ACE/ARB for those with normal blood pressure?

[Marvin8]

Am 60 and was diagnosed with Stage 3 (GFR 58) eighteen months ago. My internist immediately gave me a prescription for an ACE (lisinopril) and a statin (I did have high cholesterol). When I went to the nephrologist, he was take-it-or-leave-it regarding the ACE/ARB because he didn't want my blood pressure to drop too low, especially when it's 110/65 in the evenings. I'm also very physically active. After a heavy meal, my bp willl get up into the 130s. Am wondering how many of you were prescribed an ACE or ARB when your blood pressure was normal. ???

[orangecity41]

I am taking an Alpha Blocker, Flomax. I was prescribed Zetia instead of a statin.

I an 77 and was diagnosed CKD stage 3b over 2 years ago. Maybe ask your Doctor or pharmacists about any medicine interactions with other medicines or conditions, just to be on the safe side and to put away any fears.

[lowraind]

About two months ago, Mr. Kidney posted the following: Hi, you might like to use the website drugs.com to look up your medications and if they are harmful to someone with CKD or if they interact poorly with any other meds you take. Hope this helps.

This might be helpful to you.

[Hidden]

ACE inhibitors are kidney protective. See: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8...

[Marvin8]

Kidney protective, yes, but at what cost...ie...nasty side effects. I'm generally loathe to take medications prophylactically because I've seen and experienced nasty side effects that the drug companies tend to sweep aside.

[Sdtagoo]

I just saw my nephrologist yesterday and he took me off my fluid pill because my blood pressure was too low. He will check again in a month to follow u on it. He left me on my Lisinopril 10mgs because it protects my kidneys long term. My egfr is 35 and creatinine is 1.58. He feels the fluid pill was also causing the extreme fatigue I've been having. Since I quit my high stress job and got another one part-time that I love, my blood pressure has been low. Stress plays a huge part in high blood pressure and if it becomes so extreme it affects your health (particularly with kidney disease), it's time to evaluate your priorities. I asked my nephrologist what level I would have to be at to have to start dialysis and he said EGF R of 10.

[Marvin8 in reply to Sdtagoo]

That's for the reply. Unfortunately, my stress has been off the charts once I got diagnosed 18 months ago. Wish I could do more about it.

[curleytop1]

Hello Marvin8, have just seen your posts and the replies, and note how stressed you are. I hope by now your stress levels have come down a bit as you have got more used to living with CKD. Your GFR of 58 is very good compared to the figures of many people who post on this site, and I seem to be alone in not being told any of my figures by my GP or the Renal Registar at our local General Hospital. They are both of the opinion that CKD patients get fixated on the ups and downs of the figures and the stress that this causes is detrimental to one's wellbeing. So I do the best I can with the self-devised low potassium diet I was told to follow, and keep plugging away at trying to lose weight (not so easy when many foods which are naturally low calorie and regarded as healthy in a general slimming diet are the very ones which are high in potassium content!). Best wishes - Curleytop1

[Marvin8]

Thanks for your accurate and well-advised reply.