Thiamine 'reverses kidney damage'

Oh, Ok, that was stretching it—-I was born and raised in Kansas—-77 years ago, did live a stint in Holly, Col at 3,4,5 yrs, the Dirty Thirtys, you know—sigh——of for a drink of water!!! The big irrigation ditch ran right beside our home, BUT I was warned to stay away as I might drown. I kinda did, was jumping with my orange kitty from one spot to another, along the water's edge (was VERY DEEP AT TIMES!!) until I slipped and my little foot and sock got wet, so washed them out in the cow tank so mom wouldn't KNOW! hahah—For somereason she caught on—I was 3 yrs old then and still onery!! ha__PR (Sorry I have slipped from the main topic here, but good friends are a very large part of our healing system!!!!

No, unfortunately not. I knew the Rischels and the Allens, and it was so long ago, I can't remember anyone else. I don't know Mayfield. Was only in KS about 5 years, and that, about 20 years ago.

Blessings

Hey, you are putting my mind to work—-of course, I KNOW the difference between a neurologist and a nephrologist—-also when you wrote Deerfield, I was THINKING MAYFIELD!!! hahah—-It is so funny how ones mind can read what it THINKS it SEES! hah-

Did you know the Finkenbinders and Carters at Syracuse? Bunches of relatives out there, mom said to be careful who I told that to—-not sure why!! hahah—

Later, I went to a high school musical tonight, a delightful, funny musical and quite a bit of talent for a small Ks town!! Yeah!! hah—PR

Pat,

Unfortunately a Neurologist is a different breed of cat than a Nephrologist. They sound similar but are not, A Neurologist is a Dr specializing in nerves and the brain. A Nephrologist is a Kidney Dr Perhaps the confusion is in the word Urologist [which sounds like Neurologist - the nerve Dr] which is the urinary tract Dr. So many specialists! It gets a person confused sometimes.

I had to go back and check if I had written the wrong word, because they look and sound so similar. I certainly wouldn't want to steer you wrong.

Your creatine of 1.5 is good,. Mine was 1.99 last June. The "normal" range for.that is below 1.34 mg/dl so yours is very close to "normal", especially because of your medical history. But people live good, long and active lives with only one kidney.

We all lose nephrons as we age and our kidneys' filtering power declines as we age, so a little higher creatine and BUN levels are expected as we age, but when Drs see creatine levels around .2 or higher then there's something to pay attention to.

About my kidneys quitting: they got infected - don't know why or how, I was in and out of consciousness on my bedroom floor for 6 days, and when my son found me that put me in the hospital for about 2 weeks. That put me on hemodialysis for about 9 months.

I ended up in the hospital again at 9 mos with chest pains and one of the things I was told then was I didn't have to go back to dialysis, that my kidneys had started working again, but now I have Chronic Kidney Disease and I have to avoid high potasium and high phosphorus foods and drinks [similar restrictions as being on dialysis].

I know Syracuse KS. just about a stone's throw from CO on US 50. I have several acquaintences from Syracuse from my time in Deerfield.

So true, but it keeps our minds sharp in trying to discern the "nut jobs" from the ones who really know, since I know so little, your own words make a lot of sense to me! I can now see the difference between a urologist and a neurologist—-sure makes sense when you see it in writing!

Glad that you married a knowledgeable woman, it sure helps "fill in" everything from love to organs—-

Deerfield, Ks and Garden City, Ks—-for pity's sake, no wonder I found kindred spirit in your words!! I was born in Wichita, Ks, lived at Syracuse (the other side of Garden City—as I am sure that you know—-) now reside at Anthony, ks., just a hoot and a holler over the hills south, from Deerfield, have driven thru there MANY times as we had relatives at Rock, Winfield, Wichita, Wellington etc—-Attica, Ks—-No wonder you make sense!! hahah—Now that was a naughty slam at non- Kansas-ns—sorry folks, Ks has its own charm——look beyond the western part—ha

Back to business—yes, I would love to hear more on this kidney thing, and my BS are gradually coming DOWN consistently since that malignant feller was removed 2 mos ago!!!

Why did your kidneys quit???? I was a nurse aide and ward clerk for over 20 years in a hospital, and transcribed many orders—one being the Chem 7, but don't know the outcome of the "numbers—" like the BUN, creatinine—one Dr said that my one kidney was about back to normal with a creatine of 1.5 what does that signify??

Talk more later—a new Friend, pat roth

Howdy Pat
To answer your question, a nephrologist is a kidney Dr., which is different than a urologist. The nephrologist focuses on just kidneys [nephrons are the filters in the kidneys]. Urologists deal with the whole urinary tract including the kidneys, [but not in as much depth as a nephro Dr.] so, no a urological surgeon is not a nephrologist. I am sure he is a urologist, but specializes in surgery. You might have to go to a different urologist to be seen about other urological problems.

Thanks for your kind words about being understandable. It is a good thing that we have the internet [really a mixed blessing -because of all the nut-job websites out there promoting all kinds of wacko ideas] to be able to check out what we need to check out.

