I am 70 years female. My nephrologist informed me that I am in 3rd stage CKD. Can I take Psyllium Husk? Is it safe? Thank you.

Psyllium Husk is a bulk forming laxative and is used for bowel regularity. It should not have any effect on your kidney function. As with all medications that you take, you should also check with your physician to make sure that this medication does not interfere with any other medications that you may be taking.

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My brother 54 has undergone kidney transplant surgery in Sep 2017. But he got fever few weeks ago and kidney biopsy shows shows BK viral infection. May I know, is it curable?

BK virus infection of the kidney can cause rejection of the kidney. In most cases, the amount of immune suppression medications must be decreased and carefully monitored in order for the virus to be cleared from the system. Treatment of BK virus infection can be very challenging and should be carefully supervised by your brother’s transplant physician.

This morning my UREA/SUM LEVEL WAS 8.09, CREATININE 137umol/L, glomerular filtartion rate 48. How bad is this?

This would be consistent with Stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD). This level of estimated glomerular filtration would need to be present for at least three months in order to qualify as CKD. You can learn more about the Stages of CKD by going to our web site at: https://www.kidney.org/professionals/explore-your-knowledge/how-to-classify-ckd

Greetings Dr. My father, aged nearly 70, recently got sick and admitted in hospital. After all tests, doctors told that he has 5.5 creatinine and advised to go to dialysis (so far he has neither sugar nor bp). Due to money problem, I admitted in general hospital. They treated well and my father creatinine level came to 4.5, but he is very weak not able to eat anything. What makes him to eat and get energy?

I am not able to provide a specific diagnosis based on the information that you present. Your father appears to have advanced kidney disease but I am not able to tell what caused the kidney failure. The symptoms of kidney failure are weakness, weight loss and loss of appetite. Your father may still be suffering the symptoms of kidney failure. I can only suggest that you follow the advice of the physicians who are caring for him.

I like to mix one teaspoon of TANG with a full glass of water for flavor once a day. My son says TANG’s ingredients contribute to kidney stones. Is that true?

TANG is an orange flavored drink. It is a powder and according to the label, it contains fructose and Vitamin C which can contribute to the formation of kidney stones. I have not see someone who drinks TANG report kidney stones, so I do not know how much of a problem this may be. Drinking plain water is the best thing to do to prevent kidney stones.

Hello! I am a white woman 39 years old. I plan to move to the US. I have type 1 diabetes and kidney transplantation from my mother. Now the level of creatinine is 1-1.2. In Russia, I take the Advagraf (Tacrolimus) 6 mg and Myfortik (Mycophenolic acid) 720 mg, as well as insulin aspart (Novorapid) and insulin detemir (Leveemir). I also have hypertension, I take Valsartanum, Amlodipinum, Bisoprololum, Physiotens. I have a green card. How can I get medicine in the US and how can I get a doctor’s consultation, take an analysis for the concentration of tacrolimus, other blood and urine tests? Where can I get acquainted with the rules for obtaining or buying such drugs? Which doctor should I consult for? What kind of insurance plans do people in the US use with my diseases? Will I be able to fly with my drugs for 6 months? Thank you.

If you are relocating to the United States, it will be important for you to find a kidney transplant center near where you will be living. The National Kidney Foundation has a web page devoted to finding a kidney transplant center. You can access this page at:  https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/how-find-transplant-center

Once you get established with a transplant center, the social worker at the transplant center should be able to help you with insurance and coverage for your drugs. You will also be assigned a transplant nephrologist who will help you with your evaluation and prescriptions.

I suggest that you ask for medical records to be copied and bring those with you to the United States.

I do recommend that you travel with at least 6 months of your drugs. I suggest that you check with the airlines about how you can do this.

Doc, my creatinine is 98.9. Is it normal? Please help.

The serum creatinine result that you quote of 98.9 has units of “micromole per liter or umol/L”. The normals for each laboratory is determined by each laboratory. Hence, you will need to check with the normal values published by the laboratory that performed your test. You can also go to our web site and use this result to calculate your estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Make sure you use the value for “umol/L” rather than “mg/dl”. These are the two ways to express the serum creatinine.  You can access the eGFR calculator at: https://www.kidney.org/professionals/KDOQI/gfr_calculator

Hello, Doctor. I am from Ethiopia. Yesterday, the doctors told me that I have a big kidney problems. So, I don‘t know what I should do? If you can, please say something?

Since you have been told that you have kidney disease, it is first important to know if this kidney disease is acute or chronic. Acute kidney disease or acute kidney injury, can generally be treated and may be reversed in many circumstances. If this is chronic kidney disease (CKD), then you must have further testing to know what is causing the kidney disease so that the cause of the disease can be treated or delayed. In most cases, CKD cannot be reversed. Hence, you should discuss all of these things with the physicians who are caring for you and ask for a specific diagnosis. Once you have a specific diagnosis, then proper treatment can be offered. In some cases a kidney biopsy may be necessary.

Good afternoon Doctor, I am 37 years old and I live in Colombia I have an unspecified chronic kidney damage, I feel very bad since the nephrologist says that if I have a biopsy I can bleed because my kidneys are small, creatinine It is 2.40 I do not have diabetes or suffer from high blood pressure my bones if they hurt me a lot and there are days that I feel very tired I would like to know a treatment and what can I do Doctor please. Thanks from my heart.

If you have none of the usual risk factors for kidney disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, family history, or obesity, then a kidney biopsy may be the only way to tell you what your disease may be. In order to recommend specific treatment, a specific diagnosis is necessary. Only a kidney biopsy can give you a specific diagnosis. Hence, I recommend that you further discuss kidney biopsy with your nephrologist so as to clarify your diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

My mother has one kidney for last 40 years, due to donation. Her Bun is 41.0 and creatine is 1.84. She has liver failure Ammonia 127. We struggle to get her to take the Lactulose. She is 80. Is she going into liver failure.

I am not able to make a specific diagnosis based on the information that you present. I am not a liver specialist but if she is having liver failure, then kidney failure can be associated with liver failure. I suggest that you visit with your mother’s physicians about her diagnoses and prognosis.