Kidney function symptoms and conditions

Where do I begin. I've been on prednisone for about 3 months now, and I feel like it has ruined my life. After having my son in February of this year I went for my 6 week check up and found out that I had high blood pressure and my kidney function was low. Before this I was pretty healthy. So, I was put on 30mg of prednisone in hopes that it would reduce or erase the inflammation. It reduced it for a while, then it went back up. While on the darn drug, Ive experienced moon face, weight gain, Im always hungry, acne, shortness of breath, and paining in my legs and back. The worse side effect has been the mood swings and anxiety, probably because it took something terrible happening to realize that they were really happening. My boyfriend told me that the drugs were making me act different, but I just thought he was picking on me as he did with my weight gain. Turns out, I have read everyone elses post and realized that many people experience what he says I've been going through. As a result of my mood swings and being so mean and demanding, my relationship may be over. I wish that he would understand that it's not me, it's the medication, but I can't convince him. Thats weird, especially since he pointed it out to me months ago. So now, I hate this drug. It's not making me better and it was a contributor in ruining my relationship. I want to just stop taking it, but Im scared I will get even sicker. There is no hope here.

I know that for every woman, the side effects or various medications and hormones are different. I personally had the Mirena IUD inserted a little over 3 years ago on the recommendation of a friend who, at the time, had nothing but positive things to say about it. I went on that recommendation alone, and now wish that I had done more research into the side effects before having one inserted.

The initial insertion was not horrible, but not great either- a pinch at insertion, severe cramping and pain within a few hours, and a dull aching feeling in my abdomen for about a week. After that, though, I couldn't feel the IUD at all.

It was not long after that when I began to experience side effects. Like many of you, I attributed my symptoms to stress and life changes. I figured that my migraines, back pain, fatigue, dizziness, increasing urinary tract infections, and weight gain were a result of a changing metabolism and high-stress job.

When I went to my family physician to have blood work done (because I was declared anemic when trying to give blood), I was told that I wasn't getting enough iron and I went on iron supplements. (The supplements then made me constipated- sorry if that is TMI, but that was a very unwelcome result!) When I took trip after trip to my ob/gyn for antibiotics to treat UTIs, I was told that the UTIs were unrelated to the IUD. When I saw a urologist to have three separate tests done (one for hormone levels, another for uterine function, and yet another to test kidney function), all tests came back within normal range. Even when I went to the ER one Saturday morning, when my back was spasming so badly that I could barely walk or stand, I was told that my back pain was stress-related.

All the while, my friend (the one who recommended the IUD in the first place) was dealing with similar problems- weekly severe migraines, back pain, etc. She was being told the same things by her ob/gyn- none of her symptoms were related to the IUD. Since she and I trusted our doctors completely, we went on about our lives, upped our workout regimens, tried to de-stress as much as possible, took OTC pain meds when it was all too much to bear- and yet for both of us, our symptoms continued.

Then, in July, my husband and I decided to begin trying for a baby. I made my appointment to have the IUD removed (which was a painless process), and it was only then that I began to research the Mirena IUD online. My former ob/gyn had moved, and my new one seemed ill-informed about what to expect once the IUD was removed. I wanted to know how soon I could conceive, and she knew very little about the process- heck, she didn't even know what the hormone was called that she had given me to jump-start my period (it was progestin, by the way- a very common prescription that my paramedic husband knew quite a bit about, but the ob/gyn didn't even know the name of!).

Once I got online and found this site (among many others), I finally began to put two and two together. I am now firmly convinced that my symptoms were directly related to the Mirena IUD. Again, different women are affected in different ways, but I know that for me- nothing good came of messing with Mother Nature like that.

Now that I've had the IUD out for about four months, I feel like a different human being. I did experience the "Mirena Crash," but once that passed, I almost immediately began losing weight, my abdomen was no longer blown up like a balloon, my energy level and sex drive increased, my back pain is now gone, and I haven't had a migraine or UTI since.

