The Wolf Comes Calling

Nearly two weeks ago I had a kidney biopsy. This was seen as an non-encouraged thing my many fellow lupus members of a certain support group I had belonged to online. They felt that asking for the biopsy with my hematuria (blood in my urine) that it was not justifiable and I was scaring newly diagnosed lupus patients. Were they wrong to underestimate my situation and wrong for kicking me out for speaking my mind about my choices? Maybe, but we all with lupus know sometimes the truth is hard to handle. IT IS scary at first and it gets scarier as you go on with things.

As I think I stated before I have only showed a low positive in my blood work before, only blood in my urine and no protein which these members felt I should have before going into this biopsy. All I can say to them is my Nephrologist ordered it, offered it and believed in what I told him.

Yesterday, I went to see my regular Dr. who I love to the bottom of my heart. He has always believed in me through all of this and tried his best to take care of me through it since nobody else would listen until the the kidney Dr. and the gastrointestinal Dr's did. We have found out now that I have cancerous polyps on my colon; which they removed completely. But now I also have kidney involvement which is normal in lupus patients. Lupus nephritis combined with cancerous polyps and neurological disorder make me only one step away from complete lupus involvement. The only thing left is my heart.

I already have a heart murmur so the Dr's are watching me closely for arrhythmia since my father and other members of my family had congestive heart failure which would be the only non lupus affected organ at this time.

I don't mind saying I cried all the way home, along with being a bit angry at the Dr's who wouldn't listen to me. Instead as my Dr said "you may have very well saved your own life"

The moral to this story is this... be your own advocate, don't settle for what doctors tell you when you know something isn't right. Find one that will listen and treat you with respect. Be your own advocate with the doctors, IT IS YOUR ONLY LIFE! You are human and so are doctors, they make mistakes too, but don't let them confuse you for someone who doesn't care about their own life. TAKE CHARGE!