T1 Diabetes and Kidney function

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Permalink Reply by Betty J on November 8, 2009 at 6:14pm

Kara I've been seeing a kidney doctor since the late 1990s. My creat. has has almost remained the same for years. Just recentlly it went to 1.7, I think it's because a med I was taking I can no longer take. The med I no longer take I was taking for years it was hydrochlorothyzide (sp?). Since being taken off of that med my other meds have been increased.

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Permalink Reply by kara ortiz on November 9, 2009 at 6:20am

Thanks Betty, My kidneys are my biggest fear, and everytime I go for blood work...I get nervous for the results. Are you on any ace- inhibitors? Do you spill protien? Thank you for responding..:)

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Permalink Reply by Betty J on November 9, 2009 at 3:18pm

I take several meds. I have occasionally spilled protein, last time I saw doc I wasn't spilling any protein.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on November 9, 2009 at 11:05am

Hi Kara,

I started spilling proteins a couple years ago. Once I scored a 60 (<30 is normal), my endo put me on blood pressure medication (name escapes me...). Since then, my tests have always come back normal. He's told me that as long as my numbers stay low, I shouldn't have any problems. So, I'm taking my little pink pills and keeping my fingers crossed...

Cheers, Mike

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Permalink Reply by kara ortiz on November 9, 2009 at 11:59am

Thanks Mike! I'm a pink pill to, its also a blood pressure med. Vasotec (Enalepril is Generic) I've been on it for 18 years, since I started spilling protien.. Not sure on how my numbers were back then, but for the past 10 years they have been staying the same. I just worry everytime I get blood test if the numbers are going to up because I am getting older. Thanks so much for your reply! :)

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Permalink Reply by Mike on November 9, 2009 at 3:20pm

Hi Kara,

i started off on the generic pill, the one that cost about $7/3 months w/ insurance. I don't recall its name. It gave me the "cough" that is known to do. My cough reminded me of Kramer's cough on that one episode of Seinfeld, where he took a dog, that was coughing like him, to the vet to get medicine for his own cough. Anywhoo, they switched me to my little pink pill. Now it costs me $50+ /3 months, but at least I'm not coughing.

When they first started to note I was spilling some protein, I had to do a 24-hr collection test. So they gave me the big milk-jug sized jug to lug around all day. That is one of my best, funny memories of being diabetic.

Cheers, Mike

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Permalink Reply by Danny on November 10, 2009 at 6:13pm

One of the side effects of an Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) is a cough. I was on Avapro for a few years after trace protein was found. I had a slight cough while taking this medication.

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Permalink Reply by Roman on November 17, 2009 at 5:09pm

Hey Danny,

ACE inhibitors are the drugs that have cough as a side effect. ARBs are pretty much equivalent to ACE inhibitors but they do not cause cough and cost more money. Just a quick correction :)

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Permalink Reply by Danny on November 18, 2009 at 6:03pm

"Irbesartan or Avapro is well tolerated. Cough is a side effect associated with ACE inhibitors, but by affecting the angiotensin system in the way it does, Irbesartan or Avapro avoids this cough side effect."

My cough must have been from the cigarettes, huh!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Oliva, RRT RPFT AE-C on November 9, 2009 at 7:30pm

I KNOW TOO, ABOUT THE FEAR OF KIDNEY DISEASE.... I ONLY HAVE ONE KIDNEY... I LOST IT 19 YEARS AGO DUE TO CANCER.... THIS WAS BEFORE I DEVELOPED TYPE 1 DIABETES, MY TYPE1 WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE ANTIBIOTIC. I ONLY HAVE HAD DIABETES FOR 8 YEARS. MY DOCTOR CHECKS MY KIDNEY FUNCTIONS EVERY 3-4 MONTHS. I WISH I KNEW THE ANSWERS, BUT YOUR DOC SHOULD BE THE ONE TO ADVISE YOU, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. "THE MORE YOU KNOW IS THE MORE YOU CONTROL" IS MY MOTTO.

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Permalink Reply by Betty J on November 10, 2009 at 4:00pm

Daniel I agree with your motto. I always want to know whatever it is concerning my health since I'm the one who has to manage my D.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on November 18, 2009 at 4:07pm

Hey Kara...I've been diabetic 37 years, also from the age of 2. My creatinine has been 1.6 for the past decade or so...I was terrified at first, but my nephrologist thinks it's a good sign that I've been stable. I know EXACTLY how scary it all is, totally been there, but I'm allowing myself to be cautiously optimistic.

I'm on an ACE inhibitor, as well as 3(!!) other antihypertensives (beta blocker, calcium channel blocker and Hydralazine), because I needed all of them to keep my bp's stable...I also take vitamin E, which I started taking because I'd read literature saying that it might help slow progression...I'm not sure that's actually true, but I'm kinda scared to make any changes at this point, since I've been stable so long. :O

My nephrologist did say that if things start getting worse, they can get worse very quickly. She's asked me to get my bun/creat tested every six months, just to make sure there's no progression. But I've seen a graph that shows the progression rate is pretty constant for most people, so if your nephropathy isn't progressing at all, that's a really, really good sign. Hopefully that'll ease some of your worries...

Just obviously keep your A1C as low as possible (mine's always under 6, at 5.6 the last time it was checked), and keep your bp under 130/80 (you might want to buy a bp cuff if you haven't already, just to monitor it at different times of the day.) Controlling bp and bg, and taking the ACE inhibitors, are really the only forms of control we have. (But do your best not to think about it too much! I'm guessing you'll be fine...)

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