As scheduled, I went to both of my appointments on Tuesday with 1) My Nephrologist and 2) The Kidney Clinic. Here's what is happening...
My Nephrologist is pleased with my overall progress.
We also discussed the Amlodipine, and he agreed that getting rid of it would be for the best. He also agreed that the Kidney Clinic overseeing this change of meds was the best option as they are most familiar with my complete medical history.
One thing that I greatly appreciated on this visit was that the doctor wore a mask [this time], stating that he was feeling just a little off, and with my immune system lowered right now, he thought it best to be extra cautious around me.
My next visit will be in mid-March.
Next, I went to my appointment at the Kidney Clinic. After seeing my feet and lower legs, looking at my daily vitals and asking how I was doing, the two doctors [that saw me] readily stated that the Amolodipine had to go immediately. (YAY!!)
So, here's the new approach...
The rest of my current meds will stay the same expect for one thing: I will increase my Hydralazine from 50 mg AM, 50 Mg Afternoon and 75 mg PM, to 75 mg each of the three times per day that I usually take that med. That's it. Again, this is in hopes of having a sustained BP in the proper range. I will continue using the Clonidine booster should I need with BP over 140 systolic.
The current regimen will stay in place for three weeks, and then I'll have another appointment at the Kidney Clinic. Any changes will be made at that time.
In the meantime, I took yesterday (Thursday) to see if the edema in my legs would reduce on its own, which it did not. So, I took a 40 mg Lasix this morning in order to help get rid of the extra water buildup. By this afternoon, the edema was still quite evident, so I took one more Lasix.
I am hoping that I'll only need a few doses of the diuretic; but I will continue using it until my feet and legs look much better.
As far as my vitals since stopping the Amlodipine, they remain a bit high, but with the extra fluid that I'm carrying, this is really not a surprise. Once that edema has reduced, I'll have a better indicator of where my BP has settled. Of course, I will keep you apprised of my progress.
Next week I have my December Labs and Infusion of Belatacept. I will post those numbers probably Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning in an abbreviated post. Other than that, I will be going out of town post-Christmas, so my next full entry will not be until after January 7th.
May you have a safe Holiday Season!
I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!
ScottW
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