I've since switched ob/gyns, but I now have a healthy distrust of anything medically new and experimental. I will never have the Mirena inserted again, and I will definitely research anything and everything regarding my body. Ladies, listen to your bodies- mine was screaming at me loud and clear for over three years, and even though I knew that something was very wrong, I didn't listen. I'm just happy that I "accidentally" figured it out. (Oh, and my friend will be having her IUD removed later this week. She and I now call ourselves the "sister skeptics!")

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and went to an Endocrinologist and he put me on Lisinopril to protect my kidney function from any more damage from the Diabetes. He says it was minor damage that i had but taking the Lisinopril was an added precaution. I am 61 years old and have had no cough from this drug, but my ribcage and lung area, especially at night are in pain. I called him and he told me he doubts that the pain is from Lisinopril because it wasn't one of the usual side effects. I am to be off of it for a week to see.How is it that these doctors don't know that this is a side effect when there are people all over this website with the same complaints. I welcome any reply at ******

My daughter took YAZ for about a year when a routine blood test revealed an elevated creatinine levels, a sign of reduced kidney function. We changed her to a different pill to control her heavy periods because of the warning about taking YAZ if you have any kidney issues. We are seeing a kidney specialist now and I believe the YAZ is the cause of the reduced kidney function. Any others have the same issue?

This is in response to someone who suggested that if you just take the pill as ordered, you will be ok. T0 put it simply , you are wrong. There are more than a few people affected by this drug. The problem is most people assume that because they have high blood pressure their health is already compromised and they put the weird symptoms and problems they have on their overall health.
I started taking Lisinopril 5 years ago and not once did my doctor connect my sudden problems to Lisinopril.
I was told I needed my right shoulder cuff repaired cause I was overweight and I believed it. I was told I had GERD cause the abdominal fat was pushing the acid into my throat. I believed it. I started having menstrual problems I was told I was getting old ( I am on ly 42 years old). I believed it.
I started having memory and concentration issues I was told I was too stressed at work. I believed it. Started having heart attack and stroke symptoms. I was told I had high blood pressure and I needed to lose weight. I believed it. My knees and joints started giving out.. again I was told I was overweight. Lose weight and I will get better. I believed it. Started having rib cage pain like shingles and I was told it might be my gall bladder. I had a HIDA scan and nothing was found.
One day last summer I felt like I was dying a slow death and I went to the hospital and was found out I was in heart failure, heart rate was irregular and kidney function was impaired.
I was admitted to the ICU for 3 days. While in the ICU I had my blackberry and I started googling all of my meds and I came across this site and I suddenly felt like a thousand pounds was lifted off my shoulders. That was the last Lisinopril pill i took and guess what? EVERY single one of the above problems have magically disappeared.

I work in a healthcare setting where people are admitted that are critically ill. Whenever I see a particular diagnosis I immediately scan their meds and what do I see? Lisinopril. People are having joints replaced, stomach surgeries, shoulder surgeries, irregular heart beats, unexplained heart attacks, people are being diagnosed with Alzheimer and dementia on this drug. People are getting brain lesions and the list goes on and on.
There are over 30 million people worldwide on this drug. If drugs were so good why are people getting sicker and sicker.
Please don't take this drug. Do what you have to do to get your blood pressure under control.

I don't have any of the side-effects that are mentioned. The drug is designed to reduce blood pressure and heart rate. If you do not exercise or are over weight, your days are already numbered if you have had a heart attack. A persons has to exercise appropriately and get their heart back into shape or they will remain unhealthy. One person mentioned that their BP was 129/142. That is a very high BP. Yes it reduces you ability to do the same rigorous exercise. Reducing the drug (breaking it in half), taking it after your evening meal helped me. The pronounced effect is for about 8 hours after taking the drug. Taking it at about 5-7:00 PM or right before you go to bed works well, because it reduced your Heart rate and BP. Taking it in the morning after taking coffee is a mess-up. A number of drugs should not be taken when you want you most energy. The lingering effects are reduced. Certainly everyone is affected differently. I am 59, I have my heart attack at 56. The exercise, weight loss, and salt reduction are very important for anyone. Fluid retention increases blood pressure. If you are on Lisinopril and eat a lot of salty seasoned foods, your body will not react normally and you will feel terrible and have the combined effects of excess sodium on the systems in the body, especially nerve responses. I can not explain the coughing and gagging. I have GERD and keep it under control with Acidifex; however, after loosing about 10 pounds, (I weight 187 at 5'11'') I do not seem to need the drug.

