Wilkie Wages War: August 28, 2007
Wilkie Wages War: August 28, 2007
Environmental Health Network leader Barbara Wilkie discovered in July 2005 that her chemical injury/multiple chemical sensitivities had suddenly manifested as stage 4 (later stage 5) kidney disease (kidney failure). Despite dire warnings of death within a year, she eschewed dialysis and Western Medicine drugs and took a route of alternative medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and strict dietary changes. She lived well for six years, far beyond the doctors’ predictions. Barb died at home, surrounded by friends and family, on May 31, 2011.
During this time, Barb documented her journey. From diagnosis through June 2008, she created one huge website page packed with details, plus some side documents on diet and other topics. We have divided these works into smaller pieces, by date or topic, to make it easier to read and find things. For dates after June 2008, we have letters, online posts, and other documents.
Barb intended her work to be read and used. We hope this presentation will help you do just that.
Wilkie Wages War on Kidney Disease
(aka Renal Disease or Failure)
OR, AS I SEE IT: Life with yet another facet of living with MCS.
I want to live life while dying.
August 28, 2007
Well, the BUN again worsened a little, but not that bad. Kind of holding my own, on this alkalizing diet. Again, the really bad one is the red blood cell count . . . and again, I hope to improve that, by greening all the more. We’ll see what next month brings. I continue to take a Chinese Herbal Syrup, suggested by my acupuncturist: Tang Kwei Gin (aka Dang Gui Gin). We’ll see if this, plus an herbal iron drink and supper greening by drinking chlorophyll makes the difference I hope it will. Stay tuned, the end of September blood test is coming up. I’m still working under another — my last, for I stopped seeing nephrologists September 2006 — “dead”line. I’m due to be dead, or on dialysis, by end of December 2007. We’ll see. Wouldn’t it be great if my numbers could turn around to BETTER by then??? — barb
| High or Low | Blood checked for | Reading is: | What should be: |
| H | BUN | 44 . . . Up 13 points, but still not too bad considering that in June, it had been a whopping 73. (BUN increases as kidney function decreases.) But, this month, I had the john trots right before the blood test, and while I tried my best to stay sufficiently hydrated, I may not have been. BUN also reflects one’s state of hydration. | 10 – 20 mg/dL |
| H | Magnesium | 2.6 . . . Back up .2 points. As I understand it, too much magnesium can adversely affect heart, just as can too much potassium. | 1.7 -2.3 mg/dL |
| Calcium | 9.0. . . Normal, and up .1 point. | 8.5 – 10.3 mg/dL | |
| L | CO2 | 18 . . . Well, still running low on this reading. | 24 – 33 mEq/L |
| H | Creatinine | 5.32. . . Down some from last test on July 31. I’ve been told that creatinine drops slowly and that the reading is reflective of one’s exercise also. I learned from Kaiser’s site after having this test, that one is not supposed to exercise for two days before the test, in preparation of this test. Next time I’ll not take any huge walks and we’ll see if that has an effect. | <1.2 mg/dL |
| H | Phosphorus | 5.6 . . . A jump, and I’ve not a clue as to why. Don’t remember eating beans or nuts, not too much fish, and certainly no dairy. So why? Too much phosphorus in the blood and bones can be leached of calcium, causing them to become brittle. | 2.7 – 4.5 mg/dL |
| Potassium | 5.1. . . Still “normal” and, still the same as last month. My doctor would rather see me in the 4s. But, I still think this reading is truly amazing because I’m on a diet of potassium-rich foods. I also take in a lot of salt — Himalayan salt, that is. How kidney-patient-like is all of this??? So far, so good. | 3.5 – 5.3 mEq/L | |
| L | Sodium | 132 . . . Down five points since last month and I don’t know why. I’m certainly getting a lot of sodium. Sodium is important for balancing potassium. Serious question: Are medical doctors causing kidney problems by taking patients off of sodium? Maybe they should switch their patients to aluminum-free baking soda and also to Himalayan Salt, with its 84 trace minerals. Any studies??? | 133 – 145 mEq/L |
| L | GFR | 8 or 10 . . . Still doing better than I was on June 5, when I had 7 or 9 from which to choose. Like always, I’ll take the higher number. With the increase in creatinine, the GFR drops. The larger number is assigned to African-American women, as they are seen as having more muscle mass than caucasians. You can see how “painting with a broad brush” can cause errors. White women aren’t supposed to have muscle mass? Ridiculous! My ethnic origins were quite muscular, as am I. | >60 mL/min |
| L | Hemoglobin | 7.8 . . . Now, this is the BAD news again this month, but the GOOD news, is that I didn’t drop any since last month. Eight is the magic number I’m supposed to remain above. Already the nasty PROCRIT word has been mentioned. I have chosen to try upping my red blood count by hitting the greens hard and often. I start my day with a shot of chlorophyll and take added greens throughout the day. We’ll see what next month brings. I find myself running up our stairs again. Maybe that’s a good sign. Let’s hope . . . Hemoglobin is supposed to fill the red blood cell and the amount in your red blood cells is an indication of how well your blood can carry oxygen. | 11.5 – 15 g/dL |
| L | Hematocrit | 23.2 . . . 1.6 drop since last month — lowest reading ever. Hematocrit measures the amount of space taken up by your red blood cells. So, 23.2 means that only 23.2 percent of the volume of my blood contains red blood cells . . . By both counts, hemoglobin and hematocrit, I’ve got the typical severe anemia that comes with kidney disease. And, I’ve had it for some time now. However, I don’t suffer the fatigue. I had dizziness — when I first got up — on Sept. 8, but it lasted only a couple of minutes and has not returned. I’ve not had any other such symptoms of severe anemia. Yet. Hence, I’m not too anxious to have medical intervention with drugs that can cause my body even more problems. | 34 – 46 % |
| WBC | 4.4 . . . Up .2 of a point, but still within range. This month marks the second of a series of CBC (complete blood count) tests, so, I’ve no idea what this was like before going on the greening diet. | 3.5 – 12.5 | |
| L | RBC | 2.52 . . . Down .6 of a point. Red blood cells are running low in this test too. But, considering my hemoglobin, this is not a surprise. | 3.5 – 12.5 |
| MCV | 92 fl. . . . “Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is a measurement of the average size of your RBCs. The MCV is elevated when your RBCs are larger than normal (macrocytic), for example in anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. When the MCV is decreased, your RBCs are smaller than normal (microcytic), such as is seen in iron deficiency anemia or thalassemias.” http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/test.html | 80 – 100 | |
| Platelet Count | 241 K/uL . . . “Platelet Count measures the number of platelets, which are involved in blood clotting.” http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/test.html | 140 – 4 |
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