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My Daughters Kidney Disease


You may have noticed that I have not been as active this year as I usually am on the blog and there is one pretty big reason. My daughter is sick with Chronic Kidney Disease and I think I am finally ready to write about it, come out and talk about it. This is the first time that I am writing about my daughter and her Kidney disease and what is going on within our family as we struggle and work through this.

Early last year my daughter Taylor, who is now twelve, went for a normal annual physical and her blood testing came back with higher than normal levels of Creatinine. This was not too much of a worry to our family doctor as she was just slightly out of range but he still sent my wife and daughter to a pediatrician and some more testing. While time went by and we waited for the appointment a few weeks later I did a little Googling around and found that this could be a sign of some kind of kidney issue but it was really vague to us at the time.

My wife and daughter went to the pediatrician a couple of times and then got sent to a specialist and then finally to our children’s hospital for more testing and everyone was very indecisive about what was happening.

Getting the Diagnosis

Finally at one meeting last November that just Taylor and my wife Michelle went and had more testing and the doctor let them know that Taylor has Nephronophthisis and would have her kidneys fail and need to have a kidney transplant. Not good news and I still feel bad that I was not at the doctors appointment.

Nephronophthisis is a genetic condition so Michelle and I are both carriers of a bad gene and because of this there was a 1 in 4 chance that either of our kids would inherit the two bad gene halves. Taylor did, we think Jaiden or son did not. This form of kidney disease affects kids between the ages of 8 and 14 and the odds are really low, about 2 kids out of 100,000 would get this, and of course you don’t catch it, you are born with it and it just shows as you get older.

How Our Family is Dealing with Kidney Disease

Happy TaylorSo since last November we have been learning a lot and had a lot of hard times with Taylor’s kidney disease. Taylor is a bit scared of course like any 12 year old should be. My wife Michelle is always looking far ahead and nervous about what the future holds, and I am day to day. Every day that Taylor feels well I am happy and every day that she is feeling unwell I feel terrible for her.

So far since the Nephronophthisis diagnosis Taylor’s kidney function has dropped from about 45% to 28.6% and as we watch the kidney function drop we get more and more nervous but the doctors stay level headed and are keeping us informed on the next steps for us and Taylor and meeting with us on a monthly basis. Here in Calgary Alberta we have a Nepherology clinic at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and so each monthly meeting there we meet with a psychologist, a dietician, a pharmacist, and the kidney doctor. They are fantastic and I feel like we are in great hands.

So far we have not had to change Taylor’s diet at all (no sodium restriction), and she has to take a few vitamins and on Sunday nights she get the good fortune of having me give her an Eprex shot. Also Taylor has to drink a ton of water as her kidneys do not keep her water level where it needs to be and she dehydrates easily, so easily in fact that we have had to take her to hospital three times in the last few months for dehydration.

Next Step – Kidney Transplant

So now we are getting close to our next step. Taylor will need a new kidney sooner rather than later. As the kidney function drops Taylor’s kidneys will not clean blood, regulate vitamin D or calcium very well until finally none of this would happen and she would need to go on dialysis. So the first step was for my wife and I to get ready tested as transplant donors. We went for blood testing and the living donor clinic (independent or our doctor or us) have decided to start testing me to donate a kidney. I have a 24 hour heart rate monitor on right now as I type and then there will be a full day of testing in a few weeks to test me and see if I am a good match.

As for kidney transplant itself, a transplanted kidney will last for 10 to 15 years and then Taylor will be shopping for another one. The surgery seems to be common and the doctor that we spoke to earlier this week say that they do about 50 kidney transplants every year with only about 5 being done for kids. If all goes according to plan I will donate the kidney, Taylor will get the kidney put into her body and hooked up, and we will be out of the hospital within a few days. People live completely normal lives with just one kidney and the only suggestion that our transplant doctor gave me was to not eat protein powder because of the pressure it puts on the kidney. Diet and exercise should be the same.

So as you can imagine this as been a really trying time for our whole family. We are worried for Taylor and hoping that everything is done before she would have to go on dialysis but for now we are day to day with this thing struggling, praying, hoping, and just living through it.

I know that I may have missed a lot in this post, in fact I expect to write a few posts on the subject as we are becoming pretty well versed in kidney issues and health of kidneys. Fire away any questions that you want and Michelle and I will answer them for you.

