Lost faith completely now .....

Oh Lucky I am so sorry. That text really is outrageous. I've been following your story.

You need a complete and thorough review of all your conditions and drugs and the links between them. Obviously you already know this, and I do hope you can get it. I've discovered with my own recent new health problems that you have to be extremely assertive even when it doesn't come naturally, and if you get nowhere, then to look at paying for a private overhaul. I have borrowed money and also sold some jewellery to pay for an echocardiogram which my GP denied me "because the NHS service is overwhelmed" , plus a follow-up consultation with a private cardiologist who told me I could have had a stroke before Xmas. Now I am back in the NHS system for the necessary drugs.

Without our health, we have nothing. My adult children are both going through challenging times and need me around for a few more years.

Wishing you all the very best

Sparklefizz I am so sorry to hear about your problems and hope things are moving in the right direction now.

I am happy to use my savings to pay to see someone who can take a proper overview of the whole situation .... but who and where to find them?!

Luckygirl3, I'm sorry to hear that but please don't despair. My husband is a Type2 diabetic and had been on Metformin for years with regular blood tests etc. Then one day he came home following a routine diabetic appt and said he had CKD, the nurse had told him! He was beside himself and didn't understand what was going on. We made another appt and saw a Nurse Practitioner who was frankly horrible. She called up her computer screen and waved her hand at a graph that was decreasing rapidly and said it had been declining for years! I said I think the drug my husband is on is not helping and can cause a decline in kidney function. She said no, it doesn't. I said it does, read the patient information leaflet! We left, sought a second opinion and were told that as we age, everyone's kidney function declines and you usually end up dying of something else. Two days later the GP rang and told my husband to stop the Metformin immediately. (I had complained to the Practice Manager about the attitude of the nurse). The next blood and urine tests showed a marked improvement in kidney function and lo and behold his blood sugars were normal without the Metformin. This long saga is to illustrate that we take the drugs issues to us but sometimes they cause damage. Please check all your prescriptions and perhaps ask to be referred to a renal specialist.

Sorry, I meant issued.

usa can not put medical issues in emails
no records of any kind

I had tests many years ago following a medical which raised concerns about my kidneys but was told there was nothing to worry about. About 15 years ago I changed medical practices and was told I was to have 6 monthly blood tests. I just assumed it was part of their usual regime. When I mentioned it casually to thr practice nurse she said "oh no, you have chronic kidney disease and we have to monitor it as you are on medication for osteoarthritis". You could have knocked me over with a feather! I was concerned as my lovely Mum died of kidney failure and was on medication for osteoarthritis ( amongst other conditions) for many years. I have been assured that as I am monitored regularly (my Mum wasn't) I shouldn't worry so I don't.

Thanks buffyfly9 ... I am glad to hear things have improved for your OH. I am fed up with having to be assertive and pushing for proper treatment. It is beginning to get me down now. I need a medic who will take a proper overview of all of it and think about interactions et. I wish ....

I have no words other than those that aren’t printable but just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you.
This is for the whole F#@£&*g system 🥊

Luckygirl I'm more concerned that you seem to be blaming your meds for all sorts of side effects, which could be caused by your general condition. Medics aren't all numpties and will have prescribed various drugs, knowing that on balance the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Your GP probably has an attached clinical pharmacist. You could ask for an appointment and go through all your meds.

Kidney function does decline with age, but one of the risk factors is high blood pressure, which is presumably why Ramipril has been prescribed. However, there are a number of alternative drugs available for high blood pressure and it's quite simple to switch. Incidentally, Ramipril can protect kidneys.

luckygirl please do not panic it sounds worse than it may be. My DH could slip in and out of this stage simply by the amount of water he drunk prior to the test. If her drank enough it was ok if not then this recording of CKD was given. I know a few doctors who think the naming of results as chronic kidney disease is all wrong. It frightens people unnecessarily.
Please try and get to talk to a GP about what it actually means because the wording is totally misleading making you think you’re in a worse state than you are.

Lucky. I’ve been stage 3 chronic kidney disease since my early 40’s, 35 years ago. I’m fine. Don’t worry

Please make sure that every test is completed for your kidneys including one that tests whether there is protein in your urine. They said I had CKD at Stage 1 and it turned out that my normal kidney function was lower than the norm but that they were working perfectly well. If you can get them tested privately or from a kidney specialist hospital, please do. Our kidney function can vary after different events and illnesses.

About 10 years ago, I was told I had kidney disease at a low level and was told I would be called in for tests every year. Come about year 4, I wasn't called in and in Year 5 I queried the check. Whoever was on the phone, presumably looked at my notes, and just said, your test results are OK so the monitoring has stopped. They clearly saw no reason to inform me of this.

Still, on a cheerful note, I had a carpal tunnel surgery today, privately, and the nurse looked at my notes and said, 'Ah, yes, it was misdiagnosed as a stroke. One tiny step to getting the local NHS hospital to record this on their system so that the cost of my travel and car insurance are reduced. I now need to talk to my GP about coming off the plethora of drugs I was put on when the (mis) diagnosis was made.

Kidney function does decline with age, but one of the risk factors is high blood pressure, which is presumably why Ramipril has been prescribed. However, there are a number of alternative drugs available for high blood pressure and it's quite simple to switch. Incidentally, Ramipril can protect kidneys.

The ramipril was prescribed for me routinely following a cardiac artery stent in spite of the fact that I was known to have a problem with LOW blood pressure, which I had been asked to monitor as it was causing so many problems.

I queried the use of Ramipril and was told it was to relax the arteries and help the stent. Fine - I obeyed and took it. Then discovered that my kidney test result meant that it was contraindicated and something else should have been used.

