Bit fed up now..

[Duker5]

Just posting as I'm getting really fed up as of late...

Ever since I started on Ramipril I get a load more spots than I ever got before... Mostly on my back! And also a red (ish) rash on my face/forehead which is unsightly at best! Also slowly building up since I started on Ramipril has been a very sharp stabbing back pain (just read the leaflet of side effects again in the Ramipril box and it says seek immediate medical advice if you have severe stomach or back pains as this could be pancreatitis, and I didn't spot that before....) which at first was only on the right side of my back at the bottom, but as of this morning for the first time I felt the pain on my left side as well.

Also my first wee of the day is VERY frothy and even during the day it's frothy but not as much as the first wee of the day, and the amount of froth to me symbolizes I must be leaking more protein than I was to start with as it seems there's more than there was originally by quite a significant margin!

Anyway I'm making an appointment with my GP tomorrow and firstly am going to ask to be taken off Ramipril and for it to be changed to another blood pressure medication and to see if they can higher the dose to 7.5mg as the 5mg isn't doing anything with regards to protein leakage as far as I can tell!

The annoying thing is BEFORE I was diagnosed I felt much healthier and had none of these bloody skin rashes/back pain etc! And I'm just fed up now...

So do you think my GP will change my medication? And if so do I need to inform my nephrologist or will my GP do that anyway??

Sorry for the partial rant, I've just had enough now!!

Thank you.

[Duker5]

Hi Keith,

So should I ring my renal unit first before going to the doctors??

Also if my GP does change my meds (will they do that before speaking to my neph?) I should inform my nephrologist by ringing my unit? Or are you saying before any changes my GP should discuss with my neph ace inhibitors such as what you mentioned (ramipril/perindopril or others) vs other bp drugs type, out of curiosity what other types of bp drugs are they? And what is ccb, arb etc?? I'm not very clued up when it comes to them as I just thought they all did the same job i.e lower blood pressure (that's my ignorance talking there) or do other bp meds lower blood pressure in a different way??

Lipase blood tests by the way, what is that? Do they take it in the same way as a normal blood test?

Thanks for replying.

[rheaybou]

I personally wouldn't use my GP as first line for my kidney problems...he is a good doctor, but not a kidney specialist as with on unit doctors.

But feel free to approach the problems you are having however you feel comfortable. Luckily I have never had any kid of side effects from my mess. Good luck and hope they sort you out quickly.

[per156]

Hi Duker !

Guess your GP will leave all BP-questions to your neph dr who has the wider picture of this in connection with your kidneys.

Sorry to hear that you still suffer from side effects on a ramipril dose not high enough to reduce protein leakage. I suppose increase the dose will make you feel even worse.
Maybe you should look into the ARB (angiotensin receptive blockers) group of medicines in order to get something with less problems and still effective on the leakage. Maybe try candesartan, irbesartan, losartan, telmisartan, valsartan etc.

Best to contact the neph clinic then.
Hope it will get sorted out
Best regards
Per

[Thelma]

I personally wouldn't use my GP as first line for my kidney problems...he is a good doctor, but not a kidney specialist as with on unit doctors.

But feel free to approach the problems you are having however you feel comfortable. Luckily I have never had any kid of side effects from my mess. Good luck and hope they sort you out quickly.

This! I always go via one of my consultants for anything I suspect is kidney-related. My GP gets the pleasure of coughs, colds,and other random ailments.

[Duker5]

Thanks for all the replies, a lot of things to think about.

I will contact my renal unit tomorrow and see if there's anyone I can speak to about it, and see if anything can be done for me.

I'm at the hospital on the 19th of November anyway but I don't think it's a good idea to wait until then, considering the back pain for example it doesn't go away, granted it's only intermittent and I don't get it everyday but it's still enough of a problem to drive me up the wall.. One time I had the pain it was a good job I was stood near the settee at the time as the pain was that severe it made me collapse onto the settee!

WIll see how I get on tomorrow.

Thanks again for the replies.

[Tibbs]

No, best not to wait in my opinion. And yes, your renal clinic is your first port of call in this situation. Your GP is unlikely to do anything without the nod from the consultants.

Good luck.

[AmandaClare]

I've never got on well with ACE inhibitors. I'm sure they made me depressed though the docs said not. I like irbesartan, one of the ARBs. They control my blood pressure really well and steadily - they're slow acting so you don't get dips and peaks.

Hope you get some help with this, Duker.

[Duker5]

I personally wouldn't use my GP as first line for my kidney problems...he is a good doctor, but not a kidney specialist as with on unit doctors.

But feel free to approach the problems you are having however you feel comfortable. Luckily I have never had any kid of side effects from my mess. Good luck and hope they sort you out quickly.

I kind of thought this as well, as I figured they'd just refer me back to the hospital anyway.. See more below as the advice I was given was to go my GP first, which I was a little surprised at.

Thanks for your response.

No, best not to wait in my opinion. And yes, your renal clinic is your first port of call in this situation. Your GP is unlikely to do anything without the nod from the consultants.

Good luck.

Well I rang the renal unit today when I got in from work about at 5pm and there was no one there, and a recorded message said if I wanted to speak to someone on ward 32 then ring an extension number provided, so I did that and spoke to one of the nurses who when I told her what i'd posted on here she went and had a word with a doctor who was on the ward and the nurse came back to me and told me the doctor had said to go to my gp and tell them and that they should be able to change my medication for me, not what I expected them to say but if that's what they said then that's what I'll do I guess.

Presumably before they change the medication they'd have to speak to my consultant anyway??

On a side note I actually had an E-Mail from my consultant today in response to an E-Mail I sent to him on the 10th of October saying he'd tried to contact me today on contact numbers he had/and ones he got from my gp and to let me know that a sister had tried to contact me today about some blood results but hadn't been able to get hold of me, and that he'd also requested a copy of the letter he sent to my GP to be forwarded to me and that he'd requested their IT system to include my name on there pilot scheme to view my results on the internet, must be Renal Patient View he's on about as I heard nothing further about it since July until he mentioned it in his E-Mail today.

I've never got on well with ACE inhibitors. I'm sure they made me depressed though the docs said not. I like irbesartan, one of the ARBs. They control my blood pressure really well and steadily - they're slow acting so you don't get dips and peaks.

Hope you get some help with this, Duker.

I'm not getting on too well with them either unfortunately, do you think when I see my GP to mention ARB's?

Thanks for your post it's appreciated.

[ives]

My skin has got quite dry and a bit blotchy, but I just thought it was a result of the fluid restrictions. Learn something new every day!