Creatinine climbing, change in bp meds

[dvassey]

My husband had his kidney transplant 14 years ago. His creatinine started climbing in sept and is now 4.66. He has swelling in his legs and feet He was taken off of Losartin and placed on hydralazine. He also takes amlodipine and atenolol. He also takes simvistatin. Do any of you have any problems taking any of these medications?

[Hidden]

Please take this advice. I have CKD stage 3b and Wegener's disease (GPA). A few years back, my wife had really high BP so I took her to the nearby ER. They used Hydralazine to get it down to an acceptable level. My wife and I always research (Dr Google) everything about illnesses and drugs we are given. One of the side effects of Hydralazine is the possibility of causing GPA. She questioned her GP about it and wanted her to change to something else but the GP ignored her. Fast forward to early 2022 and my wife's labs showed her GFR down at 39. My Neph was not taking new patients but because I had been with him for years and he liked me, he agreed to see my wife. The first thing he said was I'm getting you off of Hydralazine and Hydrochlorothiazide, they're two of the worst medicines to be on. He said he has several patients who's GPA was caused by Hydralazine which in turn caused their kidneys to fail. We went back to see him for our 3 month follow up appt and her GFR had risen back to 59. Our son who is a doctor has also told us that Hydralazine is used as a temporary solution to get high BP down and not as a long term solution. Your GP should try different BP drugs to find some that work but do not have serious side effects. My Neph has also told me that Losartin is good for kidneys as it opens the blood vessel passages and allows better flow. When my wife was put on Amlodapine for a while at some point, it caused her feet and ankles to swell. That is one of the side effects of that drug.

[drmind]

Amlodipine is well known for causing leg swelling. I'm not sure about Hydrazaline. I had serious problems with both of these drugs and eventually had to go to the ER. Not sure which drug did it, but it caused urine retention and bad infections. I also had major leg swelling that I never had before. However, in my case my nephrologist kept raising the dosage even though I was complaining about symptoms. Anyway, I got a new nephrologist, was put back on my old BP meds, and all was fine almost immediately after getting off those two drugs. Phew!

Its important to note that everyone is different. I'm reporting on my experience which may not be yours. Nevertheless, be sure to discuss your issues with your doctor.

BTW its interesting that when I went back to the first nephrologist because of the severely swollen legs, he said ""oh, yeah, amlodipine will do that." My thought at the time was so why did you prescribe it or at least warn me.

[19Willow62]

Hi dvassey, how are things? You asked about my experience on Amlodipine. I was initially on 10 mg to bring my BP down and control my angina/arrhytthmia. Had some pretty unpleasant swelling in my feet and ankles at the beginning of the treatment so my doctor reduced the dosage to one 5mg daily and time and the lower dose seem to have settled everything down now. Having said that, some of my other symptoms, such as muscle cramps and nausea could be related to that drug or the mulitide of other drugs i have to take for the way to many other health issues i wont bore you with now, or they could simply be part and parcel of the CKD. Its hard to tell really. Not sure this reply is of much benefit to you but others here are very knowledgeable on such things. Its worth baring in mind though that everyones experience is different and no 2 people have the same problems or reactions.

19Willow62