Long Term Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Chronic kidney disease can have an everlasting effect on your life. Mine has impacted me enough to want better for myself and change in a positive way. When I was diagnosed, I went through plenty of obstacles. In addition to having chronic kidney disease, I also have been diagnosed with lupus. Dealing with lupus, I find myself having to educate people about everything I have been through and being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease was one of them.

First denial, then acceptance

The constant hospital visits and medication can be stressful and can take a toll on your body. The realization that I might not be able to do things that I thought I’d be doing for my entire life can be stressful. Focusing on the things that I can fix and disconnecting from the things I cannot helped a lot. Missing out on college was something I could not fix while being sick. I could not even go out of the country or on vacation, which caused me to lose friends because they never understood why I turned down so many invitations.

Things that I never thought would matter, actually started to matter. Things changed when my treatments started. I started to rethink some of the things I would be able to do with my life and making a family was one of them. I wanted to get married and I achieved that, but I dreamed of having children with the person I love. I dreamed of being a nurse and providing for my family, but having lupus and chronic kidney disease was never in the plan. All of my life, I wondered why I was the sick child. Being born premature and then having bronchitis and asthma, I thought that would be enough. Then I was diagnosed with lupus and not shortly after that, I was diagnosed with my first kidney failure. I am twenty nine now and I never want to go through another kidney failure after the first two.

Impact of two kidney failures

My kidney failures took me down a path to taking medications that were toxic to my body and even though it helped at the time, I felt like they could have long term effects on my body.

I have learned that kidney disease does not make me, me. I am so much better than this disease. CKD has impacted my life. I can no longer work a full time job like I'd like to, to help take care of my kids and support them financially. Once I tell people about my condition, they are pretty accepting. When going through treatment for CKD, I cannot go anywhere (literally) and it has forced me to be a homebody, which is difficult because I am a person who likes to go out. Living with chronic kidney disease has impacted all aspects of my life.