KIDNEY FAILURE?hELP!

[StonedinAlabama]

Ok,i'm wondering if ya'll can help me~iv'e been exaushted and wondering if my right kideny has shut or is shutting down.I think iv'e been wearing my body out over time~i'm in college,and started this second semester this Jan.Iv'e been studying, walking to school(a mile or more every day),walking miles thru the the neighborhood,lifting and moving heavy furniture,doing physical work,practing dance,being busy w/ friends,and staying up way too late.(also,pain killers had left me worn out in Feb.)Well,i'm moderately overweight,but in great shape,and iv'e been going strong the last few months and never wore out much.I just finished my last day of school this Monday,and just in time.As i was walking home for the last time,i had to stop at the top of a hill,winded.I could always make it up the hill before with no prob.
Since then,iv'e been exhausted & apathetic.My heart's been going harder than usual,and i can't even walk from one room to the other without feeling winded and my heart going hard.My body and breathing seem to be slowing down in general,and, ive' started sleeping and resting alot,but,no matter how much i rest,i can't seem to feel better or rested.Iv'e had the start of very vague pain in my back,and have been either burning up or chilled.(also been flushing alot lately)Also,another note~iv'e been having food cravings and only want certain things(i'm not preggo,tho)With stone,i can't eat much variety sometimes.
Of course,iv'e felt some of these symptoms with stone in the past, but iv'e never felt so run down & i'm scared.I had one bad stone episode this last Feb,and it seems like every pain episode i can barley make it thru.Even tho it was he*l,i could always make it thru stone more reasonably,but now every episode of pain has left me exhausted and i can't bounce back as quickly.
I feel like my body is so aged inside,and generally deterioating.
So,i'm wondering how to tell if a kidney has shut down~iv'e read stuff in medical book and internet,of course,but i'm still not sure.
Someone please help me,and tell me exactly how dangerous this could be~Thanx:cool:

O~my kidney did shut down one time when i went to the hospital in 2000,so i know it could do it again...

[Matt Lewis]

You should most definitly go either see a doctor or if you can't get in immediatly, go to the hospital. This may sound drastic, but for a person with your disposition to kidney failure (cystinuria) and the symptoms you are describing, checking yourself into even emergency care is not at all over-reacting.

You are a college student, as am i so i speak from experience here, which can be exausting in itself. On top of that, diseases that can leave you tired are more prevalent throughout campus communities. Throw normal college stress on top of that and it's suprising that we're not all tired all the time. However, since the case of a cystinuric is special, what you describe could be symptoms of kidney failure due to blockage, for example. Even more serious than that, and not to alarm you more than prudent, but those are also symptoms of ESRD: End Stage Renal Disease, a disease which cystinuria can most definitly lead to. The tiredness that you're feeling could be resulting from toxins building up in your body, a direct result of the loss in function of one or both of your kidneys, either due to stone blockage (more probable) or ESRD (less probable in the short-term, but still a possibility).
PLEASE go have this checked out as soon as possible. If it's nothing, than we can all be relieved. But until then, i'd be very concerned. The test that they can do to check this isn't pleasent (if i remember correctly, it involved Kathy drinking some kind of radioactivly labeled plaster material which they then traced through her system, ultimatly determining that her right kidney was fully blocked). It's not harmful, just unpleasant. However, in your case i would highly suggest something like it... whatever the doctors recommend. (There may be other tests for the same thing... i'm not sure). PLEASE go in to either the doctor of the hospital, tell them your history and your concerns, and make SURE things are handled properly, which should involve some sort of testing for proper kidney function. The doctors should know to do this, but it's up to you to keep them on the ball if they don't.
That's just my opinion and advice. If you want to learn more about ESRD and kidney failure in general, please check out this online tutorial from the National Library of Medicine: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/kidneyfailure/id269101.html
And please keep us posted on your condition/doctors visit!!!
Wishing you the best,
matt

[StonedinAlabama]

GUESS WHAT?!THE PAIN WAS STARTIN TO COME ON KINDA BAD THE OTHER NITE,AND THEN IN THE MORNING AFTER I PASSED A PRETTY BIG STONE!IT REALLY FELT LIKE THE KIDNEY HAD SHUT DOWN,LIKE THEIR WASN'T ANY ACTIVITY ON THAT SIDE OF THE BODY,BUT NOW IT FEELS LIKE IT'S UP AND RUNNING AGAIN AND I FEEL SUUUUUU BETTER! THANX FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND SUGGESTIONS,MATT.:)

[tonya]

Listen to what your body is telling you......you know it better then even the doctors. I agree wit the previous posting i ended up going into heart failure back in 98 d/t stones n infection. Don't wait like i did get it checked out. Hope u feel better

tonya

[daniel]

Hey Alabama,
My name is Daniel, 32 yrs in laguna beach. I am really sorry to tell you that it does sound like kidney failure, I am at end stage kidney failure and what you are saying is exactly what I went through learning my kidneys are dying. Most important , ask doc for a catapres patch for your blood pressure so you dont have a stroke I am serious. Are you feeling tired almost tipsy? depressed , I am sorry and would love to help you for I am there with you and I felt the changes in stamina and health. Please let me know eh, Daniel in Laguna