1. < Spine Health

Kidney injury

Posted by andytheman @andytheman, Mar 4 5:04am

10 months ago I compound fractured 2 lower back vertebrae and was also diagnosed with a serious kidney injury. I am 71 with a walker. Very serious fall at an inpatient rehab facility. Nobody ever called a doctor. I have only had a brain scan to rule out falling due to a stroke. I didn’t have a stroke.

My PCP left and didn’t give us a clue which doctor to go to so I don’t get a new PCP until April 29. We are March 4.
I recently spent a week in the hospital for the norovirus and a low blood thinner ( Coumadin) they almost killed me with heparin, a dangerous blood thinner. Anyways does anybody have kidney injury? 2 lower spine vertebrae fractures were diagnosed 10 months ago. Acute kidney injury found last week in the hospital.

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dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | Mar 5 7:37am

@andytheman
It sounds like you need to urgently be seen by a nephrologist to properly diagnose and treat your kidney damage.

Has your spine vertebrae healed? Have you been to an orthopedic spine specialist to ensure you are getting the best care and treatment for any disc/nerve compression issues due to your fall and fractured vertebrae?

Read more about kidney issues here:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-failure/symptoms-causes/syc-20369048

REPLY
1 reply
andytheman | @andytheman | Mar 5 11:07am
In reply to @dlydailyhope "@andytheman It sounds like you need to urgently be seen by a nephrologist to properly diagnose..." + (show)
@dlydailyhope

@andytheman
It sounds like you need to urgently be seen by a nephrologist to properly diagnose and treat your kidney damage.

Has your spine vertebrae healed? Have you been to an orthopedic spine specialist to ensure you are getting the best care and treatment for any disc/nerve compression issues due to your fall and fractured vertebrae?

Read more about kidney issues here:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-failure/symptoms-causes/syc-20369048

Jump to this post

My PCP left his.practice over a year ago. When I told my Assisted Living Facility they asked if I wanted the house doctor take over. He has never been here in over the 10 years I’ve been here.
His office is not user friendly. His NP is the grouchiest person I ever seen.
I decided to call elsewhere where I use to go and they said the earliest she could see me is April 29. It’s March 5th so I have to wait.
I have not had a PCP in over a year since I asked them to slow down when giving me a l km it of what you need for a referral. I didn’t even know a neurologist. Why are they making me do all this?
I fired him.
After that is when all hell broke through.
I was at a rehab facility and I was using the walker they gave me.
One night. At 3:00 am in the dark I went to the bathroom.
When I came out with my front walker wheel hit the corner of the bed and it went one way and I went the other way and fell hard.
Crawling to the nurses button got a nurse who picked me up the floor and put me back into the bed thinking I must have fell out of bed. Then she left. No questions asked. Protocol calls for a must go for a hospital check. That was never done.
The next morning they checked around and found that my bed had never been locked! I fell hard because of that but no doctor.

I sprained my neck, I compound fractured 2 vertebrae but nothing was done and nothing yet, a year later. The AKI is recent and coinciding with my norovirus hospitalization. Hospital kept me on antibiotics IV and IV fluids. I had 2 IV,s and a foley. Stuck in bed for a week.
The house doctor was informed and did a brain scan to check for a possible stroke. I didn’t get one.
I do not have a PCP yet.
I don also missed an appointment with another hospital for a barium swallow test. I have a right paralyzed vocal cord. I can’t talk normally, can’t speak normally, can’t breathe normally. I may have to get a tracheotomy worst case scenario. So I have a right vocal cord paralyzed, a broken lower spine at the L1. And L2. In pain, and no doctor. Loose stools trying to force their way out. And frequent urination. My urine had a bloody color and even a blood clot came down my foley tube. I walk around now extremely tired. My muscles feel like marshmallows and I have a hard time walking and use one of my aids such as my cane, my walker, or my rolator, a 4 wheel walker with a seat that folds. My mental health has suffered. I’m depressed and angry not seeing a doctor for a year and apparently no rush from our nurses. At 71 I figured I lived enough and suicide must be the solution but I quickly dismissed it. It did surprise me that the thought came up as I’ve almost died years ago. Thanks for letting me share. I needed that.
Oh yeah, I’m on Coumadin the blood thinner because I have a mechanical aortic heart valve.

