Anyone else have a single kidney with CKD3 and HIV

[Rippers14]

Anyone else have a single kidney with CKD3 and HIV?

My wife was raped and passed the HIV onto me, trouble is the HIV drugs are toxic for your Liver and Kidneys and only have one Kidney.

[userotc]

I suspect quite a few on here have single kidneys but maybe not HIV too. My mum has a single kidney so Im happy to share info & results for that e.g. proteinuria seems more likely.

Re your quandary, I presume the medics are no help? Have you researched any natural treatments for HIV (I havent) which probably wont have the same side effects? Alternatively you could try an holistic practitioner.

Sorry to hear about your story. Take care.

[RickHow]

I do have a single kidney but do not have HIV. Let's first talk about your CKD. You may actually NOT have a diseased or deteriorating kidney. You are labelled as CKD stage 3. So am I. BUT we are likely labelled that way because we have just one kidney, not because the one kidney is improperly functioning. It is hard to tell. You see we are labelled CKD stage 3 because our Creatinine level is above the normal range (therefore causing an egfr level which is called stage 3). BUT the normal range for a person with one kidney is above that for a person with 2 kidneys. It is typical that a person with one kidney (especially if no longer in their 20's or 30's) will have a Creatinine level above normal (usually with one kidney it is 1.8 or 1.9). You can not expect one kidney to perform as well as 2 kidneys at your age and therefore you are labelled CKD, when in fact there is nothing actually wrong. How to tell?? The best way is time. usually over time a person with true CKD will see an increase in their Creatinine level. But it is far more likely your kidney is not diseased it is just that the formula to determine CKD does NOT take into account the patient has just one kidney and therefore a higher normal Creatinine level. Also IF you have true CKD there will be other indications. A diagnosis should not be given strictly upon your egfr level. You obviously must be having urine tests due to your medical condition. If above normal levels of albumin are present, it is a symptom of true CKD. If not, then it is likely that your single kidney may be functioning perfectly well. Another indicator of true CKD or not is an ACR test. This is a test that shows the ratio of albumin to Creatinine in your system. If this too comes out normal, you likely do not have true CKD.Now the effect of HIV. It is absolutely true that the majority of HIV medicines have some effect on the kidney. There are some that have less effect than others, but your doctor(S) must just use the medicine that is most effective on the HIV. HIV medications DO come with recommendations for the doctors on the proper dosages of the medication for people who may have reduced kidney function. Doctors are well aware of this combination (Hiv medication effects on poor kidney function) and should be adjusting your medication to the minimum level to still be effective in controlling your HIV.

With or without true CKD, HIV treatments do effect the kidney and your doctors should closely be monitoring your functions. HOWEVER all that can be done is to give you the lowest dosage that still treats the HIV OR try different medications. Get tested frequently and if your Creatinine level remains constant (only varying slightly up or down each test) all is well.

[seabreezegirl]

I would suggest you work very very closely with your Kidney Doctor .

There are no natural treatments that work for HIV .