I’ve mentioned before that I have Polycystic Kidney Disease. Earlier this week I saw my renal consultant to see how my kidneys are getting on. This is the first time I’ve seen him since Little M was born. I’d been feeling a bit anxious about this appointment as I’m conscious of the fact that I’m only a few years away from the age my mother was when her kidneys started their downward spiral into end stage renal failure.
I’m also aware that pregnancy can have an impact on kidney function in patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). While I was pregnant with Little M, my consultant told me that women with 40% renal function going into a pregnancy risk being in kidney failure by the end of it. Scary stuff.
However, I am fortunate that my kidney function was greater than 90% (i.e. completely normal) before my pregnancy. I had lots of extra monitoring during my pregnancy, and had to take aspirin throughout. This was because I was at higher risk of pre-eclampsia due to my PKD.
Fortunately, these fears were unfounded and the pregnancy went relatively smoothly; if Little M hadn’t been breech, I would have been able to try for a natural birth in the MLBU (Midwife Led Birthing Unit).
Because of all this, I was less worried than I could have been about my appointment. Even still, the ‘what ifs’ were there. Hubby and I would like Little M to have a sibling one day, but I wouldn’t want to go into another pregnancy if my kidneys weren’t up to it. I owe it to Little M to be as healthy and active with her as I can be, rather than risking her wellbeing over a hypothetical child.
So, I went into the consulting room and asked my consultant if I had come through my pregnancy unscathed. His response?
In a word, yes.
Phew! My kidney function is still at greater than 90%, and all of my blood and urine tests showed everything is back to normal. My consultant was happy with this and we joked that I’m ‘allowed’ to have another baby. Of course I’d be allowed to have another child regardless. But this means that I stand a better chance of my kidney function remaining good after a second pregnancy.
He did warn me not to wait too long, though. The older I get, the greater the chance that my kidney function will start to decline. So, we made an appointment for six months’ time to check the health of my kidneys as I think we’ll be ready to start trying again around then. I have been advised to wait a year after the caesarean anyway. This is to ensure my scar tissue is strong enough to withstand another pregnancy.
Then we’ll be ready to embark on baby number two, hopefully with no greater risk to my kidneys. What a relief.
Oh well thats great what an absolute relief this must have been for you! This isn’t something I’ve heard of but can imagine the worries this must have had during your pregancy! Hope the next appointment in six months goes just as well #MarvMondays
Thank you. Not many people have heard of it as it’s not as ‘famous’ as other illnesses but around one or two in every thousand people are born with it.
What a relief for you. Well done for looking after yourself and keeping yourself healthy. And the go ahead for baby number two. Happy making #marvmondays
Ahh great to hear! Hope all continues to go well for you and you have baby 2 as easily xx #KCACOLS
Thank you, me too!
What great news, chuffed to bits for you that they’re still performing well. Hope all goes well with baby #2! Thanks for linking up to #MarvMondays. Kaye xo
Thank you. Hopefully we’ll still be in a good position to start trying next year x
That’s great news! I can imagine how relieved you must be knowing you’re okay and also that you can have another baby too! #MarvMonday!
A huge relief. Hopefully things will continue to be fine in six months when we’ll be thinking about trying again.
That’s great news, must have been such a relief for you! #KCACOLS
Such good news, I bet that was a relief for you. Fingers crossed all is good for baby number 2 when the time comes! #kcacols
Oh that’s great news for you! I’ve never heard of this condition before but it sounds really scary. But I’m so glad you’re ok. And exciting times – planning another baby! 😀
Thanks for linking up with #KCACOLS and hope to see you again soon x
What a relief for you, I’ve never heard of this before but I’m so pleased you are doing well and can start thinking about the next baby #MarvMondays
aww what a relief for you to hear from your consultant. pregnancy, birth and motherhood is hard enough without this on top. im really pleased you are doing well xx #KCACOLS
Thank you! x
Oh Jules, I am so pleased that your consultant appointment went well. That must be such a relief that your kidneys functioned so well during the pregnancy and since then. And I am so pleased that you are going to be able to try for another child. My brother has kidney disease and only one kidney. He is in his early 40s and it is really tough knowing that at some point his kidney will fail and he’ll need dialysis etc. But it sounds like you are doing really well. Hugs Lucy xxxx #MarvMondays
Thank you Lucy. I’m sorry to hear about your brother. I hope he continues to enjoy good health for as long as possible xx
Hi did everything go okay? , how did you find you you had kidney disease when pregnant??
Hi Brianna, thank you for your message. Baby B arrived safely a few weeks ago. I was actually diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease when I was eleven years old, so it wasn’t something that was diagnosed during pregnancy. Due to my PKD being a pre-existing condition, I had additional monitoring during both of my pregnancies.
I have pkd as well and just found out I’m pregnant my gfr is 19 and it’s very scary and nerve racking but we are just leaving it in the lords hands and pray that everything turns out ok for baby and I ❤. I hope all goes well with you and baby number 2
Congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope it all goes well for you. I wrote this post some years ago now and my baby number two is now two and a half years old. Thankfully my renal function is still stable. We don’t plan to have any more children though. Best of luck with your journey into motherhood! x