Medical Advice?

I REALLY HATE POKEMON! · #1

I have some concerns that maybe some people here can help with...First of all, doctors suck. I had one doctor tell me to take certain medicine for pain, but then another told me, "Oh, he shouldn't have put you on that, it's going to hurt you and make your condition worse. Stop taking that immediately." Yeah. Some people think doctors are perfect, I never did, but now I'm pretty afraid to take medicine without researching it first. Same thing happened to my mom with her conditions, these doctors seem to be quacks.

Anyway, I guess to get any accurate input I'll have to be forward with my condition. The diagnosis was "chronic kidney disease." I'm in perpetual denial, so I put the quotations. In any case, I've been doing my own research and the general consensus is "keep your potassium and phosphorus intake low." Well, obviously you need some of that stuff to live but everything has it so you don't need to try to get it, really. Avoiding it is the challenge. Anyway, I've been actively avoiding that stuff, but it wasn't helping, certain levels were actually going up (not those). Turns out it was probably the blood pressure medicine I was on, and after I got off that stuff and took a new one my blood pressure went up but my other levels went down, to my great joy. My plan was working, which was mainly to avoid those two nutrients or vitamins, whatever.

Anyway, this doctor is telling me I don't have to watch potassium/phosphorus, that I am not "at that stage yet." Well, the research I did said that early management of those is important at early stages, and my results seem to support that. If I simply got my blood pressure under control I should be okay. Now she's saying my potassium level is a little low and since my blood pressure is a little high, she is starting me on a new medicine and reducing the one I am currently on. Thing is, I don't think I want to increase my potassium levels. I could just not avoid potassium as religiously as I have been but she didn't like that idea, probably because more medicine is better to push than an actual dietary remedy. From what I read, doctors don't want you to be cured, they want to "manage" your issues and I am getting that feeling from all of this.

What should I do? Take this medicine of which I am wary, or demand an alternative solution? She's pretty adamant about it, but I read the pain medicine I mentioned earlier wasn't good for me, but I just trusted my doctor and took it anyway. Turns out I was right. Now I am in a similar situation...

TL;DR: A doctor gave me medicine that was hurting me and I should have trusted my own judgement to not take it, but I didn't. Now a similar situation is presenting itself. Should I trust this doctor or my own judgement?

P.S, the medicine in question is Losartan Potassium 25 mg. Sorry for the messy wall of text, my mind s fuzzy right now. I know that video game forums aren't necessarily the best place for medical advice, but it doesn't seem that doctors are either...

#2

My strongest advice would be to look for a doctor who you can trust. I don't think they actively try to avoid curing you, but each doctor has a slightly different approach, and it's very important to find the right one for you. They do have a lot of knowledge at their disposal, but they also just get the information pamphlets for each drug with the instruction to prescribe it for this, don't mix it with that, etc. Every doctor has an area of interest, and someone out there will have a better understanding for the right treatment plan for you, which SHOULD include dietary control, the complementary treatments you're interested in, as well as pharmaceutical medicine where necessary. Medical science hasn't yet found all the answers for CKD. Your doctors are most likely trying their best, but if you're not happy with your treatment, you need to find one who will work with you towards your goals, OR fully explain why their approach benefits you more than what you've read about.

First thing's first. Evidence shows that controlling your blood pressure will slow the progression of your kidney disease. Keep this firmly in mind.

As for your specific question regarding the Losartan, is your kidney disease caused by the high blood pressure? If it is, you will understand how much better off you are treating the hypertension foremost, even if it means trying a potassium-based drug you're uncertain of. Or, do you have high blood pressure as a symptom of preexisting (genetic/diabetic/inflammatory/congenital/obstructive/idiopathic) CKD?

By my understanding, the idea behind avoiding potassium and phosphorus is that damaged kidneys can't effectively filter those from your bloodstream, and a build up of too much of either will cause greater problems elsewhere in the body. Conversely, too little potassium can easily harm you, as a potassium deficiency ALSO causes high blood pressure. It would depend more on your exact results, what range your levels are in, and how far your disease has progressed, as to whether the comparative risks of taking Losartan for blood pressure outweigh the benefits. Getting your blood pressure under control is important either way.

The thing is, by avoiding both minerals, you may just be changing the reading of your tests rather than impacting the overall kidney function - I can't tell one way or another how true that might be in your case, but it's worth mentioning, because when you're ill, it's easy to latch onto one thing you can personally control because everything else is out of your hands. I understand that you want to be as proactive as possible and get in early to try and minimise the damage, but there is a good chance the doctors have reason to focus on different aspects of your overall health. Kidney disease AND potassium deficiency both increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. You want to do everything you can to avoid adding heart disease comorbidity.

Now, you know I'm not a medical professional, so all this is just my opinion and only meant to help you make your own choices. I think you should start the search for a doctor you can trust, who is willing to talk to you and go over your concerns and explain why they choose the treatments they do, and how those treatments are meant to work with your specific condition(s). I also think, with the information you've provided, that trying the low dose of Losartan for your hypertension is not a bad decision at this point, because if it works, it will be an overall improvement. If you see negative effects from taking the potassium, speak to your doctor again immediately.

Bomby · #3

I had the same experience with doctors telling me conflicting things about phosphorus specifically. I went with the one who said the low phosphorus diet was kind of pointless at stage three. My kidney function didn't get worse from that... so much as it did from high levels of stress. Fun.

I try to follow the whole "everything in moderation" diet. Unless you find yourself at stage 4 or 5, it's probably what will work best.

#4

I've been where you are, IRHP, too... doctors who give conflicting advice leaving me confused. I just remind myself that ultimately I need to ask questions to be as informed as I can be. I'm sorry to hear about your CKD and HBP (High Blood Pressure) problems.

If you have this much concern, you need to go back and tell the doctor and ask her all the questions. If you're still not happy, then yeah, as ESSDEE has suggested, you may need to find a doctor whose special interests includes CKD.

Potassium is important for the heart and its rhythms. It is necessary to have decent levels of potassium so your heart rhythm does not change. Interesting enough, a low intake of potassium is also linked with HBP. Based on the little you have told us, I would suggest that you start to take your potassium supplement, or eat food rich in potassium. But get your levels checked at the earliest possible time to give yourself peace of mind.

Without knowing more information (why you have HBP [is it genetic, life style, etc?] and if this contributed to your CKD), I'm not sure what other advice I can give. As always... I'm not a medical professional, and remember to ask your doctor LOTS of questions.

Take care... *giant hugs*