I am writing this post on be half my of dad. He has extremely HBP and has seen a few kidney specialists in Las Vegas, but each doctor has prescribed him Hydralazine, which is not a first-line medication for HBP and has adverse side effects. Do any of you know of kidney specialists in Las Vegas who does a thorough job and helps to find the right medication that will allow my dad to live a 'normal' life where he isn't feeling lightheaded, fatigue, etc.? None of the kidney specialists that my dad saw, addressed his high uric acid, low vitamin D, or other alarming lab results.
Thank you for any advice in advance.
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Sota6038
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Hi and welcome to the community. My recommendations are as follows. Go to healthgrades.com/find-a-doctor and enter the Specialty and City. A list of all nephrologists in and around the area are posted with patient reviews, if they are accepting new patients, and what insurance they accept. If he's had problems with other nephrologists in the area leave a review on them to help other folks. If his hypertension is that out of control I'd also recommend he look for a cardiologist in the area if he doesn't already have one. My cardiologist and nephrologist work well together and it makes my healthcare journey much easier. High uric acid can be a sign of GOUT. Gout is best handled by a Rheumatologist, so again look up one at the same site.Putting together a Care Team of medical professionals is important. As long as each physician is knowledgeable in the specific area and willing to offer their best medical advice and they treat the patient according to their wishes. It's important at the first appointment to give a full accounting of your health situation and explain what your expectations are. If the physician isn't willing to go along with that find someone who will.
All medications have side effects and not everyone who takes that med will have the same problems. I take Hydralazine along with two other medications for my HBP and I'm doing really well with it. Finding the right cardiologist is important.
You can also have him go to drugs.com and using their MY MED LIST feature enter all of his medications. After that he will get a list of all interactions with other meds, foods, and which medication may be harmful to his kidneys. No patient will have to deal with all side effects. Some will be severe, some moderate and some will be temporary. Everyone reacts differently.
Thank you for your sound response. If you dont mind me asking, what other medications do you take for HBP aside from the Hydralazine?
Also, how long did it take for you to find the optimal blend of medications so you can continue with life? My dad has tried multiple medications and its seems as if he experiences some sort of side effect and it affects his everyday life style.
When my first cardiologist was too busy to deal with my other doctors I found my current one and he was/is willing to work with my other physicians. He took a detailed history and my medication history (I keep a detailed record) and he went with hydralazine, cartia, and carvedilol each slowly integrated and increased each dosage until he and I were satisfied with the results. He also provided me with sheets to record my twice-daily readings which I bring with me to each appointment.
Too many factors like starting dose and optimum dosage are individualized so you have to have faith in the physician.
A few days ago I posted in this community information from the American Heart Association (Hypertension and CKD) which included forms to track daily readings and medications. You might look for that post and see which forms, if any, would help your Dad.
Hi! Mr. Kidney provided good advice. By all means, it's important to find the right combination of high blood meds that works well for your dad. Ultimately, if blood pressure drugs no longer work, dialysis will bring it down. My husband went on emergency dialysis when his pressure soared to 240/120 and stubbornly stayed there. Of course, all his labs supported the move to dialysis, too. Then, he received a new kidney in June, and now only takes Metformin (instead of 3 or 4) daily. Finding the "right" blood pressure med(s) for him took a little time. There are some he simply can't tolerate. Interestingly, it was our primary doctor who took the time to figure out the right solution for him after the nephrologist didn't seem to care. In many cases, a primary will also provide a referral to specialists, such as a great nephrologist or cardiologist, when that is needed. Primary physicians have an interest on one's entire health picture. So, our primary also serves as coach and coordinator of our team which consists of a nephrologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, urologist, and others. We are all different, so it's wonderful that you're there caring for your dad and trying to find ways to find therapies and medications that work for him. Quality of life matters.
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