I have a question because Im just totally lost

My question is this....Ive been havin problems with my kidneys for a while now blood in urine, proteinuria and the like. My test results have come back with high protien blood in urine and low GFR. about a month ago I was havin serious pain in my flank area and felt really bad also felt tired wore out and weak. I went to the Dr and he did an xray and decided to do a ct. the week before they did an ultrasound. I was told that I hand "many" cysts on both of my kidneys with several in the 5-6 mm range and these things have never showed up on any of my other tests. Was also told that I had several on the bottom of both my lungs too with "several" in the 4-5mm range. In all the tests that have been done before nothing has ever showed up just had the usual protien and blood, Does anyone have any idea what Im looking at hear since all the Dr would teel me was that he didnt THINK it was cancer...but then again these are VA drs.. Any help would be greatly appreciated especially where to go and what to do from here

aggiebill,

Sorry you are having this problem.  Your doctor at the VA really should have given you more and better info about your medical condition.

From your description, a good guess is that you may have Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease which affects adults, often for the first time between the ages of 30 and 40 years old.  This disease may also cause cysts in the liver, pancreas, membranes that surround the brain and central nervous system and seminal vesicles.  There may be other complications such as hypertension, back and side pain due to enlarged kidneys, abdominal pain, enlarged abdomen, frequent urination, kidney stones, kidney infections and kidney failure.

While it is not always so, this disease has the potential to cause serious problems for you so you really should be under the care of a nephrologist (kidney specialist) on a regular basis.  If you have health insurance and can afford to see a private specialist, I would advise that you do so rather than continue your care at the VA.  In my opinion, VA doctors are not always the best; several years ago my brother died from metastatic colon cancer that had been mis-diagnosed as an ulcer by his VA doctors.  By the time the true nature of his disease was determined, it was far too late for any treatment.  He was gone in a few weeks.  Thus I am hesitant to recommend treatment by VA doctors.

Good luck.

Joan L     

aggiebill -

 I 2d Joan's suggestions & add that you should ask for a copy of the report on the CT, it will tell you exactly what you are dealing w/. And, ask the VA doctor, if that is who you are stuck w/, what s/he recommends to determine whether there is cancer to deal w/ or not. As a person who has served our country in the armed forces, you deserve to know.