Under Pressure

Everyone has the same question for me:

"How will this disease progress?"

Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer. The doctors just don't know. I do have proteinuria -- excess serum proteins in the urine -- and that is a proven risk factor for the progression of kidney disease. That's why the focus is on stabilizing the protein loss and keeping my blood pressure under control.

I've never had high blood pressure, so it seems strange that blood pressure monitoring now plays such a big role in my life. Every day I take 20 mg of Lisinopril, wear my stylish little BP cuff, chart my numbers, and hope for stability. Dr. Harder wants me to be at 125/75 and recently asked me to track my BP for two weeks and report back. Here's how I did:

March 21  112/68 (pulse 73)
March 22  121/76 (pulse 74)
March 23  111/74 (pulse 78)
March 24  128/82 (pulse 66)
March 25  115/75 (pulse 78)
March 26  120/80 (pulse 88)
March 27  118/75 (pulse 73)

April 2       110/74 (pulse 75)
April 4       130/86 (pulse 73)
April 5       108/70 (pulse 67)
April 6       107/69 (pulse 71)
April 7       114/69 (pulse 73)
April 9       114/67 (pulse 80)

I'm doing well, especially considering I'm failing miserably at the low sodium diet. I was at a Detroit Tigers game recently, and I wanted a hot dog. Or a salty pretzel. Or popcorn. Everywhere I looked I saw -- and craved -- salt. Lowering the sodium in my diet remains a challenge for me.

I think I'll save that battle for another day. ;)