Kidney disease

[cazxx1]

How old my husband was told two years ago he has heart failure it never bothered him much but yesterday he was told he had kidney disease and also pre diabetes he's 66 years old he has always been fit all his life but when talking to the doctor he said all the medication he is on [13 a day] can bring problems with kidneys and other areas of the body. This is so worrying what he will get next

[Tos92]

I am sorry to hear to this. Unfortunately, all medications come with possible side effects. The result of taking medications sometimes is that you are prescribed something to cure or either alleviate the symptoms of a particular condition however, the medication can cause the development of a new problem when trying to solve an existing one. However, the doctor would not prescribe something if they didn’t think the benefits would outweigh the risks.

It might be a good idea to have a chat with his GP about your concerns around taking different medications and their side effects to see what can be done.

All the best to you & your husband.

Tos

[cazxx1 in reply to Tos92]

Thankyou x

[Lezzers]

My husband is 68yo, he has had HF since at least 2012 and he has had mild kidney disease for years. Unfortunately the meds you take for HF can impact the kidneys, when I mentioned my concerns to his nurse about 7/8 years ago I was told they can do things with the kidneys, the heart has to take priority.

After years of his kidney disease being stable unfortunately my husband has been very poorly this year & as a result his kidneys have deteriorated, he now has stage 3 moderate to severe kidney disease. He's retaining fluid & it's been a struggle to get this under control so they've had to increase his diuretic which has further impacted his kidneys, his nurse said sometimes they have to sacrifice the kidneys to help the heart. However, you can live very well with kidney disease, kidney disease has to be very severe before it becomes a real issue. Also, the kidneys can recover to some extent with tweaks of meds when necessary. My husband takes 10 tablets a day, down from 15 a day!

Does your husband have a HF specialist nurse you can discuss this with?

[cazxx1 in reply to Lezzers]

He did have but they only phoned him once every 6 months

[Lezzers in reply to cazxx1]

It is a shock when you find out these things but both kidney disease & pre-diabetes can be reversed to some extent. Has your Dr given you a care plan to deal with these issues?

Once your HF is stable & your meds are optimised its usual to only have contact every 6 months with the nurses, more often than not at that point you are discharged from them & your GP takes over your care. However, you are still able to phone them if you have concerns or need advice & often you can re-refer if your health deteriorates.

Ps: my husband takes 12 tablets a day now, not 10 as I previously stated but the tablets can & do change with his needs. At the moment he has high potassium as well as fluid retention, he's having more bloods next week and I'm guessing if his potassium is still too high then they'll drop his spirolactone & continue monitoring. It can be a constant balancing act with the meds unfortunately

[Master-virus]

My dad had chronic kidney disease and the doctors never told him.

[cazxx1 in reply to Master-virus]

How come

[Master-virus in reply to cazxx1]

I don't know we found that out on the death certificate. Nurses that came to see my dad never mentioned anything apart from he had dementia and lung cancer.

Never mentioned anything to do with chronic kidney disease. I know I told them that his pee stunk and has bubbles in it and they just took a sample then gave him some antibiotics.

[Mitchum]

Two million people in the UK have CKD! I have had it for years (stage 3). I don't take any medication for it and it's monitored annually. Unless it reaches stage four I wouldn't worry about it too much!

[cazxx1 in reply to Mitchum]

Thankyou it was just a shock

[Mitchum]

It was for me too. I only discovered I had it when I read my annual review test results! 🙂

[cazxx1 in reply to Mitchum]

😓

[Qualipop in reply to Mitchum]

I found it mentioned on my test results online. Immediately rang the gp in a panic who had never mentioned it and was told the level at which it's reported has now been lowered s o it's reported earlier but isn't anything they worry about

[Deejay62]

Hi caz I’m on heart failure meds. I take 10 a day plus other meds and anticoagulants. At the beginning of this year my kidney function went from 48 to 56 then all of a sudden in the past few months it dropped to 38. I’ve had several blood tests and it’s remained the same. I’m not shocked by this as my heart function is low. I was more shocked when it went up.

I think that’s why they do so many blood tests when we’re on these meds. Usually I have it done twice a year. Once by Gp and once by cardiologist. I am also borderline diabetic and has been for years. I just have to watch what I eat and the amounts. I wish him all the best.

[Barre01]

Nearly fell off my chair when my doc started talking about kidney problems ( stage 3) 10 or so years later condition still stable, no problems so far. Had a HA and been in heart failure awhile. Comes with the territory at this stage of life (70+), we have to come to terms with these problems as best we can, the alternative is ……

[Elsabounre]

When taking these meds I think it is a good idea to do blood work twice a year to check kidney and liver function as they CAN affect the kidneys in the long term...this is just my personal opinion which I formed after reading all the information available re: meds that we take for heart disease.

[Noodlesalad]

Good morningYou must be very worried about your hubby.

I have had stage 3 kidney disease for ten years now and am monitored each year.

I was diagnosed with mild CAD and moderate LVH last year and my blood pressure medication was increased and I was started in Clopidrogel.

I am 66 in January. I think it's the increase in my blood pressure medication that's had an effect on my kidney disease as at my last blood test my kidney function was worse.

I was also diagnosed with pre diabetes type 2 last year and one GP prescribed Metformin which I refused as I knew type 2 diabetes can be treated successfully with diet.

I'm three months in to my GP prescribed diet with Second Nature and up to now have barely lost any weight. I was prior to this diet eating salmon salad five days a week and haven't had sugar of any kind for years.

My friends have said to me for some time they didn't think I was eating enough and my coach from the diet also encouraged me to eat a more balanced diet. Last week was my first full week of home cooked varied meals and obviously it's too soon to tell how much I will lose weight over time. I am struggling with all this food as I have never had to eat so much I can only believe this way of dieting will help.

Sorry to go on but I do think it your husband asks what he needs to do with his type 2 diabetes he may manage without medication. Dr Michael Mosley did a series of tv shows about this and has written a number of books on type 2 diabetes and diet.

Good luck

[reidmar]

I'm 62 and had quad bypass at 59, was given similar news ref the pre-diabetes recently but after discussing with my GP we've decided to monitor it closely and see what we can get through watching the diet a bit closer and making subtle changes to try and help things along. Yes the meds can have varying effects but I know without them I'd be looking at a whole different situation and outcome. Hope your husband gets something sorted out and best wishes to you both.

[cazxx1 in reply to reidmar]

Thankyou all so much for your replies...means a lot xx