Medical & HealthNews and debate about medical and health issues as they relate to aircrews and aviation. Any information gleaned from this forum MUST be backed up by consulting your state-registered health professional or AME.
it is called IgaN - Immuno Globulin A Nephropathy.
I also know the fun event that is a kidney biopsy!
IgaN however is a bit more than your kidneys letting a bit of blood leak into the urine.The blood shouldn't be there, it is in your urine because there is some degree of damage to your kidneys already, and with IgaN, the damage is ongoing, it is just how quickly the damage occurs that varies from person to person.
Only advice I can give is to find yourself a good nephrologist and have as a minimum 6 monthly blood and urine tests and a sit down review with the specialist.You can go from being stable and having mildly impaired kidney function to needing dialysis in a very short space of time!
Have a look at this website, it has a pile of great info:
Hi Likair,
Ditto to all the above twice (blood and protein), including the kidney biopsy. The first time they diagnosed Henoch Schonlein Purpura which you probably don't have or you would have noticed a purplish colouring on your legs. The second time, 10 years later, it was called Vasculitis which I think is an umbrella name covering several variations of the condition. On this occasion it was accompanied by little red bloodspots around the ankles which the consultant described as typical.
On neither occasion did I notice anything visually in my urine, it was spotted during a routine medical.
Both times were thoroughly investigated and monitored over a prolonged period, two years for the vasculitis; but at no time was my working life offshore affected.
As I am also hypertensive the treatment was, and still is, strict BP control to protect the kidneys.
Be patient (no pun intended) and good luck.
s37
Hi Likair
I had the same when younger. Turn out to be a kidney stone which passed but unfortunately not into a tea strainer so with rolled up shirt sleeve off I went to the Urologists. It didnt stop me from getting the class1. I remember watching a programe about a power boat driver one symptom he had after a race was blood in his pee from all the jolting about on the waves, how crazy!! So dont get too bunched about it.
As mentioned in other post drink cranberry juice and plenty of fluids.
BF
P.S - suggest you dont do any power boating before your medical either!!
Had the same thing about a year ago. Saw a Urologist, had a 'flexible cystoscopy'. Something about a larger filter in the kidneys. Given all clear, watch for blood(visible) in urine. Good luck.
These Medics love to throw a wobbly & it's all about justifying their existance & generating funds. I had the same indication & before issue of Certificate was directed to Urinologist for Scan. I too was told that it could be stones, cancer, early ident of some ghastly other disease etc !
On the table, radiologist asked if I was in any pain. I replied, "no, should I be ?", "Not at all" was his reply because he wandered why I was there in the first place. I told him the story & was informed that he wished he had my kidneys ! There was no indication of stones, cancer, or anything else. I am 62 & the Consultant advised that it was not uncommon to find small traces of blood.
I was on medication for flu which actually seemed to hit me quite hard in the Kidneys but the boffins dismissed that.
Try not to worry. My stress level went through the roof & I nearly got a heart attack with the worry. But then, the quaks we think are monitoring our health are actually knee jerking and doing very little else.
Stay off medication, flush out with lots of water before your next test & listen to your inner self. Much more enlightened than the Medical profession !
Blood was found in my urine on medicals from time to time
In the end the CAA insisted I had a biopsy performed on the bladder. The biopsy came back with zero which was a relief.
However 10 days after the biopsy I started to pee blood (Diluted of course) I I was told not to worry and contact them if things got worse. (you can't make it up can you!) The blood stopped for a few days.
On a flight from LHR to BRU I went to the loo only to find that having a pee was not happening. I tried harder and then sprayed the loo with a mixture of blood etc.
After operating back to LHR I contacted the docs who sent me to hospital. They discovered that I was (and always have been) a hemophiliac. Only mildly in that 'factor 8' was missing or not working correctly.
The fact was the medical found the blood in the urine which was caused by the hemophilia. The biopsy caused a bleed which would not heal by its own. The bleed was cured by an infusion of something or other by a drip. All very clever stuff by the Docs. Well done.
The CAA told me that had they known I was a hemophiliac they would not have issued me with a license in the first place, but since I'd been flying for 34 years that would be OK then. Whats all that about? I'm hardly likely to bleed to death on the flight deck just because I looked at a plastic knife am I.
Anyway tis a funny thing that I have discovered this condition and several others over the years that have had some quite serious effects on my life. Anyone ever heard of HALB27? Got some issues over that one.
These Medics love to throw a wobbly & it's all about justifying their existance & generating funds.
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Stay off medication, flush out with lots of water before your next test & listen to your inner self. Much more enlightened than the Medical profession !
One of the better informed posts I've seen on here for a while.
Having said that, blood in the urine, whether visible, or detected by microscope/dipstick, shouldn't be ignored, and does need some sort of follow up by a professional.
It's odds on that the cause is relatively simple, depth of investigations etc would depend on other factors (eg age), but to ignore this symptom, and potentially miss something which could be sorted out at an early stage, would be negligent.
I have just found out I have this problem, but my GP doesn't seem to worried about it, so I have asked the CAA to get on my GP's back and try and get him moving!!
Location: Where the singing aardvarks told me I should be but when they stop singing I'm gonna escape
Posts: 1,080
Do what I did and tell them it's going to affect your job (explain the class 1). That had my GP referring me to a consultant and I was seen within 6 weeks. Turned out to be nowt though, usually does.
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These Medics love to throw a wobbly & it's all about justifying their existance & generating funds.
