Can you die from Kidney failure before you see a doc. - Kidney Disorders Message Board

Franksshow · 07-25-2009, 08:48 AM

Good morning,

Brand new to the site. I am caring for my husband who 2 years ago had one kidney removed due to a carcanoma invoving the entire kidney. So he has one remaing kidney and at the time was only at 30%. A month ago he was addmitted into the hospital in Renal failure. Prior to this he was being treated for high potassium. Now they have told us it is Chronic Kidney Failure.He goes through the VA and our next appointment is not untill August 12th. My fear is that he is getting sicker by the hours. There is no life except get up eat a little take pills for the pain and go back to sleep. Granted he is 75 years young. But my fear is that by time his appointment comes around the damage is already done and where does that leave him?
A little background He does not want Dialysis-He is also trying earbal remidies at this point-He has High blood pressure,Emphazyma(Very Badly) He smokes a great deal and just gave up table salt( an extreme for him as he used enough at one time that would suvice for a table of 8 people.) So I know the other problems will make life even harder. I guess my question is how do I convince him we can not wait-Maybe he may even need to go to th ER. He does not seemed concerned and I am truly afraid he has given up-But I am not ready to yet-So I blog and found this site.

feelbad · 07-26-2009, 09:47 AM

the one huge thing to always keep in mind here is if you should ever feel that something is getting much worse or just not 'right", you always have that ER option. once they do some testing, they would in most cases actually contact his doc and let him know what they feel is needed, like a moved up immediate type of appt?

i am also wondering given what you have posted about his feelings here that he has appeared to have given up? that he may also be suffering from at least some level of depression as well? when we are in certain types of situations where we just cannot really feel or see 'hope' in our future, that depression can really kick into high gear. it has with me and all my medical nightmares i am dealing with like all at one time. you just get into the 'why bother" nothing is going to get better type of thinking mode inside your head that at times is really difficult to kick.

if he is suffering from already Dxed depresssion,or it has not been yet Dxed with him, he REALLY needs to see someone about this and getting onto some type of anti depressant too. it would just have to be geared toward dealing with the kidney disease and metabolization issues too.

but, if anything at anytime just does not feel right to you, just take him to the ER and let them decide that next step here for you based upon their eval at that time. i really had to go thru this ALOT when my youngest son who was only 12 at the time, was going thru liver failure. we spent ALOT of time in many different ERs depending upon what the particular issue was that changed in him. it is a good 'back up' option that is just always there 24/7 ya know? i do hope things get better for you both. but i would really see about the possible depression thing. fixing just THAT alone could help alot with his overall additude during a pretty overwhelming time for him with everything else. please let me know how you are doing. marcia

harka · 07-26-2009, 01:30 PM

Hi there!

I'm sure others have given great advice, so I don't want to repeat things. I'm also sorry your husband is feeling so unwell. The good thing is that, other than that period where he had the acute on chronic renal failure, most of his renal failure is chronic (i.e. long-term and slow to progress) so that is unlikely to harm him in the next month UNLESS he does something to acutely damage one of his kidneys.

I can't give medical advice, but I can say to be VERY VERY CAREFUL with your husband taking herbal remedies, especially given that he has renal failure. These things can often contain things which are toxic to the kidneys, and because they're not regulated, you're never sure how much of the substance you're getting. Did they ever figure out why your husband had the acute renal failure (i.e. with the high potassium) in his last admission?

Also, 30% kidney function isn't actually all that bad. Many people live with that function for a long time. Once you're down to 10% function permanently, that's when it becomes a problem.

writeleft · 07-26-2009, 10:39 PM

I wouldn't wait, I would take him into the ER. Due to the other risk factors he has, like hypertension, and emphysema, and only one kidney...plus his pain, and lack of energy, and his lack of hope-he needs help.

I am in stage 4, renal disease...which means my kidney function is 15-29% (specifically 22%). At 15%, you need dialysis, or transplant. I have been living with stage 4 for 5 years now, but I am closely monitored...every 4 weeks I get blood work, and see my nephrologist. My blood pressure control is a daily effort, as that is what caused the damage to my kidneys in the first place.

When in doubt, check it out! I am so sorry for what you are going through, it is a tough job being a caretaker. You always have us on the boards to rely on, whenever you need a little support, or need to get anything off your chest. There are some extremely knowledgeable and experienced folks here, that are at your service! Take good care, and let us know what happens.

Franksshow · 07-31-2009, 08:56 AM

Thanks everyone-But my hubby will not go to the ER he is dead set against and he is not Depressed-He is and has been a very Happy go lucky type of person. I even tried to get him to go yesterday his BP went from 173/129 and then a sudden drop to 90/60. And to top it all off our dear freind droped dead of a massive heart attach that morning. He is adament No more hospitals and VA only. So I am going to be selfish and live. He has made his choice and I will try to respect that choice evne tho I think it is stupid.
Karen