Hi everyone, I finally went to my urologist. He says my grief dropped from 85 to 40 in 1 year. He says I'm extremely anemic and hypertensive

[Isipingo]

I'm on chelaforte twice a day and amloc 5mg once a day. I have noticed my feet are extremely swollen and tight. Has anyone experienced this before?

[itzmich]

Yes as soon as possible.... try and get a referral to a nephrologist as well as go to you GP. Did you urologist say more??

[Isipingo in reply to itzmich]

Hi itzmich thank you for your reply. I'm so confused, I dont know where to start. My urologist has not been very helpful.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Isipingo,

You need to see a nephrologist to see what is going on. Your symptoms might indicate an issue that a nephrologist needs to diagnose. Did the urologist explain anything to you about CKD (chronic kidney disease)?

[Isipingo in reply to Bassetmommer]

Hi Basseymommer , he didn't explain anything to me, just that the pressure meds will make my feet swell. And that I must cut my sodium down. He did a ultra sound but I cant get an appointment with him to discuss the outcome. He is not very understanding and hasn't given me any help as to diet. Can you help me?

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Isipingo]

We can support you but the first step is see a nephrologist. It is not a good thing to have that much of a drop in GFR. I would also ask for another lab draw soon to compare. See a nephrologist and once you know what is going on medically, we can offer suggestions.

[jaibo]

Hurry to see a nephrologist he is who can give to you a diagnostic and the medication you need.

[Chris1974]

Like others have said you need to see a nephrologist ASAP.

We do know that you can drop 20-25 points of your GFR in 12-24 hours while taking Bactrim which is a routine antibiotic. It can put a 20-25% strain on your kidneys within the first few tablets. You can go from a 80 GFR to 55-60 overnight combined with dehydration can and will drop your GFR below 55. But this is a temporary drop and will go back up. Remember just one test is not enough. We need multiple tests to see where you’re at. This is what a nephrologist will want and look at.

Dropping 45 points is very extreme. Again see a nephrologist and I would switch urologists and get a second opinion from another urologist AFTER you see a nephrologist.

[Isipingo in reply to Chris1974]

Thank you for your reply.

[Valerietemps]

Hello, I have CKD stage 4. About 7 years ago I was working as a hairdresser and my feet and ankles were swelling terribly. My doctor changed my blood pressure medicine. When she did that the swelling went away.

[Isipingo in reply to Valerietemps]

Thank you for your advice.

[Isipingo]

Thank you so much. I'm so worried about the swelling. I'm going to get my 2nd set of blood results and ultra sound scan results tomorrow.

[Sammi_n_Munk]

Hi there Isipingo. Oh boy, have I ever experienced this before! You’re not alone here, believe me! Back in 2007, I had to attend a wedding 5 hours away from where I live. We travelled by minivan, and by the time we arrived there, both my legs were so severely swollen and tight, that I actually had difficulty balancing myself while I was trying to walk into the hotel where we were going to be staying. All of our relatives even noticed it and began to ask questions. My pants had also become tighter around my huge calves to the point that when my sister lifted my pants up from my ankle to look, she had to tug on them to get them back down. It was an awful time and I remember thinking then, that I was in big trouble. However, as ashamed as I am to admit this, the truth is, I still didn’t rush over to the doctor or the hospital to address this. I was so frightened to hear a confirmation on the state of my health (largely because I knew deep down that it was not going to be good news), that I ignored it, as much as I was able to, and did not get it properly addressed until it had become so bad that my hemoglobin went down to 60. The doctors at the hospital told me then that I had 1, maybe 1 and a half weeks left and I would have died if not for the tumble I took in my bedroom that precipitated the trip to the hospital. Therefore, my advice to you is, follow your doctors orders. They will be able to help you with this. They will set you up with the proper medications, diet and exercise regimen to relieve most of the distress caused by kidney issues. It’s never easy, but these things can, at the very least be controlled. If you follow your doctors’ advice, the swelling should go down. It’s really just down to making a few changes is all. All the best to you. Please do keep us posted. We’re here for you! God bless. 😊👍

[Bond-007]

Some medications For hypertension lead to edema in legs, eg norvasc (amlodopine). Also, kidney dysfunction cAn cAuse edema. You need a more responsive Dr - see if there is another you can consult & if you think your current Dr is good & salvageable, level with him about what you would like in regards to feedback and accessability. If he is open to change he is a keeper but if defiant than maybe you need to get someone else. Get a whole food plant based diet in place. Good for kidneys & heart, eg Dr Greger, Dr Esselstyne, Dr Cambell (the China Study). Tell your docs & watch your potassium & Na.

[Isipingo]

Thank you for your advice.

[DarlaPupMom]

Hi Isipingo. I, too, have CKD4 and feel for you. I battle every day to stay on course: Drink water (sometimes distilled water), don't cook with salt, take my BP at least weekly (it's been good lately), finally started (with the help of the wonderful people on this site) exercising again. Believe it or not, very small steps: five mins on stationary bike, five mintues with stretch band, five minutes on treadmill, five minutes stretching and plank and my Physical Therapy exercises from a year ago when I had a really bad back. It is much better now.. I had lost all motivation but yep. Now slowly getting back to exercising. I eat at least three veggies a day and/or include herbs and spices in what I cook as I mostly have a plant-based diet. Don't like to think of it as a "diet" because it's really a way of eating for the rest of my life. I'm not supposed to eat red meat and very, very rarely do. And only 2-4 oz if that much. I love turkey and will roast one then make packages to freeze for soups and other meals. There are tons of other delicious recipes out there. I drink at least 4 ozs Cranberry Juice (Trader Joe has a great one. Not sweet but not sour either. I get a case at a time) every once in awhile, mostly before going to bed instead of eating a snack. And last but not least I am fighting to do portion control at each meal. That way I get to eat a wider variety of foods, kept to a minimum-just enough to satisfy me. I do get the munchies at night if I'm watching tv or a movie but that's rarely. I'm going soon for my routine six-month blood test two weeks before I go to my nephrologist and then to my nutritionist so that gives me a focus. I, as you, take almodipine (5 mg) and Losartan (upped from 50mg to 100 by my nephrologist a year ago because I had stopped taking 😳it and was doing major damage to my kidneys). I research, ask questions and recently joined HealthUnlocked which I keep repeating, is a God-send. I wish you the very best. Let us all know how you're doing as it is a daily effort to stay healthy. But it's worthwhile.