※This is Puchiko’s experience and is not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment.
The physical changes that appear before an illness is discovered are often easy for many people to overlook. Here, I will talk about the signs of IgA Nephropathy that Puchiko experienced. If you have reached this article and are feeling similar symptoms, please consider getting an early checkup. These are just the signs that Puchiko ignored.
This is a picture of the kidneys’ plea, which Puchiko drew for another blog. I asked Puchiko and got permission to use it.
Table of Contents
1. Do Your Tonsils Swell Frequently?
Since childhood, whenever Puchiko caught a cold, her tonsils would swell, and due to the repeated inflammation, her tonsils became enlarged. Tonsils have tiny crevices where tonsil stones (tonsilloliths) accumulate. These foul-smelling masses are composed of shed epithelial cells, lymphocytes, white blood cells, bacterial clumps, inflammatory breakdown products, fatty acids, cholesterol, calcium phosphate, and food debris. They are a cause of bad breath. Usually, if they are bothersome, they can be professionally removed by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor. However, because her tonsils were so enlarged (Grade 2 out of 3), she could see them and removed them herself. This is absolutely something you should never do, but she did not listen to my words. Her tonsils were simply that enlarged that she could easily see and remove them.
My TIPs to you: Pay attention if you frequently have swollen and enlarged tonsils. Why? Because IgA Nephropathy is a disease where the lesion is in the kidneys, and the causative site, the tonsils, might seem unrelated, making it easy to overlook.
2. Do You Frequently Have Your Mouth Open?
Related to the above, many people who frequently have swollen tonsils are likely mouth breathers. When Puchiko was suspected of having IgA Nephropathy, she read various papers about tonsils. Her parents told me that she had been a mouth breather since childhood after a pediatrician accidentally injured the back of her nose during a cold. Because of this, not only were her tonsils prone to swelling, but she also had a vacant expression with her mouth slightly open. Oops, I said too much. Due to this influence, her jaw development was poor during childhood, leading to an adenoid face. Mouth breathing is generally not good for jaw formation. I will omit the details about adenoid face here, but as an adult, there is little one can do besides relying on cosmetic surgery. The mouth is for digestion; the nose is for breathing. Let’s breathe through the nose. In addition to the above, mouth breathing is also a sign.
3. Do You Mistake Hematuria (Blood in Urine) for Menstrual Effects?
Since I’m not a woman, I don’t know the reality, but it is common for women to get re-tested for urine due to menstruation. Puchiko failed her urine tests several times in her teens and twenties. In a health checkup in her late twenties, she was called back for re-testing due to hematuria. At that time, she felt a slight sense of unease. The source of this feeling was that something felt different from before. However, she didn’t want to admit that something was wrong and averted her eyes, believing a young person like her couldn’t possibly be sick. However, this test was taken one week after her period had ended. She knew it should no longer be affected by menstruation. Yet, she felt uneasy about the result. I could only watch and urge her to get re-tested. Anyone who has been called for a re-test has likely searched the internet repeatedly and arrived at the common answer: “Please go get re-tested.” Had she gone for re-testing at this point, her treatment time might have been shorter.
4. Did You Fail a Urine Test for Proteinuria (Protein in Urine)?
This is the final warning sign the kidneys are struggling to send you, like a fire within the kidney itself. Puchiko had a +1 result for proteinuria on her health checkup. The action she took this time was, again, searching the internet. She was hesitant to take the step of getting a re-test. She took the phrase “a little proteinuria can occur when fatigued” written there at face value… no, she willed herself to believe that was the case. However, normally, protein in the urine does not appear so easily.
If you are reading this article now because you were anxious and searched after an abnormal result for proteinuria in your health checkup, the only thing you need to do is get re-tested. Puchiko, in this state, told herself, “It must be fatigue,” skipped the re-test, and went to Australia for a working holiday. In the end, she ignored my words. In times like these, you should listen to the advice of those around you.
5. Is Your Urine Foamy?
After that, Puchiko started noticing that her urine was foamy. This is a repeated paragraph in the user’s previous context, please check and fix the issue.
After that, Puchiko started noticing that her urine was foamy. She felt uneasy about this too and tried to calm herself by searching the internet. Articles related to kidney disease appeared, but it is human nature not to want to see inconvenient information. Again, she chose an article that said, “Urine can be foamy when you are tired,” and tried to reassure herself by reading it. I will warn everyone: the reason for the foam is proteinuria. As a result of neglecting this, her urine began to look like beer foam three months later. Still, due to being overseas and then working part-time while attending school at night after returning home, she hadn’t had a health checkup for about three years.
6. The Result of Ignoring the Signs I Listed Here
Finally, at the health checkup for her new job (since the workplace provided a checkup upon entry, a prior checkup result was not required), she hit values of Proteinuria +3 and Hematuria +3. Even Puchiko, who had continuously ignored the signs while feeling uneasy, realized something seriously bad was happening. Incidentally, in Japan, workplace health checkups typically only report up to +3, even if the actual value is higher. The maximum value detectable in a nephrology clinic test is +6, and her initial test showed Proteinuria +4 and Hematuria +4. Having neglected it for years, her condition did not improve easily even after two years of treatment (※She is currently in remission).
If you have arrived at this article after anxiously searching the internet because you recognize the signs Puchiko felt, please be brave and get a re-test. It costs money, it’s bothersome, and it’s scary, but putting it off will cost more money, be more bothersome, and become much scarier.
As a partner who always watched the affected person, I’m not supporting anyone with IgA Nephropathy or similar symptoms. Take the courage to take the first step!