REPLY
1 reply
dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | Mar 5 12:13pm
In reply to @andytheman "My PCP left his.practice over a year ago. When I told my Assisted Living Facility they..." + (show)
@andytheman

My PCP left his.practice over a year ago. When I told my Assisted Living Facility they asked if I wanted the house doctor take over. He has never been here in over the 10 years I’ve been here.
His office is not user friendly. His NP is the grouchiest person I ever seen.
I decided to call elsewhere where I use to go and they said the earliest she could see me is April 29. It’s March 5th so I have to wait.
I have not had a PCP in over a year since I asked them to slow down when giving me a l km it of what you need for a referral. I didn’t even know a neurologist. Why are they making me do all this?
I fired him.
After that is when all hell broke through.
I was at a rehab facility and I was using the walker they gave me.
One night. At 3:00 am in the dark I went to the bathroom.
When I came out with my front walker wheel hit the corner of the bed and it went one way and I went the other way and fell hard.
Crawling to the nurses button got a nurse who picked me up the floor and put me back into the bed thinking I must have fell out of bed. Then she left. No questions asked. Protocol calls for a must go for a hospital check. That was never done.
The next morning they checked around and found that my bed had never been locked! I fell hard because of that but no doctor.

I sprained my neck, I compound fractured 2 vertebrae but nothing was done and nothing yet, a year later. The AKI is recent and coinciding with my norovirus hospitalization. Hospital kept me on antibiotics IV and IV fluids. I had 2 IV,s and a foley. Stuck in bed for a week.
The house doctor was informed and did a brain scan to check for a possible stroke. I didn’t get one.
I do not have a PCP yet.
I don also missed an appointment with another hospital for a barium swallow test. I have a right paralyzed vocal cord. I can’t talk normally, can’t speak normally, can’t breathe normally. I may have to get a tracheotomy worst case scenario. So I have a right vocal cord paralyzed, a broken lower spine at the L1. And L2. In pain, and no doctor. Loose stools trying to force their way out. And frequent urination. My urine had a bloody color and even a blood clot came down my foley tube. I walk around now extremely tired. My muscles feel like marshmallows and I have a hard time walking and use one of my aids such as my cane, my walker, or my rolator, a 4 wheel walker with a seat that folds. My mental health has suffered. I’m depressed and angry not seeing a doctor for a year and apparently no rush from our nurses. At 71 I figured I lived enough and suicide must be the solution but I quickly dismissed it. It did surprise me that the thought came up as I’ve almost died years ago. Thanks for letting me share. I needed that.
Oh yeah, I’m on Coumadin the blood thinner because I have a mechanical aortic heart valve.

Jump to this post

@andytheman
You are so young to be dealing with all of this! You really need someone to help advocate for you to get the proper care. Do you have any family who could help? Have you reached out to social services for a social worker to help advocate for you?

A nephrologist helps people with kidney issues and it sounds like you need to be treated for a decline in kidney health.

You can look up and call nephrologists and orthopedic spine specialists to see if they accept Medicare coverage (if in the U.S.). You may not need a referral to make an appointment.

Are you working with an ear, nose and throat specialist for vocal cords? I just went to an ENT yesterday to test my vocal cords before cervical spine surgery.

You can call for psychologist and psychiatrist care to see if the providers accept Medicare to treat your depression and provide you mental health support.

REPLY
1 reply
andytheman | @andytheman | Mar 5 12:59pm
In reply to @dlydailyhope "@andytheman You are so young to be dealing with all of this! You really need someone..." + (show)
@dlydailyhope

@andytheman
You are so young to be dealing with all of this! You really need someone to help advocate for you to get the proper care. Do you have any family who could help? Have you reached out to social services for a social worker to help advocate for you?

A nephrologist helps people with kidney issues and it sounds like you need to be treated for a decline in kidney health.

You can look up and call nephrologists and orthopedic spine specialists to see if they accept Medicare coverage (if in the U.S.). You may not need a referral to make an appointment.

Are you working with an ear, nose and throat specialist for vocal cords? I just went to an ENT yesterday to test my vocal cords before cervical spine surgery.

You can call for psychologist and psychiatrist care to see if the providers accept Medicare to treat your depression and provide you mental health support.

Jump to this post

Thanks for responding.
I have a psychiatrist and a social worker for my psych issues. I have an ENT for my vocal cord issues. I need a neurologist for foot and neck issues caused by my spine injury but I never heard of a nephrologist for my kidneys. I will check on that. I have excellent no cost insurance that covers all of it. I just need a PCP as a hub. My assisted living facility did not reschedule my cardiologist, ENT doctor and hospital procedure and should have. They just let things go for 10 months now if you include my fractured spine. And I pay $2,000 a month to live here and all I’m getting are Tylenol. Without a PCP I’m stuck

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