Kidneys Continued

Happy Wednesday one and all! I've been meaning to write this post since I went to the doctor last week, but time seems to have gotten away from me. Anyone else ever feel that way?!

Anywho, last Monday I saw my nephrologist for my regular checkup. It had been about two months since I saw her, with a few visits to the office for labs sprinkled in between. The office's ears must have been burning from my last post about waiting forever because they scooted me on back pretty quickly. To sum it up everything looked good with the tapering. My kidney function is normal and there is no protein in my urine. This is fantastic news compared to where I was just a few months ago. There is a bit of a snafu with my sodium levels. Apparently I have too little sodium in my body now. Trust me, the irony of this situation is not lost on me. If you remember correctly at one point I was on a low-sodium (low fun, low happiness) diet because my sodium levels were too high. Now I have to decrease my water intake to 32oz a day (nearly impossible for the girl who drinks that before 7am!) and increase my soda and Gatorade intake. Ever hear of a doctor telling you to drink soda? Yea, me either.

She did decide we would continue the slow tapering process that we had been doing. It looks a little something like this:

Week 1: Alternate 17.5 and 0mg every other day

Week 2: Alternate 15 and 0mg every other day

Week 3: Alternate 12.5 and 0mg every other day

Week 4: Alternate 10 and 0mg every other day

Week 5: Alternate 7.5 and 0mg every other day

Week 6: Alternate 5 and 0mg every other day

Week 7: Alternate 2.5 and 0mg every other day

After all that I will go back in to see her and hopefully receive the news that I am done with the steroids! I'll have to visit for labs a few times in between to make sure everything is working as it should.  I am SO ready to be off the prednisone. Between the overwhelming pizza face I have come to recognize in the mirror and the ridiculous mood swings I am so over this mess. The sooner I'm off the happier I, and all those near me, will be!