I’ve always been a whirlwind of energy, my mind and body racing from one thing to the next. Diagnosed with ADHD in my teens, I have learned to cope with my symptoms with a combination of will power and coping strategies. But when I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at the age of […]
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Catherine’s Story: My journey to my living donor kidney transplant and recovery. My diagnosis of Immunoglobulin A nephritis (IgAN) was made in February 1995. I had normal function back then and whilst there was a steady decline in my renal function over the years, I wasn’t anywhere near to conversations around kidney transplantation. It
Catherine’s Story: My journey to my living donor kidney transplant and recovery. Read More »
It’s very difficult to summarise 40 years of my life into this relatively short article but I will do my very best. ————————————– I was born in February 1984, folded in half. My mum tells me that all she knows is that at some point I did a somersault; and when it was time
My cholesterol my kidneys and me When you’re young and active, high cholesterol is the last thing on your mind. Even if you heard about bad LDL cholesterol, it was probably on TV, targeting an older audience. I remember seeing ads promoting food products that claimed to lower cholesterol levels. I didn’t pay much attention
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Fatigue and CKD: “Why am I so tired all the time?” Being tired occasionally is normal for everyone. Constant tiredness, lack of energy and feeling weak every day or most days is called fatigue. Fatigue and Chronic Kidney Disease go hand in hand. It’s fair to say that people often report unusual tiredness as one
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Nikki’s Story: Part 4, The Final Chapter – The Bright Side of Life The Bright Side of Life It was 2009. I’d put the hideous transplant saga behind me and moved back to the school where my career began as a parent helper in the 90’s. I loved it and made some fantastic friends. The
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If you are a patient on the transplant list, you may find this a harrowing read. Some people may have two, three or more transplants in their lifetime. March 2007. The Proclaimers were walking 500 miles at number one in the charts. I was working at a lovely primary school in a nearby village
Nikki’s Story Part 3: My Traumatic Transplant Experience Read More »
Once I started dialysis in 1990, my life improved considerably. After the last four years of struggling to manage my FSGS despite several hospital admissions, I was beginning to feel well again. The dialysis machine fascinated me. It was a Gambro AK10; it had a little tube at the front which, if I ultrafiltrated
Nikki’s Story Part 2: Home Dialysis and Having Babies! Read More »
I should begin by introducing myself. My name is Nikki Fretwell and I’m part of the patient expert team here on CKDExplained. I’m currently one of the UK’s longest surviving, non-transplanted dialysis patients, having clocked up thirty-four years so far. I’m also the first dialysis patient worldwide to conceive and successfully give birth. There are
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Sara’s story – the reality of being a kidney donor My name is Sara, and I am 36 years old. Originally from the countryside on the Essex/Suffolk border, I now live in Southend-on-Sea with my husband, Chris. I met Chris 11 years ago after we had been chatting online for months through a mutual friend.
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