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My nephrologist wants me to take Jardiance for CKD?
Kidney Conditions | Last Active: 8 hours ago | Replies (51)Comment receiving replies
@mnsansei That must be so difficult knowing that you can get sick from a simple outing.
Thankfully I don't "catch" colds and such easily. It's the other stuff that gets me.
I had a gout attack while sleeping 2 months ago. Never had it before and I couldn't figure out what was going on. My toes and my thumbs hurt so bad and I couldn't move them. My toes was red and swollen and it finally hit me that it must be gout. It has left my left hand so weak that I can't even hold a fork. I had labs done 2 weeks later and they checked my Uric Acid and it was very high. I told my PCP nurse practitioner and she said that I must have irritated a nerve in my hand. That was it. My nephrologist wants another test and I have an appt. to go over everything.
Before I start any meds, I check them for all of the side effects. I started doing this after being put on Effexor in 1995. .When I would forget to refill and thus run out of it, I would have a terrible withdrawal after just 2 days. Upon research I found just how bad it can be to stop it. Almost all of my meds are bad for anyone with CKD which I do not understand. Fix one thing but break something else.
I am on Blue Cross Advantage but everything keeps going up. ER visits used to be $90 and now they are $150+. And with CHF they tell you to go to the ER if you gain more than 2 lbs a week. Yeah sure.
It is crazy that we have to be such advocates for ourselves when these doctors are supposed to know what we can and can't take.
Replies to "@mnsansei That must be so difficult knowing that you can get sick from a simple outing...."
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@tntwo99
I don't know how easily it is for you to choose which doctor you want to see and I am not a doctor. But--it sounds like your health is at least complicated as mine and my hematologist told me I need an MD to be my PCP. Just saying.
Also, I was sent to rheumatology after my first "likely gout" flare which in the HMO I use, is where decisions about gout are made. I had been sent to a Foot and Ankle Specialist after having an x-ray at Same Day Care which was said to be difficult to read. The F&A said the same thing about a new set of x-rays weeks later. A few days later I saw my nephrologist for my quarterly appt. He apparently saw the F&A's conclusion and had ordered a uric acid test. It was 9.2 so he started colchicine. The toe in question had been inflamed for months by then but eventually the pain went down. The swelling and redness stuck around for perhaps a year during which he had me tested for allergy to the uric acid lowering med, allopurinol. (People with East Asian heritage are more likely to be allergic. I have wondered if he was on top of that since his family is Taiwanese. You never know what experience your doctor brings to the table.) When that allergy test was negative, he started me on a low dose of allopurinol. Of course, a few months later, I developed an itchy spot on my hand which was never diagnosed but allopurinol was paused and re-started when he got back from a family vacation in Iceland. This time, no itchy spot. Eventually the dose was increased and uric acid fell to within the normal range. At the same time he put me on what we call the gout diet--no red meat (including beef, pork, game), no avocadoes, no almonds, and as we say, nothing fun to eat and sent me to rheumatology for more care.
I don't know if I got the bottom of the barrel in that dept or a typical rheumatologist but she wouldn't see me because I hadn't had a tophus (swollen joint filled with sodium urate) aspirated. A picture of the crystals is attached and while they are beautiful, they look like they'd do a fabulous job lacerating kidneys. My current PCP just referred me back to Rheumatology now that I've had another presumed gout flare (that was put out in just hours after a dose of colchicine I took when I thought another toe was in pain from gout.) The first rheumatologist left and I am hoping the second one will at least let me in the door. I'd like a referral to an informed dietician about the gout diet. The other one I saw probably googled it just before seeing me.
All this to say, knowing the little bit I know, I am glad that my "presumed gout" is getting attention.
BTW, my husband confirmed that the $2000 limit came into effect this year for Medicare Advantage plans. He topped out in January and has not paid a co-pay on meds since.
Do you use an insurance broker? Ours has been very helpful keeping us informed of changes like this. If you're in MN, I can ask ours if he'd take you on.
Dinner time. Back later.