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Kidney and Hypothyroidism

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AshleyH2887:
Hi All,

I donated my kidney in July of 2014 and have had a great experience, I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Just curious though about something, I found out a few months ago that my thyroid is not functioning properly, I had a goiter in 2007 and had a partial thyroidectomy. I was never put on an medicine as my remaining half still worked. Well this past year, my thyroid function diminished and I was feeling horrible, after numerous tests, they discovered I had hypothyroidism. Has anyone else had this? Should I be concerned, as far as my remaining kidney goes? My internal medicine doctor does not show much concern. I have not been to my kidney surgeon since July 2015, next visit will be in the summer of 2016. 

Any information or insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ashley

elephant:
Dear Ashley,

Congratulations on your successful donation!

As you only have a single kidney, you may want to be more proactive in getting medical care.  Why don't you consult with a nephrologist, and/or an endocrinologist?  If you deal with your thyroid issues early and monitor well, you'll avoid complications later.

I don't have an endocrine issue, but I have developed an immunological one.  For sure I visited with a nephrologist to discuss my treatments, and I research every medication for potential nephrotoxic risks.  In addition, I get lab work every three months to make sure all is going well with my kidney function.

Love, elephant

AshleyH2887:
Thank you Elephant, I appreciate your response!

I have been proactive regarding my healthcare, I was sick for months and kept visiting many doctors, they finally narrowed it down to my thyroid. It was a relief to have an answer. I spoke with my kidney transplant coordinator on Friday and she stated this would not effect my remaining kidney, she also wanted to inform me that my donation would not have cause the issue.

I go for more labs tomorrow, so will learn more this week when talking to my internal medicine doctor.

Thanks again, its so great to have other donors to talk to!

Ashley

elephant:
Dear Ashley,

Let us know what happens! 

I think sometimes donors are tempted to attribute every health issue to the donation. Since there isn't much really long term donor monitoring, we don't really know what could be attributed to donation.   That doesn't mean that nothing can, or that everything can! We can't expect to never have a health issue, despite being very fit at donation.

Love, elephant

donor99:
I was actually diagnosed with Hypothyroidism during my donor evaluation 17 yrs ago, I am stable on my medications and donation did not make anything worse. I was lucky that my program screens for Thyroid issues as a part of the work up.

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