Polysistic kidney disease & aneurysms

[Cathy]

Hi, my name is Cathy & I just turned 37 . I've had polysistic kidneys for years, they found out I had it when I was 3 years old. PKD is heriditary, & a lot in my family have it. My mom & Uncle both have had transplants and are doing good. My cousin had it, he died when he was 32 years old, I've heard he died from an aneurysm, & I heard he died from bad drugs. I don't know which one is true. A lot of my other cousins, & 1 of my brothers also have PKD. I lived a very normal live, the only way it bothered me was every now & then I'd get a kidney infection. Recently, like within the last year I've had more discomfort, like I can't stand still for very long. When I stand still it feels like a very strong weight is pushing in on my lower back. I can walk all over & it doesn't bother me, it's only when I stand still. The Dr. says I see a kidney specialist)it's because my kidneys are so big, they go up under my ribs & down into my pelcic. If you push in anywhere on my stomach or sides you can feel them.
I've been having headaches lately, it isn't my blood pressure, I've been on blood pressure medicine for around 8 years & my blood pressure has been stable, so they wanted to do an MRI to check for aneurysms, they said that it's common for people with PKD to get aneurysms. My MRI came back with a spot, & they are pretty sure it is an aneurysm, I go today to see a Neuor Surgeon. I was very afraid. I've always heard that when you have an aneurysm removed there's a chance that you can become brain dead, or die right during surgery. But in the last 3 days I have been reading everything I can find about it, & from what I've read if the aneurysm bursts, then it is life threatening, but if they remove it before it bursts, it can be relatively safe. I'm still scared, but not as scared.
And whoever posted about strep throat is right, one of my cousins that doesn't have PKD had strep throat when he was younger & it damaged his kidneys, he has had 2 transplants & both failed, he is back on dialisys.
I don't know the name of what is wrong with his, but they say it's like a cancer of the kidneys that just keeps eating his kidneys away.
If any of you have any info about brain aneurysms, please e-mail me. Thanks, Cathy Cat1664@aol.com