I had been a CNA for 11 years in home health during the week and working weekends in hospitals, often in ERs. I have been disabled with ministrokes since Dec 2005. My Kidneys quit in Nov 2006 and I was on dialysis until July 2007. Just met [Nov '07] and married [Mar '09] a "differently enabled" social worker through the Dating4Disabled website. That's why I moved to San Frncisco area. I have learned a lot from her medically speaking. She has a whole laundry list of serious medical conditions. I was telling her tonight about our discussions and she said she'd like to write you should you wish. I will email you through DC to see if you might be interested.

She teaches me a lot about blood tests. She told me I should mention the "Chem 7" blood test which checks the BUN, the creatinine, magnesium, potassium and more, to get a really good idea of how your kidneys are doing. [She also has kidney problems along with many other medical "challenges"]

I grew up on a farm in OH. I spent about 5 years living in Deerfield KS and my youngest son was born in St Catherine's Hospital in Garden City. He will be 20 next March. It's quite a distance from OH to KS to where I am now in the S F bay area.

Blessings! I pray you had a restful night last night.

sincerely

James

Hi, Jay!! I CRASHED at the receptionist's desk and was sent to Wichita where several Drs of all kinds came in and gave me a going over—I spent 5 days in the hospital, then came home for a week to get off of aspirin, back for 5 more days for the surgery—-there was a urologist surgeon, he has said nothing about diet—which bothers me as I thought one wasn't supposed to eat eggs—-hard on kidneys, I HAD HEARD years ago—-I forgot to ask him last week. My UA was fine, a bit hi, but getting back into normal limits, was 1.5 creatinine, I really don't know much about it—-I also revisit the oncologist but not for another 6 mos, then the pulmonologist—another problem but was connected, had a cold, bronchitis, discovered I need oxygen for awhile after surgery, something about the bas of the left lung doesn' t handle air too well—-forget—-the term—-am to take a sleep apnea test next week and determine if and when I need this O2 setting in my frontroom—-I haven't used it for several days, don't feel the need—-

To me, these specialists don't spend much time in educating their patients, so I guess I need to look it up on the internet—just can't seem to find anything for ME—-I am still fairly exhausted from coming out of a deep depression and too much thinking is about beyond me~ ! aha——Really not funny, but I need to make a list of questions and pursue the health of the one remaining kidney—-they did tell me that it had been the only one working for some time as the cancer had already eaten up the left kidney and was eating on the fat in my bellyy—a grade 3—-and didn't think I needed to worry!! I don't know enough to worry anyway—-questions are not always welcome around this part of the country—-hurry-hurry——busy—busy!! You know. Thanks for communicating with me on this topic as I can absorb what you write—-small amounts at a time—and now I am getting a runny nose again!! Oh, well, so does everyone else in the country!!
You take care too!!!

(Lets see, a nephrologist, I see the surgeon of urinololgy, oncologist, that isn't a nephrologist, is it??!)

Nighty night/ PR

This may seem a silly question, but I will ask anyway, Do you see a nephrologist about your kidney, or just the oncologist, and if you see a nephro is he doing BUN [blood urea nitrogen] or creatinine tests ~ both are blood tests to check how your kidney is filtering? If you are not seeing a Nephro, perhaps you might want to ask your primary for a referral. Would give you a better idea of where you're at with your kidney.

I have to watch mine closely and avoid certain foods because mine are weak after kidney infection shut them down and I had to go on hemodialysis. Fortunately I was able to come off dialysis

Best wishes to you
James

Thank you for your clarification! I was wondering, does diabetis contribute to anyone's kidney function, or malfundtion? I have a curious mind, try to figure things out—-Since I still have one good kidney that seems to be working just fine, maybe I should just leave well enough alone, yet try to EAT balanced meals, much like I have learned to do the past 3 years since my BS went higher—-still never over 201, so it makes me think that it might just be an extra STRESS that was helping to shove my BS up—-Hmm. that will give me a purpose, so will "stay tuned!" Thanks for your input!! PR

Pat, This was a preliminary study on a small number of people.

In the article Dr Iain Frame of Diabetes UK said: ". . . we would like to stress that it's still too early to come to any firm conclusions about the role of vitamin B1 and we would not advise that people look to vitamin supplements to reduce their risk of kidney complications at this stage."

Still, since B is a water soluable vitamin, it probably couldn't hurt you too bad unless you did ultra mega doses.

The article said: "A third of the patients in the study saw a return to normal urinary albumin excretion after being treated with high dose (300mg) thiamine taken orally each day for three months." What is not said is how the other 66% responded to the treatment.

My wife's diabetes is caused by her heart problems, at least so she is told by the Drs, so likewise, the stress from your kidney being malignant may well have CONTRIBUTED to your diabetes.

I pray you continue to improve, and someday you would be free from Diabetes, or at least be able to manage it with diet and excercise. Best wishes James

another thought, would thiamine help my one kidney that is left?? PR

Are there stories of cancer causing kidney issues, or the Metformin that they say is hard on your kidneys? Why—-is it that cancer is a stress helping to cause Diabetis or the other way around, rather like the chicken or the egg??!! I asked my regular Dr today about my Glipizide and that my BS have gradually been coming back down since I had my malignant kidney removed on Sept 15th—-and I have deliberately eaten things that shouldnt', just to test it!! He said to be careful and keep checking, but maybe———that was my own main culprit!! I haven't taken any BS meds for a week now, bottomed out on 1/2 and 1/4—-Glipizide——Hmm—will keep you all posted!! PR