I do not think they are numpties - but I do think that something very fundamental in medicine has been lost and that is joined up thinking and communication. Oh - and caring about the patient. This is why GPs in particular are burnt out - they are not able to do a proper job, there is no room to care for the patient as they might wish. I have never seen the same GP twice in 4 years with my practice and a succession of medical problems. No-one there is taking an overview - they can't because they are unable to get to know any patients and to be aware of their history and social circumstances - these are the things that my GP OH knew and that informed his practise. It is a sad state of affairs.

Over the last year, my surgery has had 4 successive young Nigerian doctors who have left after a few months - this is not a racist comment, but an observation. Each struggled dreadfully in this rural setting where they were not able to make themselves understood and they in turn could not understand the social context of isolated farming communities. They had a rough time, as did the patients. I felt very sorry for them. In addition over the last 2 years there have been 4 more GPs who have come and gone. Patients do not get to trust a particular doctor, and doctors cannot get to know their patients. Under these circumstances poor communication thrives and important information slips through the net.

I am not particularly worried about the kidney test result. Hopefully I will be taken off the Ramipril and something more suitable will be sorted - and I am not in the first flush of youth so do not expect my kidneys, along with the rest of my body, to be functioning as it once was - and I have no other symptoms of kidney failure. But I do not want to nudge it into further deterioration with the wrong medication.

My biggest concerns about the text message were that important information was conveyed in such an inappropriate manner and that the message indicated that my kidneys could fail - not a great piece of sensitive communication I feel.

I worked in the health service for decades and watch my OH dedicating himself to his surgery - I feel sad about the important things that have been lost.

Disgraceful way to impart such information, something is drastically wrong when serious health news is forwarded via email/text. I do hope you're able to get some sort of resolution. My late DH and I always grumbled about different consultants for different problems never getting together to discuss a patient and their meds. as a whole.
In a similar vein I found out recently when looking at 'results' on my surgery's website that I have an almost 20pc chance of a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 yrs - nobody thought to mention this to me!

My Mum has had this for years. It goes up when they change her meds, it goes down when she doesn't look after her diabetes.

Don't worry about the way the NHS is doing things. Keir Starmer is going to fix it all! He's been on tv this morning telling us.

I too have chronic kidney disease, but it is managed by drinking loads and loads of water. My surgery over the last few years has been rubbish at monitoring it, but just recently has improved and I am due to have a blood test next week. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞

Goodness me - you should never have been given information in this way! I’m also sorry about the stress this must have caused you.

Like you, I deplore the state the NHS is in and, quite frankly, am becoming very concerned about the path it seems to be being forced down.

knspol

Disgraceful way to impart such information, something is drastically wrong when serious health news is forwarded via email/text. I do hope you're able to get some sort of resolution. My late DH and I always grumbled about different consultants for different problems never getting together to discuss a patient and their meds. as a whole.
In a similar vein I found out recently when looking at 'results' on my surgery's website that I have an almost 20pc chance of a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 yrs - nobody thought to mention this to me!

Didn't anyone say that you have an almost 80% chance of not having a heart attack or a stroke?

Luckygirl Are you still being seen by the cardiac team at the hospital? My experience was that the GP was hopeless. She just didn't have the expertise to deal with heart problems - the nurses were even worse. They come out with things when they really don't have the specialist knowledge. At times, the hospital even had to "nudge" the GP to take action.

I would be worried about not being deemed fit enough to do the exercise part of the cardiac rehab. It would seem that the cardiologists are concerned about something. If your heart attack wasn't treated within about 90 minutes, it's likely there was some damage to the heart (was told that by the doctors at Papworth when I had my own stent after a heart attack). So you've got a history of AF, a leaky valve and had a heart attack - it's absolutely no wonder you're feeling weaker than in the past.

You need to get your strength back and that's not going to happen if you can't exercise, which is why I would be worried about not taking part in the cardiac rehab exercises. The exercises are very gentle, so if you can't do those, you shouldn't be doing anything more strenuous. Your blood pressure and heart rate would be monitored throughout. Drugs are a quick fix way of mitigating some of the problems, but long-term the solution is life style, but that's not going to happen if you're constantly stressed out and can't exercise.

You need to get an appointment with a clinical pharmacist (at your surgery). Explain clearly what's going on and the pharmacist should refer you to a doctor. Hopefully, you are still being treated by the hospital because you clearly do have some heart problems. Try contacting them and explain everything - they'll know far more about your condition than anybody on GN does.

Im sorry you had to hear this way. It can come as quite a shock and nothing can prepare you for it. I imagine you feel quite angry and distressed. I did myself.

Earlier this year I was reading my medical notes and I have been diagnosed with an advanced form of liver desease - fibrosis stage 4. That means cyrosis which is incurable and my liver is not going to recover. It seems my immune system is attacking my liver and the prognosis is 1-2 years.

Its treatable but not curable. Unfortunately the treatment produces such horrible side effects (stomach pain, weakness, depression, headaches) that I have abandoned them.

I passed my 80s birthday last month so I reckon Ive had enough and am now doing what is known as "putting my affairs in order".

Luckygirl I’m not in the UK, but in Ireland in your situation, when you need a medic to take an overview of all your conditions and treat you accordingly, you may be able to attend a Consultant General physician privately. Could you go online and see if one such as this practices in your area?

Luckygirl I completely agree with everything you have said. I worked in the NHS all my working life, and could cry at how it has declined over the last few years. I find there is definitely a different, and less caring attitude apparent when dealing with many health professionals.

The elderly, and we will all get old (if lucky) are portrayed politically, as a huge burden on society, and I am afraid that we, unless rich, have been turned into 3rd class citizens.

I received a similar text as you from my surgery. This is how they communicate now it seems, and it is quite disgraceful and disrespectful.

One of my late husband’s niece’s. who is a GP, mentioned to us 10-12 years ago that the NHS was in a mess