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Choosing the right nephrologist
Kidney & Bladder | Last Active: Feb 20 3:12pm | Replies (8)Comment receiving replies
Hello jmr4ever,
I am a kidney transplant recipient completed 5 & 1/2 years,
Prior to a the transplant I was seeing a nephrologist under whom my kidney GFR was in a free fall ( fell from 54 to 15) , On one occasion my wife insisted on tagging along to the Visit to the Nephro. Dr ( my wife is outspoken & no nonsense type). My kidney function under this Nephro dropped from 54 to 15 and, she told this Nephrologist that she wanted to donate a kidney to me.... Nephro. responded ..oh He's not ready for a transplant -- you will not be a match ..(based on his past experiences) Then Nephro had to step out.. at that point my wife pointed out me to a Medicare poster ( if kidney function is 20 or less FIND A DONOR or Get your self on the UNOS list). when Nephro came back ... my wife told .. the Nephro..do you mind reading that medicare poster .. Nephro got embarrassed and walked out.. That's when the real search began nationwide for a Transplant Center which would not have such situations. Any way I found out later that he referred patients for Dialysis ( rest is for any one's guess)
I would seriously stay away from a nephrologist who has affliations with Dialysis setups. (strictly my opinion)
Just to end this msg. ( my wife matched & was my kidney donor)
If you test with Quest - you can request for results on day 1 and at end of 5 days Quest will provide Test reports on your quest account. This way you don't have to wait for the Dr.. just make sure that you go testing at least 6/7 working days prior to the Dr's appointment.
Best
Replies to "Hello jmr4ever, I am a kidney transplant recipient completed 5 & 1/2 years, Prior to a..."
I am so thrilled for you that you received your transplant and did not accept what the nephrologist said. I love how your wife challenged him and stood up for you. We have to be our own advocates and if something doesn’t sound or feel right then we must advocate for ourselves and make it feel right. Since I am already feeling apprehension and concern, after reading your caution about a nephrology practice being owned by a dialysis company, I have decided to move on to a different practice, even if it means more searching and reviewing and asking more questions. Thank you for your response it helped reinforce what I was feeling. I wish you all the best in good health.
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@l0lag0lag0b3, kudos to your wife for being outspoken and for advocating for you. And shame on that nephrologist for pushing you towards dialysis only, and not discussing transplant as an option. And how would he know that your wife wouldn't be a match if she hadn't yet been tested and evaluated? I'm glad that you and your wife didn't just accept that nephrologist's misinformation and negativity, and that your wife was a match and you had a successful transplant.
When my kidney function got down to 20, my nephrologist did begin to familiarize and educate me about dialysis. That was necessary and the right thing to do. However, she also recommend me for transplant evaluation. I had never asked, or even thought about asking, about a transplant. My nephrologist is the one who recommended it. I was evaluated, listed, and received a transplant. So, kudos to my nephrologist!