A Scots woman has told of her shock after she mistook a potentially deadly kidney disease for a problem with her heart. Angela Riley was forced to cut her career short after being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in 2020.
The former addiction support worker had previously been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes - which can cause issues with the kidneys - but began to feel unwell as Scotland headed into lockdown and thought it may be a heart issue. Angela visited her GP before being referred for an echocardiogram - when she was later diagnosed with CKD.
And although 40 per cent of people with diabetes go on to develop the condition, Angela admits the news came as a nasty surprise.
She told Glasgow Live: “It came as a total shock. I knew that diabetes could affect your kidneys but I didn’t really know how and I had never even heard of CKD.
"I was sent to my local hospital for lots of tests and was told I had a problem with my kidneys, but nobody mentioned CKD to me until the second or third appointment when I told them I needed to tell my employers what was wrong with me.
“In April 2022, my eGFR [kidney function] rate dropped rapidly and my blood pressure was sky high. It was then that my consultant told me it was no longer a case of if I will need dialysis but when.
“I don’t really think I took it all onboard at first. I remember telling my husband ‘They kept talking about a transplant list today but I’m not going to need a transplant – I’ll be fine with dialysis’. But then it hit me that dialysis isn’t a cure, it’s a treatment. So, unless I do get a transplant I’ll be on dialysis for the rest of my life. That realisation hit me as if someone had slapped me. It hadn’t sunk in until then.”
Angela was forced to take early retirement due to ill health from her job where she helped those suffering from alcohol and drug problems.
She has now joined Kidney Research UK’s ‘Ken Yer Kidneys’ campaign which launched this week. Angela is calling on the Scottish Government to take notice and do more to tackle kidney disease through preventative measures and early diagnosis of at-risk individuals.
Kidney Research UK estimates that around 250,000 people currently live with the disease in Scotland, many of which are currently undiagnosed, similar to Angela. According to the charity the number of people in the country who are reliant on dialysis or transplants to stay alive has more than doubled in the past thirty years.
CKD is a long-term condition that can see kidney function worsen over time. There are usually no symptoms of kidney disease in the early stages and it can go undiagnosed unless you have a blood or urine test for another reason. When the condition worsens, the NHS notes symptoms as tiredness, swollen ankles, feet or hands, shortness of breath, feeling sick, or blood in your pee.
Angela continued: "I had no idea that CKD was more prevalent than cancer in Scotland. Despite this, there is no unified system to tackle kidney disease,” Angela said. If you have CKD you should have access to high quality treatment, regardless of where you live – but that’s not happening and that’s shocking.
“If we had standardised guidelines that everyone could follow people would be better educated about kidney disease and patients would be able to get help sooner. And this should include educating people with diabetes to help them reduce their risks of developing CKD.”
Sandra Currie, chief executive of Kidney Research UK, said: “Early diagnosis and prevention is the best defence against kidney disease whilst our huge efforts continue to find a cure, but far too many at-risk patients are being missed. With insufficient data and room for improvement around monitoring and measuring disease, a timely diagnosis is not available to everyone across Scotland - many are being let down. Patients like Angela shouldn’t face dialysis as an inevitability. A national strategy with an emphasis on early detection is the best action to halt the significant rise in the number of people developing CKD in Scotland."
To support the campaign visit www.kidneyresearchuk.org/support/campaign/scotland/.
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