March 2006 Lab Report

Hey there everyone. It is Friday afternoon, and I have decided to update my blog and let everyone know how I am doing. Things have been going decently this week. I have felt well every day (except this morning, when I felt a little ill). I have had good dialysis treatments and the technicians have not injured my arm in a while.

I went to the cardiologist’s office on Wednesday and had a nurse take my blood pressure. I also gave her a chart from my last two weeks at dialysis. The machine takes my blood pressure every half hour, so I have a fairly complete record. Since I have been experiencing a little bit of dizziness and some occasional near-blacking out (right after I stand up, not while driving or anything), the doctor said I should try and even out my meds. So now, instead of taking one 200 mg Toprol XL once a day, I am supposed to take one 100 mg Toprol XL twice a day (once in the AM and once in the PM). I started that yesterday, so there has not been a chance for any changes yet. Give it a week and I’ll see.

I have been enjoying my new dry weight of 69.0 kg (which is about 151 lbs). I had been having more cramps at home between treatments, and those are much fewer now. It is not any fun to be awakened in the middle of the night when your foot feels like it is trying to escape from the bottom of your leg. I had one last night and it was not enjoyable. I am hoping that we can figure out my proper weight and I’ll get back to feeling normal again.

As the title of my post suggests, I got my March lab reports back yesterday. The dietician is once again pleased with my report. All of my charts fell within the accepted ranges. I am pleased because my phosphorus went back down ½ a point. So, without further ado, here are the March labs:

• ALBUMIN: 4.6 (goal is 3.8 to 4.5)


• eKdrt/V: 1.47 (goal is greater than or equal to 1.2)1.47 is down a little from last month, but still is good.What this means is that my eKdrt/V is adequate, so I am receiving enough dialysis.


• enPCR: 0.59 (goal is greater than or equal to 0.8)This says that my protein catabolic rate (protein intake) is low. It recommends that I eat more fish, seafood, chicken, turkey, lean red meat, lean fresh port, eggs, or cottage cheese. The dietician says that has always been low because my one kidney still makes urine and passes some of that out of my blood stream.


• POTASSIUM: 4.3 (goal is 3.5 to 6.0)My potassium level is normal which means that I am doing a good job with the potassium in my diet (and the 3K solution at dialysis helps, too).


• CORRECTED CALCIUM: 9.0 (goal is 8.4 to 9.5)My corrected calcium is normal.


• PHOSPHORUS: 4.5 (goal is 3.5 to 5.5)My phosphorus was 5.5 last month, so this is exciting. This means that my phosphorus is normal and that I am doing a great job limiting high phosphorus foods and taking my binders with my meals and snacks.


• HEMOGLOBIN: 12.9 (goal is 11 to 12)Hemoglobin levels show how anemic I am, so this is always nice to be high (so I have some energy)


• AVERAGE FLUID WEIGHT GAIN: 1.86 kg or 2.7% (goal is 3 – 5% of dry weight)This is acceptable, and it feels good to me.

I again did not get my full lab report. Maybe I will be able to get a hold of it Saturday (and the one from February). I’d like to see my BUN, creatinine, and URR (all of which I was told are important).

Please continue to pray for my health. The longer a patient is on dialysis, the worse it is for them (overall). They say that you best chances for a transplant to work is if you can get one with as little dialysis as possible. Please pray for the donors and for the transplant office that all of the appointments and schedules will work out right. And, please pray for healing. If God chooses to heal me rather than to use a transplant, I will be VERY excited. I know that we do not get to pick the way that God chooses to deal with our requests, but I would like to pray for healing. I know that it is possible and that God will do what He knows is best for His glory in this situation. Thank you all for coming by to read and for offering your prayers with me. I really do appreciate it.

See you next week!