{"id":161226,"date":"2026-03-09T14:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/?p=161226"},"modified":"2026-03-09T14:31:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:31:53","slug":"i-had-no-idea-my-lack-of-energy-was-a-sign-my-kidneys-were-failing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/2026\/03\/09\/i-had-no-idea-my-lack-of-energy-was-a-sign-my-kidneys-were-failing\/","title":{"rendered":"I had no idea my lack of energy was a sign my kidneys were failing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t\n\t

A\u00a028-year-old lawyer was\u00a0left in disbelief after\u00a0suddenly finding herself in hospital and\u00a0being told\u00a0she’d\u00a0need\u00a0a\u00a0transplant or dialysis to\u00a0survive kidney failure<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ellen Swarbrick, from Manchester, says: “In 2023,\u00a0I’d\u00a0moved to London to train as a lawyer\u00a0and it\u00a0was\u00a0a\u00a0really exciting\u00a0time in my life.\u00a0I’m\u00a0a very social person and was working hard. Slowly I\u00a0began to find myself getting home from work and feeling shattered.\u00a0I’d\u00a0lost the energy to do anything.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I assumed it was because life was so busy and had no idea it was a sign of something more serious.\u00a0Being diagnosed with a type of kidney disease called IgA nephropathy<\/a> the following year was\u00a0terrifying. I cried myself to sleep\u00a0every night\u00a0for about six months after that. It took some time to come to terms with the fact\u00a0I’d\u00a0need a transplant.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\t

Warning signs of kidney disease\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Every day 23 people start treatment for kidney failure. However, many\u00a0are not aware of\u00a0problems with their kidneys until\u00a0only dialysis<\/a> or a transplant<\/a> will keep them alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was the case for Ellen, who only discovered\u00a0she was living with kidney disease as she\u00a0was\u00a0entering\u00a0kidney failure. She is now sharing her experiences\u00a0to raise awareness of warning signs<\/a>\u00a0that could\u00a0help others get diagnosed at an earlier stage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ellen says: “In hindsight, I can see there were\u00a0some signs before I\u00a0ended up in hospital. I\u00a0just never put two and two together. I\u00a0didn’t\u00a0know anybody around my age who had gone through anything like this with their health.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I attributed\u00a0my\u00a0tiredness to being busy. I noticed puffiness in my face but assumed it was\u00a0weight-gain from being in a desk job and not exercising as much.\u00a0I’d\u00a0been taking antihistamines for hay fever because of my puffy eyes, but it\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0helping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“On a work trip\u00a0abroad,\u00a0I felt nauseous and\u00a0my ankles became swollen, but I thought it was because of the heat.\u00a0I remember sending photos to my friends and laughing about the size of them. I just had no clue that swollen ankles were a dangerous sign of health problems.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When I got home, I\u00a0still\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0well.\u00a0I felt like I was developing the flu.\u00a0The next day I woke\u00a0with\u00a0patches in my\u00a0vision.\u00a0It was\u00a0really scary. I called 111 and was told to go to the eye emergency centre at St Thomas’ Hospital.\u00a0I could barely see where I was going.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Ellen