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DiscussionDiagnosed with MCD and started on Tacrolimus
Kidney Conditions | Last Active: Jun 28 11:19am | Replies (10)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "Hi Lori! Thank you for replying as I am trying to navigate through this situation. I..."
Hi @brennb1577 I’m so sorry you’re going through such a frustrating and stressful time with your health right now because know how disrupting it is to feel like your body is letting you down. It sounds like you do have so good doctors working with you so this may take time to sleuth out…
It’s good that your tacro level was considered a normal level. However it is a medication that can still impact your health and some people need to minimize dosages because of side effects. It can take some tweaking to find a sweet spot. Tacro is traditionally used in higher dosages as an anti-rejection med for a solid organ transplants or bone marrow transplants, both which demand a higher, but consistent, trough level. Finding the proper level for an MCD patient might be finding the lowest acceptable dosage to accomplish the mission.
I ran your meds through a drug interaction checker and
(Lipitor) Atorvastatin is listed as “will increase the level or effect of Tacrolimus and affects how the drug is eliminated from the body.” Again, I’m not a doctor and I’m definitely not trying to cast aspersions at all. But having been on Tacro I know how awful it feels if the level in the body is too high. You might ask your doctor if it’s possible to lower your tacro dosage to see if it makes a difference in your symptoms but still accomplishes reducing the MCD symptoms.
Since you mentioned being on a low potassium diet, is your level checked routinely with your other blood work?
Low potassium can cause symptoms such as muscle weakness or cramps, fatigue, heart palpitations, nausea or vomiting and constipation. It can affect nerves with tingling or numbness and seizures may occur when potassium levels drop significantly.
Are there signs that the tacro has been helping with your MCD?