Stop taking the drug and you may die, taking drugs off the market because a few people have problems is stupid. More people have died from tobacco and excess alcohol than all acidents, wars, murder, and the like, and we have done very little in comparison to deep pocket drug companies.
I understand how the drug works and how it doe3s not work. If you don't do what the doctors says....everything, especially dieting properly, exercising, and reducing stress,

I was placed on Topamax, off label, for suspected bipolar illness (now disproven). My cognition, word finding abilities, memory has been so adversely affected that I am now on disability. I had 5 kidney stones due to the development of Renal Tubular Acidosis, nearing renal failure (a side effect doctors don't warn patients about). This in turn led to osteomalacia, softening of the bones, only discovered after I broke all three major bones in my leg and snapped off my foot stepping off the lowest seat of a bleecher. I've suffered tingling in arms, hands, legs & feet (nerve damage), lesions in the brain, muscle spasms, heat & cold intolerance, insomnia etc... Although I lost weight, I gained it back (then some) as soon as I reduced the dosage of 800 mgs. Upon stopping the drug to save my kidneys, thus my life, my kidney function returned to almost normal within a few months, although there is residual damage. All other side affects remain two years later. Losing weight is not worth dying! Beware of this drug being used off label! I would never trust this drug!

my aunt is 94 and was put on prednisone after having pneumonia. She is also diabetic, and has very poor kidney function. Her symptoms are restlessness confusion and constant playing with her hands or covers, this game may last into the night, just over and over placing one hand on top of the other. In looking for causes of this, I found it could be dementia or possible side effects of medication. We took her off prednisone and this behavior stopped

I wrote in December, described the cough, my problems with this drug, I was on 40 mg prescribed from my cardiologist, I went to see my doctor last week, she increased me to 80 mg, bp was lower, but not enough, she had blood drawn, I think maybe by the grace of god, I did not start taking the higher dose yet, this morning I get an urgent call, from my Cardiologist office, to stop the Lisinopril immediately, I am now scared to death, and scared for my life, they said the Lisinopril, is effecting my kidney function, my kidney function lab work is way up, now I am going cold turkey with this medication, hoping my bp does not reach a dangerous level, need more blood work, a visit to cardiologist next week, and now a visit to a urologist, I am scared to death, I feel like crying WTF!

I had a UTI at the beginning of November. I had gone in for a physical and my bs were 127. My cholesterol was 276. 205 was bad. 46 was good. Triglycerides were only 135. I had another bs test and it was 130. My creatine (kidney function) was .7 which was good.

My doctor told me that since I technically have diabetes, they need to be aggressive with the cholesterol/blood pressure. I took Vytorin for about a week. I noticed tingling in my arms and legs immediately. My left arm was "heavy" and the left side of my body was numb for a bit. I also started using the restroom a lot. My knees also ached at night while sleeping and it woke me up. I had just started walking so I chalked it up to that. I had fatigue and anxiety as well.

I knew the pills were giving me these side affects so I took myself off of them after a week. I started myself on a diet. I walk 30 minutes a day. My cholesterol is now 237. The bad is 173, the good is 39 (I am working on raising that number naturally) and my triglycerides are 123. My fasting blood sugars are new only 95. My blood sugars do not go above 140 now, which is considered normal.

Unfortunately, my kidney function has taken a slight dip. It was .7 and now it is .9. I really feel that if I had taken the Vytorin much longer, it would of given me kidney failure. Apparently kidney damage is on the warning label of this product. If I had read the label before considering this drug, I would of never taken it in the first place. I am hoping the kidney function restores itself. Please scour the internet before taking any prescribed medications!

I took 4 500 mg doses of Levaquin for a sinus infection on Aug 19-22 2008. I am now almost 5 months out. I suffered multiple adverse reactions and have been waiting to post to see how things resolved. I am 39 years old and in excellent health. I rarely see doctors and have never had anything chronic. This is what I experienced: extreme fatigue, all over muscle soreness/stiffness, severe headaches, tingling/numbness in hands/feets, serious shoulder problems requiring ortho, physical therapy and chiropractor, irregular heart rhythm, irregular kidney function, constant ringing in my ears, impaired vision. Currently most of these are resolved except irregular kidney function (although this has improved), shoulder issues (not normal yet) and ringing in my ears.

