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Still extremely tired 4 years after kidney donation

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redutch:
Hi,

First of all, sorry for my bad English, as I'm Dutch;)

I'm 29 years old and donated my left kidney to my brother almost 4 years ago. Since then, I'm not doing very well. I'm suffering from extreme fatigue, I can sleep for 12 hours a day if I want to without a problem and (ofcourse) still feel tired. I've been seeing my doctor several times now. They said it was a mental issue, I was told to see a psychiatrist which didn't help me a lot. Everything I do costs so much energy, I have trouble concentrating, never feel rested, it's having a really big impact on my life. Ofcourse they've tested my blood several times, these results are always ok. I don't know if they tested me on everything, but I do think so.

I don't know what to do anymore. Are there more people with this problem?

Michael:
Maybe your adrenal gland was damaged during the nephrectomy. Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include muscle weakness and fatigue:
https://www.webmd.com/cancer/what-is-adrenal-insufficiency#1

There has been some research on the effect of living donation of the left kidney on the adrenal gland:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00251836
https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/left-sided-donor-nephrectomy-predisposes-living-kidney-donors-to-latent-adrenal-insufficiency-with-symptoms-of-fatigue-and-inferior-quality-of-life/

Fr Pat:
Yes, definitely ask your doctor to test for adrenal gland activity. Since the adrenal gland is usually not removed when you donate a kidney, some doctors don't think to check on adrenal problems. Not all doctors realize that when you donate the left kidney the blood supply to and from the left adrenal gland can be reduced or stopped, so that although the adrenal gland is not damaged it cannot function well. If the remaining adrenal gland on the other side does not make up for that, fatigue can be one result.

redutch:
Hi,

Thank you both for the replies! I have read about it in the past, is it something that can be diagnosed? Is it a "real" thing? Because I've read about adrenal fatigue and that not all doctors recognise it as a real issue.

Michael:
A quick check of some Internet sites indicates there's a difference between "adrenal fatigue" and "adrenal insufficiency." The symptoms you described sound more like "adrenal insufficiency," which is a thing and can be tested.

https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/adrenal/adrenal-fatigue
https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/adrenal/adrenal-insufficiency

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