, and most recently a series of urinalyses that show 3+ protein (no blood, no leukocytes) over the course of a couple of months. At one point my GI was thinking this was lupus and I think he ran a pANCA and some other antibody tests (will be getting the records soon) but now I'm lined up to see a nephrologist. Every time I try to figure it out in my textbooks, this lupus nephritis issue comes up. I have not had any other lupus-like symptoms (no joint swelling, no rashes, etc.) but I am a sickie thing and thought you might have some words of guidance for me! What's the nephrologist looking for, and how will he do it?

I appreciate your advice. This seems like a really lovely forum - keep it up!

Welcome to the forum Sarita, If my brain worked well, I'm sure I'd be dangerous. I do remember someone posting in the last couple days and stating that their severe kidney issues were not labeled lupus until they had a kidney biopsy done. Her blood work was all negative for any of the anti-bodies that often give a clue that one has lupus. More of us do not have kidney issues . . . but there are several very knowledgeable lupus/kidney members on this forum. I'm sure they would respond if they saw the word "kidney" in your topic. In case you don't know how to change your title, just click the pencil in the upright right side of your first post (the editing screen will show up with the title and your post and you can change it). I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. Lupus does attack young women quite often so that is one clue. But often the biopsy is the only connection to lupus initially. Feel free to ask any questions . . . the members here are quick to help. Sorry I couldn't be more help . . . just wanted to welcome you to the forum. Some hot tea for you sis!! Blessings!

Hi Sarita, I'm one of the "kidney" people too. I started spilling massive protein and blood. I was diagnosed per biopsy. I also had no "classic" lupus signs and my ana/antibodies were negative and remain negative. I did have elevated creatinine, esr, rheumatoid factor. Over the years I started having "other" organ involvements and more classic lupus signs. Have you looked at the nephrotic syndrome? Some people have idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Has you blood pressure been elevated? Around your eyes/ankles puffy? Just throwing some ideas at you. Look up Nephrotic syndrome if you get a chance. Let us know how things turn out for you. God Bless ya, Judy

Sarita . . . make sure to keep us posted on your progress!! I hope your kidney issue is NOT auto-immune. Blessings!

Hi Sarita and welcome to the lupus forum. I hope the nephrologist can get to the bottom of what is going on. Any problems with your kidneys can feel kind of scary. You've gotten some great feedback from other members with kidney issues. I never had anything serious, just a nine month period where I had consistently high levels of protein in my urine - anywhere from 1+ to 4+ on the dipstick and a couple of mildly elevated 24hr urine protein tests. I did see a nephrologist during that time who kept an eye on things and said that if I ever had blood in my urine or if the 24 hr protein levels got higher, he'd do a kidney biopsy. From what I learned from others here is that a kidney biopsy is one sure way to know if it's lupus nephritis. Thankfully my urine protein problems pretty much resolved after I started taking prednisone - I just get things checked about every 3 months, but I don't have to see the nephrologist anymore. Also, during that time, I had high blood pressure too which I don't usually have. I hope things go well with the nephrologist. Keep us posted and let us know what you find out. Take care