New Nephrologist!

[LorrieC]

If any of you remember, the first nephrologist I saw scared me to death. When I asked if diet would slow my progression of ckd and he coldly said nothing would help because my kidneys were shrinking, it was irreversible and progressive.

I saw a younger nephrologist yesterday and even though he said diet would not slow progression, he said I had a low risk of progression, about 3%. He did say to eat a low sodium diet which I have been doing these past couple of months. He said I did not need a renal dietician, for all my labs were perfect except for a slight rise in creatinine and decrease in GFR which surprised me being I have been on a very low sodium diet, drinking more water, I've lost 13 lbs., and my ankle and leg swelling is nearly normal. Also, my systolic b/p was 109!

My sister and friend keep harassing me about my low sodium diet and tell me to enjoy life and eat what I want, etc. Why, after receiving all the health benefits listed above, why would I jeopardize what I've accomplished? At first, I was hungry most of the day and now, it doesn't bother me and I stay under 2,000 mg. of sodium a day. My sodium used to be high and now it is only one point above the low average. I am feeling so much better since the weight loss and decrease in swelling.

The dr. ordered bilateral ultrasounds to see the size of my kidneys being my gallbladder US said I had cortical thinning, but he did not seem to worried.

Hopefully, I will receive good news. Thank you, everyone, for answering all my many questions since I was diagnosed!

[MAS_Nurse]

Hi LorrieC, thank you for your very positive post and it is lovely to hear you are feeling better. Please stay on the forum where you will receive help and support from other members. Thank you and best wishes.

[RickHow]

Your note was so interesting to me. I visit a few doctors or different specialties. A urologist (who I frankly can not stand but there are so few in our area you can't get an appointment with anyone else), a gp (who is kind but I think has limited experience and knowledge of Kidney problems), an oncologist (wonderful, compassionate, but hesitant to get involved with my kidney problems because she does not want to offend the urologist and his testing/plans), a kidney doctor (who I find to be the worst of all as there is never anything said other than "drink water", "see you next time"), and a cardiologist. This cardiologist is youngest of the lot. And my favorite of all. While the heart is his specialty he is involved in new ways of addressing things. Gets very involved in my kidney issues. Advises me of my prognosis. I've become a believer that while experience is good in a doctor, there is a lot more to be said about someone newer. They are enthusiastic. Seem more involved with the patient, involved with their job, aware of the more recent and modern methods of addressing different problems. After all, it is their job. I am 69. I had the same job all my life. My job performance, my interest, my enthusiasm, my knowledge, definitely became less as I progressed into my later years of work. It is too easy to get locked into old ways of doing things as we age.

[LorrieC in reply to RickHow]

I hear you, Rick. My former internist let me down many times. I don't even think she knew I had ckd. I really like my new internist and he is the one who referred me to a nephrologist. (The first one). He is the youngest of all my doctors. I like my oncologist much more than the first year I saw him. He had no compassion when I was first diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and would tell me very little. Over the past eleven years, he has shown more compassion and even hugs me as I am leaving the office! Some doctors become complacent when they know they are going to retire. We have to be our own health advocates.

[RickHow in reply to LorrieC]

Well said.