My Daughters Kidney Disease, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

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Spondylolisthesis Treatment: What To Expect




Spondylolisthesis Treatment: What To Expect

Spondylolisthesis Treatment

There are many spondylolisthesis treatment options depending on the severity of the problem. Spondylolisthesis is simply having a slipped vertebra in the spine. In some cases, there may be very few symptoms at all, especially in a young person.

For example, the condition may be discovered by chance during a routine x-ray. In this situation. In this situation, if the slip is small and there is little or no pain, probably no treatment will be necessary immediately. Doctors may advise that the patient should avoid certain sports and activities that put a lot of stress on the back, such as lifting heavy weights, gymnastics, football, and some gardening activities.

A person who has spondylolisthesis without other symptoms may be recommended to lose weight if they are carrying excess pounds. They may also be advised to undertake certain exercises to strengthen the abdominals and the muscles of the back. Keeping these areas strong can often help to hold the spine in place and prevent the slippage from worsening. However, it is important to do the right exercises for your individual case, so seek advice from your doctor or a physical therapist on this question.

Spondylolisthesis Treatment Surgery?

In other cases surgery will be recommended. This is especially likely if pain is severe or if the slipped vertebra is found to be compressing the spinal nerve. If the nerve is pinched for too long it may become damaged, so it is important to have spondylolisthesis treatment by surgery in this situation. Be sure to ask your surgeon what he plans to do in your case, because the information here is not designed to apply to particular cases.

A common surgical spondylolisthesis treatment is spinal decompression. This will relieve the pressure on the nerves. Many patients also require fusion of the affected area of the spine. This involves bone grafting and the use of plates, rods etc to create a solid joint between the vertebra that had slipped and the vertebrae above and below it.

Will a  Spondylolisthesis Treatment in fixing your Back Problem

Is spondylolisthesis treatment likely to be successful? In most cases surgery will resolve most or all of the back pain, but it may take some time after surgery before you are recovered and the pain is gone. It some cases there may still be some pain. The surgery can also leave you with some limitation of flexibility of the spine.

This is because the structure of the spine, made up of many separate vertebrae with cushion-like discs between them, gives us a huge amount of flexibility in the back. This allows all kinds of movements that we usually take for granted. If you have symptomatic spondylolisthesis you probably already have limited movement in some directions. This will not necessarily be completely reversed by the surgery.

Spinal surgery is a serious operation and recovery can take a while. Most people have to stay in hospital for several days, at least until they are able to walk and sit without assistance. How long this takes will depend on age, general health and the particular surgical procedure that was used.

Spondylolisthesis Treatment: What To Expect
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Patients may have to wear a brace after their surgery. This holds the spine in place while the vertebrae fuse completely, a little like having a broken bone in plaster until the bone fuses back along the line of the break. If you need a brace, you will probably have to wear it for three to six months after the surgical spondylolisthesis treatment.

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Treating Panic Attacks




Many people don’t realize that panic attacks happen very frequently to a lot of people so if you are a person who gets these awful attacks don’t be ashamed because you’re not the only one. These attacks can be extremely scary and can come on fast and strong. Most folks think that the only way they can handle panic attacks is by using medication, but thankfully, this is not always the case. There are natural ways that have been used to help a person handle these attacks and live a very happy healthy life.

If you are a person who gets panic attacks first you must learn to understand what feelings you get before the attack comes on and record these feelings in a journal that way you can over time begin to realize when to expect an attack to occur. Eventually, you will be able to know when you are going to experience an attack and be able to possibly stop it from taking over your life.

Control Your Breathing

One very important way to help treat a panic attack is to learn how to control your breathing which will help you relax and stop panic attacks. When a person gets a panic attack they begin breathing fast and furious and the only way they can treat attacks of this nature is to stay calm so learning how to breathe properly through these kinds of attacks is very important.

Keep Track

A great way to treat panic attacks is to simply learn how to prevent them from happening in the beginning. When you get your first panic attack you should immediately take action so you never have to go through such a rough situation again. One way to do this is by exercising regularly. Everyone knows that exercise helps relieve a person’s stress level so if you exercise daily your stress level will drop thus your panic attacks should stop overtaking your life.

Panic attacks can be very scary and at times they can even make a person feel like they are going to die. It is known that doctors can prescribe medication for these types of attacks, but if you don’t want to take medicine surely you should try these natural methods that will help you prevent and treat your panic attacks. Of course, if you can’t control them on your own, then you must consult a physician for further help.

Treating Panic Attacks


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