@stephaniet You sound like me except it's my left kidney that's atrophied and my right one trying to take up the slack. I was in early stage CKD last winter when I got the flu despite having had a flu shot and my GFR "tanked." (Primary checks metabolic panel every 3 months because I'm also diabetic.) He referred me to a nephrologist who ordered a CT scan and to everyone's surprise I had a totally blocked left kidney which had atrophied. I say surprised because until I got the flu, my labs were fairly good and I had no symptoms for years. I had been diagnosed with kidney stones several years prior but we thought I had passed them and I wasn't having any problems until the flu hit.
So I totally understand why anyone in our positions might be on pins and needles. I'm a retired nurse so knew to go on a renal diet and a couple of months later a vegetarian renal diet and my labs have improved. I was in stage 4 and now am in stage 3. I'm telling you this because there may be reasons to hope.
Without getting too personal, I've been participating in a 12-step recovery program for 25 years and thank heavens my friends in recovery insisted I just take things one day at a time. Easy to say, hard to do. But it worked for me.
I don't know what the future holds for us but I know I'm here now and reasonably comfortable and still can participate in life so I'm hoping the same for you..
I'm so glad you reached out. You'll be in my thoughts. I hope your care team can reassure you that it's not too late to take care of your kidneys and I know you'll be able to handle whatever the next step might be for you.
Please let me know what you find out.