Hi,
I’m a 49 year old and active married father of two teenagers, never really had any major health issues but that’s all changed in the last 18 months.
It all started about 18 months ago, when I noticed hangovers were getting terrible despite not being a big boozer. I gave up drinking yet the hangovers kept coming and I had horrible migraines that lasted days. After a couple of trips to the GP, they measured my blood pressure at 230/125, really not good at all and I’d never had a problem in the past. After a few more visits and an ever increasing dose of meds from my Cardiologist (I’m very lucky to have private health insurance with my job) my blood pressure was getting under control which stopped the migraines but I still didn’t feel good.
My Cardiologist suspected an underlying cause and following urine and blood tests suspected kidney problems, I was referred to a urologist, and he determined I definitely needed to find out what was going on. So that resulted in a kidney biopsy. Initial tests indicated diabetes but blood sugar tests disproved that, further analysis came back indicating a diagnosis of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Renal significance (MGRS). To be more precise it’s known as Proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal immunoglobulin deposits (PGNMID).
I’ve recently been seen by a haematologist in oncology, had a bone marrow biopsy (not pleasant) and I’m waiting to hear if I’m going to need chemotherapy treatment.
It’s all been a shock and I’m coming to terms with the diagnosis, but it’s not helped by the lack of information about MGRS from a patient’s perspective. Hopefully I can help someone else with my experiences and connect with others in a similar situation.
Thanks