November 25, 2019
I saw the new kidney specialist directly after Thanksgiving. I liked Dr. F right away. She was aggressive. She said immediately that something was very wrong here, and that we needed to get to the bottom of it. She’s very direct, which I don’t mind at all. (She was also very loud. She, like me, is probably used to working with older people who don’t hear well.) She ordered a lot of blood work, urinalysis, and a 24 hour urine collection. I scheduled a follow up with her in one month. When I went for the blood work, I also had to have it drawn for my endocrinologist, Dr. E. Between the two doctors’ orders, they took NINE vials of blood. In what has become my very unfunny standing joke, I often tell them, “You know I’m anemic, right? It would be great if I could actually keep some of my own blood.” It’s usually met with a well-deserved eyeroll.
Ohhhh fun! The 24-hour urine collection! I get to pee into a “hat” then pour it into what looked like an orange juice container. They told me the instructions were inside the bag they gave me, but there were none. However, I found them online. No big deal.
Hemoglobin: 9.4 (better! Maybe that iron was finally kicking in! Maybe the folic acid and vitamin C helped?)
Protein in my urine: 7986 mg (normal is zero. Whoops. That’s not good. Not even a little.)
Low, Low, Low 