I lost my kidneys...

[RogerDoger]

I was reading CBC.CA, came across this article,

Kidney failures up 57% over 10 years

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/03/16/organ-transplants.html


and this was one of the comments:


"JEDIMASTER wroteosted 2010/03/16
at 9:29 PM ET

Three comments:
1. For the good fellow who is traveling 200 miles to get dialysis, ask your medical team to be on a program called HOME HEMODIALYSIS. I have been doing home hemo for the last 4 years and it is a way better alternative.

2. I lost my kidneys because a local doctor overprescribed me with a medicine to treat Crohns. Lesson to be learned: always ask and look for your blood test results. He failed to look after me the way he supposed to do.

3. You need to go on line to transplant bc.ca and fill out the form, print it and mail it so you can help people like me that are waiting for an organ. Be compassionate, donate!"


Just thought it might me of some signifigance. Doesn't say which drug.

 

[katiesue1506]

the article stated a 57% increase in people in Canada living with end-stage renal disease, not in total number of kidney failures... this could be that more people are living with it instead of dying when diagnosed. This could be a result of better technologies and more developed care plans. This is also not Crohn's only related... I just wanted to clarify it so people don't start freaking out.

The article also noted that renal failure is closely related to diabetes, and we all know the obesity rates have skyrocketed.

 

[RogerDoger]

This is also not Crohn's only related... I just wanted to clarify it so people don't start freaking out.

Not Crohns related, but related to a drug used to treat Crohns. The article doesn't mention Crohns, just the comment does.

Just trying to help. The poster said a doctor overprescribed a Crohns drug and he lost his kidneys. It's good to be aware of these things. It's too late once it's too late.

 

[D Bergy]

As a general rule, anyone on an immune suppressant is supposed to have Liver, Kidney, and Bone Marrow testing to look for any problems.

http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_drug_treatments_inflammatory_bowel_disease_000103_9.htm

I am not sure what "overprescribed" means.

Dan

 

[ChefShazzy]

Hmmm, interesting, I am on methotrexate and Humira, and as far as I know, my blood tests only look at my liver functions. I will ask about this at my next appt.

 

[D Bergy]

On a positive note, we can prevent Kidney Failure by taking a supplement, or by getting adequate sun exposure, whichever works for you, and treat Crohn's at the same time.

Almost zero risk, cheap and effective.

Vitamin D-3 is proving to be the single most important vitamin to promote good health and preventing many serious diseases. Here is just two articles indicating the importance of this vitamin. There are hundreds of others.

Note that it also prevents Renal failure.

March 16, 2010

Studies support association of higher vitamin D levels with disease risk reduction


The results of two studies conducted by Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray Utah, presented on March 15, 2010 at the American College of Cardiology's 59th annual scientific session in Atlanta, show that individuals who increase their vitamin D levels experience a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, kidney failure and all-cause mortality over a given period of time.

The first study included 9,491 participants in whom low vitamin D levels of 30 nanograms per milliliter (considered "normal" by some practitioners) or less were detected. Nearly 80 percent of the subjects were women. Among the 47 percent who increased their vitamin D levels to 30 nanograms per milliliter or more between their initial and follow-up examinations, there was a decrease in the risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure, renal failure and death compared with those whose vitamin D levels failed to reach this level.

In the second study, the disease-predictive value of varying levels of vitamin D in 31,289 subjects aged 50 and older was analyzed. The researchers concluded that having a vitamin D level of greater than 43 nanograms per milliliter was optimal to significantly lower the risk of seven out of ten outcomes during the period examined: death, diabetes, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, depression and renal failure.

"It was very important to discover that the 'normal' levels are too low," noted research team member Dr Heidi T. May. "Giving physicians a higher level to look for gives them one more tool in identifying patients at-risk and offering them better treatment."

"Vitamin D replacement therapy has long been associated with reducing the risk of fractures and diseases of the bone," noted Joseph Brent Muhlestein, MD, who is the director of cardiovascular research at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute and co-researcher in both studies. "But our findings show that vitamin D could have far greater implications in the treatment and reduction of cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions than we previously thought."

Dr Muhlestein remarked that increasing vitamin D intake by supplementing with 1,000 to 5,000 international units per day may be appropriate for some people.

"Although randomized trials would be useful and are coming, I feel there is enough information here for me to start treatment based on these findings," he added.

Here is another important article indicating that higher levels of vitamin D may have an antibiotic effect.


http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2006-june-july.shtml

Dan