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Stay off medication, flush out with lots of water before your next test & listen to your inner self. Much more enlightened than the Medical profession !
OK. So let's put some science in this discussion : I see plenty of patients each year who have "listened to their inner self" as has been put, have heard nothing wrong, yet are sitting across from me with scans and biopsies showing kidney cancer, bladder cancer or prostate cancer. Yes, the yield is low if one looks at the number of the population having microscopic haematuria, but that's why the investigations are done in the wider population.
The bureacracy may certainly need to justify their existence, but in this country , no urologist is out there touting with a sandwich board.
As far as pilots are concerned, I would rather know if you have a (thus far) non-symptomatic kidney stone now , instead of you having your first episode of renal colic pain and collapsing half way across the pond, endangering yourself and, oh yes, the paying SLF behind you.
You have no idea how debillitating ( I hope that is the word) a moving kidney stone can be. Without any warning or signs it begins and grinds a way down the tubes, bleeding, scraping and suffering until if you are lucky it comes out. If you are not so lucky it gets blocked and you cannot p properly.
Mine was lucky, not in the air but on a desert island far away from anything like a lithotripsy kit or a urologist. You do not want to play games of chance like marbles with those stones boyos!
Flushing with water or beer is not always going to dislodge a stone stuck either in the kidney or in a tube. It may dilute the blood trace for a medical but you can still carry the problem with you which, I think, can be made worse or started up by the pressure changes in an aircraft making the tubes dillate and contract - like windy passangers perhaps?
Been having similar waterworks problems , I has a chronic UTI a few months ago .Blood in urine and excess white cells . The GP gave me Cipro for a couple of weeks which seemed to clear it up . he said the infection had probably gone back to the prostate causing the blood as i think I had the infection for a couple of months . He said the prostate was probably inflamed as well . Anyhow a few weeks later the infection seemed to be back ,noticed a little pressure in the lower abdomen .Went back to GP and urine proved negative , said my bladder was probably a bit sensitive and put me on Tamsulosin for a month .
Wasn't happy about this so went to a urologist who ran a blood and semen test , said it was all good , then he did a DRE hummed and hawed a little but never said there was significant enlargement there and finally , in with the endoscope he said no obstruction in the urethra but a little obstruction in the bladder neck - Bear in mind that I had a chronic infection a few weeks ago which he seemed to completely ignore - the only symptoms i show now are a light pressure on the abdomen and a weak urine stream - I think I always had a weak urine stream . Hi diagnosis - nothing specific - 2 solutions - To do surgery and cut it out - serious implications for the wife there - or to stay on tamsulosin for the rest of my life . I am devestated by this as i am only 35 and up to a few weeks ago i was fine - the side effects of this drug for an active person like me are serious - I can barely run around the block anymore before being exhausted . I really can't help but think that the infection is still there in some form , but not showing on the bloods or urine . really thinking about going to the GP and getting more cipro for a few weeks or more , and ditching the Tamsulosin .This Uro was very young and seemed to be in a rush to get away . and of course after the shock of hearing this I couldn't remember any questions to ask him - either ways he had left the room before I even stood up .
Sorry for the long story but i needed to vent
Not even an MD!
But..for starters...have you had a PSA check?
As for Tamsulosin-it is a good drug for BPH-but its efficaceousness(?) will deteriorate in time. The side effects you describe do not seem quite right unless you already have the low blood pressure. Just check the dosage..normal I think is 400 micrograms a day but I do not KNOW that!
Very much a case for the second opinion I would have been thinking.
PSA check was clear , the drug leaves me shattered after only a short amount of exercise , heart thumping etc , taking .4mg / day after 1 month absolutely no improvenent in the urine flow . So I can't see any benefit from it . becoming more convinced that there is still infection there as lower abdomen is feeling a bit of pressure , he also seemed to completely ignore the fact that i had laprascopic surgery only a few months ago , they went in right above my bladder - I wonder if there could be some damage from this ..
I had same prob as a marathon runner it was found on a premarathon check up! found a tumour with a harden wall, on my kidney I had it removed just before christmas beauitiful 6inch scar under rib cage. But started flying in mid Jan and now starting to run again!!! Im only 38. Had a gem of a consultant Craigavon Area Hospital.
But hey blood in urine can be loads of things just take care of it mate!
had that too. Turned out to be a prostate infection (as I learned, this can be caused by psychological issues, like excessive stress)
Antibiotics/Gyrase inhibitors for a week, and got rid of it for good.[color="YellowGreen"]
Went back to my GP , who seemed perplexed at the Uro's non diagnosis , he is convinced that the prostate still has bacteria sitting there and prescribed an antibiotic for 6 weeks . Blood and urine showing clear . I am going to hold off on the antibiotic until thursday when i see another Uro - He is the head of the Uro dept at the university hospital so I am hoping that he can confirm that it is an infection and nothing more . BTW symptoms have improved greatly since I started drinking my 8 glasses of water every day . Before this I never drank enough water (practically none)
HLA (human Leucocyte Antigen) B27 is a marker on your white blood cells. It seems to be associated with a number of conditions. That is to say that a higher than expected number of people with certain diseases (diabetes is one example I seem to remember from the days when I needed to know this stuff) will have that marker. Having it doesn't mean that you will get any of the conditions, just that your risk might be higher than the normal population
Hope that helps
Bob
Anaesthetist who can still remember some of the esoteric stuff that they tried to teach me at Med School!
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