You can't judge the full scope of your reaction by your body's initial reaction. As time unfolds you will get the big picture of how this drug harms the various systems of the body.

I can not begin to explain how taking this drug has impacted my life and my family. I have 3 children to take care of. I thank God that I am healing and have now resumed almost all of my daily activities. I pray that I will soon be back to full health. This is absolute madness. I am so sorry that so many of us have been injury in such a way.

Hi

My mom is in a nursing home and has CKD. After her nephrologist told me to try Renavite, her kidney function improved...of course, the BUN and creatine improved also. She is diabetic, not on dialysis, and her kidney function went up from 15 percent to 19 percent after she started taking RenaVite.

I attribute the improvement to Renavite.

I took one Caltrate Plus and I got flushed and BP went from 130 to 180...Had to take a fast acting med to lower my BP...I have taken Rolaids with calcium, so I know I am not sensitive to calcium..Do any of the added minerals affect kidney function or adrenal gland??

My husband was recently prescribed Bactrim from his family doctor for a case of the ful. We thought it strange, since flu is normally not treated with antibiotics, viral we thought. Anyway, we felt Doc knew best, so he took three doses. His original symptoms of the flue were simply nausea, vomiting and a bit of diarrhea. After taking the bactrim, he developed a very high fever, headache, pain in legs and feet, burning eyes, chills so severe his whole body shook with a vengeance. He was sent home from the ER and told this was "worsening flu symptoms" and to continue the medication. We didn't follow the advise, and thought it might be the bactrim. He still continued to get worse, and went back to ER next night, bad stomach pain and all other symptoms worse. We found out it was all due to the bactrim, which shouldn't have been given in the first place for a mild case of the flu. He also suffered decreased kidney function, which has taken some time to come back to normal (luckily). His heart rate is still increased after several days, and may remain so permanently, requiring him to take beta blockers for the rest of his life. The doctors won't admit this is from the bactrim, but i have found medical literature stating otherwise. His doctor said it was his fault for not reading or understanding the little insert that came with his medication from the pharmacy. A lot of this information wasn't even on it. There are so many other choices of antibiotics to use, which do not chance a horrible reaction, permanent medical problem, or a fatality, which seems to be the case more often than it should from the medication, bactrim.

I am a male 55. Started taking Altace 15 years ago. BP kept creeping up. I work outside for a living. Sometimes work is very hard, climbing mountains, carrying land surveying equipment ect. Dr started me on lisinopril 40 mg, dropped altace which I had been taking with HCT 25mg. Started getting numbness in left hand and charley horse in elbow after playing mandolin for 10 minutes. I thought this strange. Now I have muscle cramps in legs and I am wiped out when I get home. (thought must be getting old) Then other joints, shoulders, and knees stared hurting and lower back. Started thinking what has happen to me?! I am completely falling apart! That's how I found this web site. Now I wonder, snake venom sounds about right. I had started thinking I had been poisoned. Guess I'll make a DR appointment or move to an "old folks home". At least I won't have a stroke.......right?

