AN AMMANFORD man has been using social media to raise awareness of kidney disease.

Darren Daniel was diagnosed with the condition in 2017 after feeling unwell for a period of time but woke up one morning with blurred vision and wasn’t feeling right. He contacted NHS Direct who told him to go straight to hospital.

Speaking to Kidney Research, he told how he was tested for a stroke but they couldn’t see anything wrong with his brain. A junior doctor then asked if they had tested his kidneys and despite the senior doctor not agreeing, the test was done and it was found that he had a lot of protein in his urine. “I was saved by a junior doctor who wouldn’t take no for an answer!”

He researched his condition and found that there wasn’t much information out there and decided he wanted to help other people notice the signs of kidney disease and to know what it is and how they can prevent it.

He chose to set up the TikTok account (@ttkwarrior) in 2020 and has 99.9k followers and has had messages from people who have been diagnosed with kidney disease after watching his videos.

Darren told the South Wales Guardian: “I have had kidney disease for seven years and there wasn’t much out there and not many people know about it. It’s only when you get diagnosed that you tend to see it.

“So I took it upon myself to raise awareness and I have had close to 80 million views on videos.”

“I am trying to help other people to not have something that can be avoided and it can be avoided by looking after yourself.”

He also has some well-known followers and supporters including The Sherlocks, Sian Lloyd and Kevin Healy.

“My biggest video is me sipping a bottle of water – water is vital in helping to keep kidney disease at bay - and its got 5 million views,” said Darren.

 

@ttkwarrior #ckdsymptoms #kidneydiseasesymptoms #ttkwarrior #chronickidneydisease ♬ Stay Beautiful - Manic Street Preachers

He has done videos for the NHS, Kidney Wales and a pharmaceutical company in the USA and alongside dog Mila, was the face of Kidney Wales’ walking campaign.

Darren has also worked with Dare to Dream who put on an online festival for people who are unable to leave the house whether due to health conditions or for other reasons.

Symptoms of kidney disease include muscle cramps, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, needing to wee more at night, lack of appetite, swollen hands, feet or face, erectile dysfunction in men. Many of these symptoms can be caused by other health issues so its always best to contact your GP if you’re concerned about any symptoms.