I think that's true in a lot of places, particularly poorer areas.

I remember one scheme which sounded slightly insane. Because of vitamin deficiency, they were trying to introduce genetically engineered rice. Personally I'd have thought a more varied diet was the better option by far, but it all comes down to money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice

I've developed back pain and a temperature. I was painfree before the procedure and although have had minimal back trouble, they've been triggered by things like lifting lots/heavy items (despite correct lifting tehnique) or poor posture. The pain started after the surgery but at the time I had so much trouble with abdominal discomfort and problems with passing water that it never really bothered me. Now everything else has pretty much settled, it's much more noticeable.

The fever may have been around before the procedure - the nurse said my temp was a little up but then I've always run at 37.5*C. It's been more noticeable today.

The reason I mention this is because it could represent: infection (can deal with), retroperitoneal bleed (can't see any bruising) or both. It could also just be a cold and back pain. I'll be on for a bit but if I've not checked in by noon tomorrow in this thread, things may have taken a turn for the worst.

Alive and well, thankfully.

That's a bingo!

Just to update. Although "horseshoe" the kidneys are linked by a small bit of tissue but not the collecting system. This means they could chop the bad one out without affecting the other. The bad kidney is doing bugger all and has a poor blood supply. The problem is that it's gonna be a major operation and leave me with a huge scar across the abdomen (think Mercedes badge) and I'd need 2-3 months to recover.

Part of me wants to leave it until I've settled down with a wife and kids (who wants to get married to someone with a potentially disfiguring scar?). The downside in waiting is that I could potentially develop a type of kidney cancer which wouldn't be detectable on scans until it would be too late to operate surgically.

Gonna have a think about what to do.

Dude. No brainer. Having a wife and kids won't cure cancer.
Colleague at work had lots of intestine removed as a child. His chest looks like a zipper, and he's been married twice and has 6 kids.
And you're worried about a novelty shaped scar? Chicks dig scars.

From what you've said and the fact none of us bar Cliff Richard are getting any younger, doing it now is the [LIFTED] but sensible choice to my mind.

Don't worry about the scar, nobody would ditch you for a scar.

And if they would consider a scar in deciding whether they want to be with you or not, you're better off without them.

Just because someone is shallow or annoying doesn't always mean you wouldn't want to. We've got a whole thread about that!

I've been thinking about it more. In all honesty, there's no urgency to the surgery. If there was, the surgeon would have said so as a professional colleague and I'd have agreed immediately, particularly if there was cancer.

The issue is that it may or may not solve the other problems of high blood pressure and polycythaemia which may or may not be caused by the bad kidney. So then it becomes a procedure where there is little if any benefit. And it's major surgery. I've seen this kind of stuff. I've seen the impact on patients and the way things can go wrong. Sometimes a little knowledge can be dangerous.

The problem is that risk of cancer. If the surgeon said it was or would definitely become cancer, I'd have had it taken out. If the surgeon said there was no risk of cancer, I'd have left it alone. But there's always a risk of it becoming cancerous even though it's tiny. Even I know that I could live the rest of my life without any problems.

So, what you're doing is over-thinking things, and proving that doctors make the worst patients.

As I said, I've seen this surgery before. I've been there in theatre holding the bowel out of the way to get to the kidney. I've seen surgeons damage the aorta causing major catastrophic bleed which required immediate vascular surgery. This is what I mean by "a little knowledge". I know what can go wrong and that scares me more than the thought of potential cancer, particularly as this isn't massively urgent or important. It isn't necessary surgery.

I suspect if I were an ordinary lay person, I might well have said "Let's get it over with".

Bump.

So, I don't have a gluten allergy, but eating wheat and corn based products causes diahrrea and at times of extreme stress at work, it gets worse.

My fiancé now thinks that it might be Crohn's. She has a sister-in-law and niece that suffer from it and the symptoms sound similar (and I checked Wikipedia and some sufferers have problems digesting wheat, barley and rye based products, which fits. It is also worsened by stress, which also fits. Not good, but at least it is better than celiac disease...

I guess it is back to the doctor's as the tablets I got for the inflamed stomach lining haven't helped with the symptoms.

I would be cautious about diagnosing it as anything without a biopsy and histopathological analysis. The only way to tell if it's Crohn's or ulcerative colitis is by histology. Coeliac's can be diagnosed with bloods but biopsy is goldstandard. Maybe time for a colonoscopy?