I am a 48-year-old male that is still pretty active playing competitive soccer several times per week. I am in good health except that my BP was considered a little high back four years ago and was originally put on a diuretic which made me cramp up easily on the soccer field. I asked my doctor for something different and was changed over to Atenolol. I have been living with the Atenolol side effects for that time and finally had enough. I had recently moved and changed doctors. Now was a good time to complain about the restless nights that I attribute to Atenolol (insomnia is one side effect). My new doctor knowing that I am an athlete suggested Lisinopril.
Again, my research is after the fact and was really spurred by a trip back home and a chat with my brother who is 49 and was just recently put on Liprinopril too. He described some bazaar conditions that he believed were Lisinopril side effects. When researched, he was right. He experienced the blackness or tunnel vision and the feeling of passing out while at work. He felt that he couldn’t drive as the effects where hampering his ability to do so. He stopped taking the drug and started a regiment of fish oil with his other daily supplements. This was two months ago and he is doing great. He too is still an athlete and runs in Masters Track & Field.
For me, it was a little different. I started Lisinopril on a Friday as my Atenolol had just run out on Thursday. I asked the Pharmacist if there was an issue with starting Lisinopril after stopping Atenolol only one day apart. She said there were no issues. 5 days later, Wednesday, while at work I developed an incredible lower back pain on the left side. I began to have nausea and heavily salivate as if I was going to throw up. I ran to the bathroom where I sat on the toilet for a half hour rubbing my back & hip believing it was some intestinal issue or gas. To no avail… When I felt stabile enough, I left work only to sit in my car wondering if was going to be able to drive and if I could should I drive home or to the hospital. Well, I drove home and went to bed for a couple of hours before I felt well enough to function normally. It’s been two weeks and the dull lower back pain that feels similar to a back strain persists. I’ll be heading back to the doctor with this information and will start the fish oil with my daily supplementation program.
Thanks to this website because I was able to find at least five examples out of about the first twenty postings that matched my suspected side effects.

I came across this site purely by entering "swollen red foot and kidney pain" into my search engine, imagine my shock when up came a site listing kidney pain and lisinopril!! I have been taking lisinopril for about 7 months now and as I had no adverse side effects in the first week carried on popping my "little lifesaver" no questions asked. Over the last 3 months I have experienced kidney pain to the extent that I was beginning to think I would pass a kidney stone! dry persistent cough, sleeplessness which means I am up at all hours throughout the night and catnapping (when I can) during the day, nausea ,stomach pain and headache!! The swollen foot I don't think I can attribute to the lisinopril....but who knows? I appreciate that in medicine we use various "poisons" as cures and remedies for illness, but when I read of the side effects that so many people are experiencing and am able to see a definite link to the ones I am experiencing then I start to wonder ....the good thing is that this drug and I take 10mg daily has reduced my B.P to a rather good level.....but I have decided to stop taking it for a few days to see whether my symptoms stop and have made an appointment to discuss this treatment with my G.P as a matter of urgency!! Thanks...Jill xx Oh almost forgot to add the incessant itching as well!!

Oh, and when you take the blood tests make sure to look at the Creatinine. That number will help tell you about kidney function.

BE VERY VERY CAREFUL WHILE TAKING THIS MEDICINE. Get regular blood tests. I have Chron's disease. This is the drug I was supposed to have been taking to keep me in remission once I got there. (I took it while I was trying to get into remission as well- actually not into remission yet.) I landed in the hospital for what the "DR.s" say was "unrelated severe back/flank pain." Aside from it being the worst hospital experience I've ever had (they told me that nothing they could see was wrong and that the ER was only for life threatening conditions. ) After mixing up every conceivable test they possibly could, the ER dr came in with blood results and said well we have to keep you in the hospital because your KIDNEYS ARE SHUTTING DOWN. I was freaked because he made it sound like they were already almost gone. Luckily a nephrologist came to see me quickly and explained that it had lost 1/4 of its function but that she thought it could be fixed. After an exam and talking she determined it was the PENTASA that had done this. She said that I had to immediately stop taking it and that if that was the problem as she suspected my function would come back up to the reasonable range. It was the Pentasa and my function did come back. What was trying was that all the GI doctors and hospital doctors other than the nephrologist hadn't even thought about Pentasa as a possible problem because they say that "there is less than a 1% chance that Pentasa would shut down your kidney function." None of the doctors in their time had actually seen someone who it had happened to. If I hadn't landed in the hospital for back pain my kidneys would have shut down completely over time without me having a clue and the consequences of that are scary to think about. I'm just glad that I had at least one doctor that looked at the overall picture and examined the "less than 1% chances."

I am 49 and my bad acne started to return and I started getting a receeding hairline. My OB put me on Yaz. The hair has continued to reced at an alarming rate - so it did not help with that. I still am breaking out alot, but I have since discovered a device called the ZitZapper which works really well (I wish it had been invented 30 years ago when I was at my worst). My skin has dried out alot which I really like. It's still oily in comparison to other peoples, but at least my eyeliner is not melting in 4 hours like it used to. I have no experienced any of the moodiness others complain of.

