Wilkie Wages War: November 2007
Wilkie Wages War: November 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.
November 2007
Please know that one can choose to go drug-free and dialysis free. We can choose death instead of agony of surgery that may or may not work the first time, and dialysis in an area loaded with chemicals one cannot be around in the first place. — barb
| High or Low | Blood checked for | Reading is: | What should be: |
| H | BUN | 59 . . . Up 7 points from last month. (BUN increases as kidney function decreases.) This month I have no built in excuse, except of course, worsening kidney disease. BUN also reflects one’s state of hydration. | 10 – 20 mg/dL |
| H | Magnesium | 2.3 . . . Down .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 | 8.9 . . . Normal . . . up .4 point. | 8.5 – 10.3 mg/dL | |
| CO2 | 24 . . . Normal, but down a point. | 24 – 33 mEq/L | |
| H | Creatinine | 6.18 . . . Up .49 from last test in October. | <1.2 mg/dL |
| H | Phosphorus | 4.9 . . . Same as previous month. 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 | 4.7 . . . Up .1 of a point, but still well within normal range. Yeah! So far, I feel surprisingly good as my body acclimates to failing kidneys . . . and, I’m not having to be too careful about foods with high potassium. Why is that starting to clear better? | 3.5 – 5.3 mEq/L | |
| Sodium | 142 . . . Up 5 points . . . How did I do that????? | 133 – 145 mEq/L | |
| L | GFR | 7 or 9 . . . Down one point. 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 | 7.3 . . . Down .4 point since last month. Eight is the magic number I’m supposed to remain above. We’ll see what next month brings. 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 | 22.3 . . . Down 1 point. Hematocrit measures the amount of space taken up by your red blood cells. So, 22.32 means that only 22.3 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 or dizziness, nor shortness of breath, or any other symptoms of severe anemia. Hence, I’m not accepting medical intervention with drugs that can cause my body even more problems. | 34 – 46 % |
| WBC | 5.1 . . . Up .4 of a point and well within range. | 3.5 – 12.5 | |
| L | Red Blood Cell Count | 2.34 . . . Down .07 | 3.60 – 5.19 |
| RDW, RBC | 13.2 . . . Down .2 of a point but still in range! | 11.9 – 14.3% | |
| MCV | 95 fl. . . . Down 2 points since last month, but still in range! “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 | 262 K/uL . . . This has increased 15 points since last month. “Platelet Count measures the number of platelets, which are involved in blood clotting.” http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/test.html | 140 – 40 |
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