PMR and anemia/kidney disease

Posted by rocksology @rocksology, 2 days ago

I have finally gotten down to 5mg pred and am also on 10 mg Methotrexate. I can barely walk due to my extreme weakness. My sometimes Rheumy doc ordered blood tests that showed mild anemia and stage 3b chronic kidney disease. I've been anemic before, but my kidneys have always been fine - until this last March. I had been on 20 mg pred since late January.
The exhaustion and pain are making life unbearable, but it's full body muscle pain. My PCP did shotgun testing yesterday and found my Iron levels are severely low. He also referred me to a kidney doctor because they have declined very rapidly. I have an appointment today and ultrasound tomorrow.
I got NO response from the Rheum doc about my tests and don't see her until December. She lives in Arizona and only comes here once every 4 months. If my bloodtests were OK, I was to go up to 15 mg Methotrexate. I messaged her and a different doctor told me the results. "Mild anemia, chronic kidney disease" continue with current medication." THAT wasn't helpful at all and gave me no indication if I'm supposed to increase the MTX.
Has anyone else had kidney or Iron deficiencies while on Prednisone? I don't think its the MTX as all this started before I started taking it 6 weeks ago. Any thoughts will help...
Thanks
Terri

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jabrown0407 | @jabrown0407 | 2 days ago

Did you read up on your meds. Any of them known to be especially bad for kidneys? I was recently diagnosed with Stage 3a. Diet is critical. For the inflammation you should try and eliminate refined sugar, it is yummy food to inflammation. I've had PMR for 6 years, gave up sugar 3 years ago. Less pain. Talk to your kidney doc about seeing a dietitian to help guide you. Hard to find one who specializes in kidney friendly diets, since everyone is a little different. I have chronic anemia but high iron counts. Also ask them to check vit D and B12, possibly all the B's. I wish the best for you on your journey. Keep us posted.

Tell every doctor that you have kidney failure especially when they Rx a drug or supplement. Drugs can be hard on kidneys and they may want to change based on that one fact. Do not assume they remember or noticed it in your records.

teddyz | @teddyz | 1 day ago

My rheumatologists runs labs for my kidney and liver at every appointment because the methotrexate can be hard on them. She started to see some impact to my kidneys so I am not allowed to take any NSAIDs at all since they can also be hard on the kidneys. If you're taking a lot of ibuprofen, etc to help with pain, you might back off to see if that helps. Hope you can get a doctor or nurse practitioner to explain things to you soon.