But I have gotten a yeast infection every other month and I am very dry. And my sex drive has never been lower. In fact, I have no sensation in the exterior tissues; I cannot acheive an orgasm, which I have never had problems with at all. The drospirenone in Yaz is derived from a "water pill" that gives men erectile disfunction, so the lowered libido is not a surprise.

I have lost weight (about 5 lbs); the pill makes your appetite diminish, especially if you drink alot of water. My breasts seem fuller but are not sore. In general I like the effect it has has on my body.

The first week of every month, I feel very tired but this only lasts the first week.

The package insert fot YAZ is clear that you should get tested for Potassium levels your first month. Your kidneys cannot process the minerals and be trying to clear other substances. The itching all over that I was feeling and others complain of - this is limited kidney function. A blood test will confirm this.The first month I was on Yaz I could not eat any high potassium foods without feeling sick. I ate a can of tuna and was sick for 2 days. I had a weird metallic taste in my mouth for the first 6 weeks. I can pretty much eat anything now without feeling sick.

I take fish oil daily to thin the blood to try to stave off clots.

I am going to try something else though to try to stop the hair loss.

I just started taking Diovan 160mg 7 days ago and feel like crap. After doing research on the drug found that your PCP should test your kidney function prior to putting you on the medication, which mine didn't. Disturbing isn't it. We go to the doctors to get better and we get worse. I guess that goes to show only you can control your health. Ask questions make sure doctor is following protocol prior to starting and medication.

I have been taking some form of Lithium Carbonate since 1972. About one year ago after taking a routine blood test prescribed by my psychiatrist, I was told my creatine level was somewhat spiked. The psych referred me to a nephrologist. After examination by the nephrologist, I was told I had 50% less kidney function and he believed to be my long-time intake of lithium carbonate products. The nephrologist also informed me that I would not regain function and perhaps suffer further loss of kidney function which would require dialysis. My psych immediately took me off Lithium and I suffered the extreme side effects of replacement meds like Carbamabazine (generic Tegretol).

On June 4, 2007 my husband had achilles tendon surgery on his left leg. He will be in a cast until July 19th at which point it will be determined if he has to be cast again. He took Levaquin 750 mg for 10 days beginning April 10 - 19th. On the early morning of April 21st he was CONVINCED that someone was trying to break into our home, he called 911 TWICE and the police came to our home to find nothing. I forgot to mention that he was also taking 500mg of Lortab for the extreme pain in his legs. Just after the police left for the 2nd time he took 2 steps and fell, rupturing the left achilles and tearing the right. I took him to the emergenceny room and he was so dehydrated that his kidney function had pretty much subsided. After 2 more visits to the emergency room he was hospitalized with Kidney failure. After a different round of antibiotics and fluids he was released after 4 days in the hospital. During his stay the swelling is his legs was terrible and the pain with the ruputures and tears of tendons was unbearable. After a vist to a rheumatologist she immediately diagnosed his injuries as a result of taking Levaquin. So currently he has a cast on his left leg and a boot on his right in hopes the right will heal without surgery. His primary care physician apologized because he didn't know about this drug. Surely there is something that can be done.

I've been taking Triamtrn/HCTZ Tab 75-50 for HBP, approx 4 years. During that time I have had three occasions when my left ankle became so inflamed, swollen, and painful to touch that I could not walk. On the first two occasions this problem was diagnosis as Tendinitis. On the third occasions I have been told that the problem may be a form of gout that can be brought on by my medication. Is it true that Maxide and its generic will produce uric acid which could ultimately lead to developing gout.

i have been on pred for 3yrs. following surgery for retro peritoneal fibrosis. started at 30mg twice a day experienced over appetite, excess energy. weight gain after 2 1/2 yrs i had a full hip replacement, due to effects of prednisone. i am now on 05mg i should mention that the rpf caused renal failure. kidney function was reduced & pred was the only drug that stabilized my condition. would be interested in any help finding another drug in place of pred. i am 69 yrs. old & in fairly good health otherwise.