- Joined
- Aug 3, 2013
- Messages
- 529
On January 20th of 2016 I was admitted to the emergency room. I was coughing up bloody mucus, pissing blood, my feet were filling with blood, and a multitude of other symptoms were presenting themselves. Some of these were shortness of breath, weakness in my limbs, lightheadedness and fainting spells upon mild exertion,. It even got to the point that I would lose control of my bladder when over exerting myself. I was tired all the time and couldn't sleep lying flat without feeling short of breath. I was plagued by lower back, neck, joint, and abdominal pain. I also suffered what seemed constant swelling of the face around eyes and throat that was akin to an allergic reaction.
Over a week of hospitalization I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, stage 3 kidney failure, IGA Nephropathy, and Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP), and severe vasculitis. My Ejection Fraction was measured at 30-35%. My GFR was measured at 59.
Upon my multiple diagnosis my team of doctors "life saving treatment plan" was basically huge doses of prednisone!!! Up to 150mg intravenously 3x a day when in the hospital. If you know anything about this drug you know it's a among the most potent systematic steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs available yet it is one of the most volatile and side effect laden drugs one can be put on especially at the dose I was prescribed. In the first three days I gained 30 pounds of water weight. It may have saved my kidneys but after a half a year of 200mg e/d of prednisone I was up to 425lbs from an already out of shape 345lbs and my blood pressure skyrocketed to an average of 165/110! I felt like absolute shit.
After the initial six month treatment period I began a six month taper off of the Prednisone. At this point I was prescribed 80mg of lisinopril, 25mg of carvedilol, 25mg each of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene and my blood pressure was still around 150/100. Not only that as the Prednisone dose lowered under 50mg daily my body began to hurt. Every joint in my body was inflamed, tight, and painful. My muscles were weak and atrophied. I could barely walk some days let alone train... My adrenals had completely shut down. My body could not react to inflammation and it began breaking down... at this point it became abundantly clear that I needed to supplement my drug treatment with somthing to help control systematic inflammation and assist with my heart, kidney, and adrenal recovery.
I began researching compounds and formulating a plan of attack. The doctors clearly did not have a positive outlook on my chances of recovery but I was determined to prove them wrong...
As I have previously stated in a few other threads my heart has recovered to a degree that I'm now in the low end of healthy Ejection Fraction for my age (60%ish).
Now I can also report major improvements in my renal function. I do not have an new estimated
GFR but my blood and urine test have came back much closer to a normal range after over a year and a half of treatment. My highest Total protein to Creatinine ratio was measured at 4.710 mg/mgCR and it is now at 0.5! This is a huge improvement! There is also for the first time no measurable blood at all in my urine!
I wanted to share my story with you all not only bring awareness to the health risks we are taking when using various bodybuilding drugs but also to encourage you guys to be more proactive in preventing such damage in yourselves. I would also be a example those of you who are already affected by similar issues. There is hope that you may make recovery if you take the proper steps. In many cases you can a recover significantly if you catch it early enough, change your lifestyle, and you are aggressive in your treatment methods.
I hope this thread will be of significant assistance to my fellow iron addicts.
It will take a few days to get all the information I would like to share with you together and posted in a coherent manner so bare with me...
Over a week of hospitalization I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, stage 3 kidney failure, IGA Nephropathy, and Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP), and severe vasculitis. My Ejection Fraction was measured at 30-35%. My GFR was measured at 59.
Upon my multiple diagnosis my team of doctors "life saving treatment plan" was basically huge doses of prednisone!!! Up to 150mg intravenously 3x a day when in the hospital. If you know anything about this drug you know it's a among the most potent systematic steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs available yet it is one of the most volatile and side effect laden drugs one can be put on especially at the dose I was prescribed. In the first three days I gained 30 pounds of water weight. It may have saved my kidneys but after a half a year of 200mg e/d of prednisone I was up to 425lbs from an already out of shape 345lbs and my blood pressure skyrocketed to an average of 165/110! I felt like absolute shit.
After the initial six month treatment period I began a six month taper off of the Prednisone. At this point I was prescribed 80mg of lisinopril, 25mg of carvedilol, 25mg each of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene and my blood pressure was still around 150/100. Not only that as the Prednisone dose lowered under 50mg daily my body began to hurt. Every joint in my body was inflamed, tight, and painful. My muscles were weak and atrophied. I could barely walk some days let alone train... My adrenals had completely shut down. My body could not react to inflammation and it began breaking down... at this point it became abundantly clear that I needed to supplement my drug treatment with somthing to help control systematic inflammation and assist with my heart, kidney, and adrenal recovery.
I began researching compounds and formulating a plan of attack. The doctors clearly did not have a positive outlook on my chances of recovery but I was determined to prove them wrong...
As I have previously stated in a few other threads my heart has recovered to a degree that I'm now in the low end of healthy Ejection Fraction for my age (60%ish).
Now I can also report major improvements in my renal function. I do not have an new estimated
GFR but my blood and urine test have came back much closer to a normal range after over a year and a half of treatment. My highest Total protein to Creatinine ratio was measured at 4.710 mg/mgCR and it is now at 0.5! This is a huge improvement! There is also for the first time no measurable blood at all in my urine!
I wanted to share my story with you all not only bring awareness to the health risks we are taking when using various bodybuilding drugs but also to encourage you guys to be more proactive in preventing such damage in yourselves. I would also be a example those of you who are already affected by similar issues. There is hope that you may make recovery if you take the proper steps. In many cases you can a recover significantly if you catch it early enough, change your lifestyle, and you are aggressive in your treatment methods.
I hope this thread will be of significant assistance to my fellow iron addicts.
It will take a few days to get all the information I would like to share with you together and posted in a coherent manner so bare with me...