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I have one failed kidney . what should i do?

Posted , 4 users are following.

vinay4311
vinay4311

I am 29 years old guy and recently when i went to routine health check up i am diagnosed with right kidney non functional due to some obstruction(not kidney stone) and left kidney is perfectly normal. i never felt any symptoms like pain or any sort , checked with urologist he said that since it is non functional better to remove before it starts troubling you and nephrologist suggested that since right kidney is not fuctioning it could be from birth (he said in most cases it is from birth only) so no need to get it removed for now as there is no pain or any symptoms and if it is from birth then it is normal and if it starts troubling you , you will feel severe pain , fever , swelling and other symptoms so at that time you can get it removed. 

i am very confused what should i do . should i get this removed as soon as possible or wait for the symtoms ??

will a non functional kidney can lead to some other problem like cancer ??

what should be my pre cautions from on onwards.??

Thanks in advance 

Vinay Kumar. 

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • louise5027
    louise5027 vinay4311

    Posted

    Hi, it's always difficult to decide when two doctors give different opinions. You have got to weigh up the pros and cons, if the kidney has never functioned and given no health issues, what are the chances of it becoming an issue? Against the risks of anesthetics and possible problems after removal. I have ckd stage 3 and have been that level for 15yes since diagnosis. My right kidney only functions at approx 30% and left is normal. Both my urologist and nephrologist agree that leaving it in is the best option. Get more info from both before you decide.
    • vinay4311
      vinay4311 louise5027

      Posted

      Thanks louise for your inputs, I will check with the doctor once again and decide.
  • andrea75543
    andrea75543 vinay4311

    Posted

    Hi,

    Sorry to hear about your kidney. I had an obstruction as well(not from a stone)they called it hydronephrosis. I dealt with pain on and off since I was 38 years old and finally ended up in the ER when I was 42 years old do to extreme pain and swelling in my abdomen. By then it was too late....my kidney was only functioning at 13% and my kidney was enomorous. (backed up with urine) It was a misdiagnosed pain by many doctors...most of my testing early on never even detected it because I guess my urinary tube was kinking and unkinking. Anyway, my urologist said we would be removing it as soon as we could. I did speak to a nephrologist for a second opinion who said if it wasn't bothering me he would suggest we leave it alone. In my case though, I had so much urine backed up in it and it was so swollen and painful I opted to have it removed. He also mentioned to me he has had patients in his office who never knew they even lost a kidney until some imaging was done etc. so I doubt it can cause cancer or anything but thats a good question to ask your doctor.  In my opinion and I am speaking just from my experience if I was you and you are not in pain and/or have any symptoms I would leave it alone for now. I wouldn't go through anesthesia, surgery and recovery at this point if you don't need to. Everyone deals with surgery differently. I developed "posterior orthostatic tachycardia syndrome" afterwards and had a very long recovery. I wish everyday that I could've just left it in there but in my case I could not. 

    Moving forward I would ask your nephrologist what he/she suggests for your situation. You wanna protect the one you have and be careful with contact sports etc. My doctor told me to stay away from ibuprofen, watch my protein intake(no protein shakes) and in my case I have to watch my potassium. My gfr fluctuates allot with my remaining kidney. Sometimes its at 72% but sometimes it can be around 59%. 

    I'm curious how they caught that you only had one functioning? Was it from imaging or blood testing? How is your functioning kidney doing? Hope this helps you some in your decision.I wish you all the best!!! Take Care!

    • vinay4311
      vinay4311 andrea75543

      Posted

      HI andrea,

      Thanks for your valuable response . it helps a lot to me to understand my situation . Also i am very sorry for your post surgery difficulties.

      So the result for my one kidney is normal and another one is non fucntional has been done in this sequence.

      First i went for regular health check up in which ultrasond scan for whole abdomen which detected Right PCS dialted (right pelviureteric junction obstruction) .

      After that urologist  suggested me to do go for IVP X-ray scan. 

      result : right kidney non detected and left kidney detected.

      Then i went for DTPA scan 

      result : left kidney normal with gfr as 82.5 ml/min.

      right kidney no perfusion or cortical uptake noted . photopenia noted in the right renal fossa.

  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey vinay4311

    Posted

    Vinay, a difficult choice for you.  I experienced frequent urine infections during my childhood and eventually the cause was found to be one of my kidneys.  It was removed.......and that was 60 years ago, and I never looked back until the last few years when high blood pressure has caused reduced funtion of the good kidney.  Good luck with whatever choice you make but just wanted to let you know how normal a life you can live with one kidney.  I suggest you get a second opinion from another nephrologist before making any choices. 
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