Educating a specialist? Right on!!!!!
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Educating a specialist? Right on!!!!!
| Fri, 05-14-2004 - 12:20am |
I recently had an appointment with a nephrologist (kidney specialist) that I was referred to by my former Dr. because she told me that I had microalbumin in my urine. That meant that my kidneys were not filtering the protein efficiently, and in the long run it could cause significant damage to my kidneys. I was also told that it was probably not diet related, but that didn't make much sense to me because all of a sudden, protein is showing up in my urine, but only after I increased my dietary intake of protein. So, in the back of my mind, I was worried that when I went to see this nephrologist, she would be anti-Atkins, but that didn't stop me from doing Atkins. My primary medical concern that my Dr. was treating was hypertension, which is unusual for a girl my age (25), but I did not respect my Dr. much for wanting to just keep increasing my medications for hypertension instead of getting to the bottom of WHY I had hypertension.
Anyway, when I saw this nephrologist, she was actually very impressed when I told her I had lost 60 pounds on Atkins. And the most interesting thing was that I was the one teaching this specialist about the diet!! She wanted to know more, and was quite intrigued. After she examined me, she told me that she doubts that I have primary kidney disease, and that the hypertension is something she wants to investigate a little further, since it is unusual for a person my age to have high blood pressure. So she told me to monitor my BP over the next 6 weeks, and I'm going back to see her again. She also took me OFF one of my BP meds (Altace) because she doesn't think it's doing anything to help my BP. I'm still taking hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic. I was most impressed when she gave me encouragement and congratulations for becoming healthier and taking measures to correct my hypertension. I have been waiting for that for a while, since my former family physician never said I was doing better, even though my BP went down a LOT since I've lost 60 pounds...she just kept telling me it still wasn't low enough for someone my age, and upping my BP meds. I have little respect for doctors who just want to medicate you and send you away without getting to the bottom of WHY you have this problem!!
My theory about the reason I'm having this issue with protein in my urine is this: Perhaps there was always an underlying flaw in my kidneys, but it was never evident because I never ate a lot of protein before I was on Atkins. Only after I incorporate a lot more protein in my diet did this show up, so that could have just exacerbated the problem with my kidneys. And that could be the real reason why I have high blood pressure, because one job of the kidneys is to regulate BP. I mentioned this to the nephrologist, and she said that is possible. So really, the fact that I'm on Atkins may have helped me uncover the mystery of why I have hypertension!! That is yet another blessing of being an Atkid!! ~Sabrina 264/204/160-165 Atkid since July 17/03
Anyway, when I saw this nephrologist, she was actually very impressed when I told her I had lost 60 pounds on Atkins. And the most interesting thing was that I was the one teaching this specialist about the diet!! She wanted to know more, and was quite intrigued. After she examined me, she told me that she doubts that I have primary kidney disease, and that the hypertension is something she wants to investigate a little further, since it is unusual for a person my age to have high blood pressure. So she told me to monitor my BP over the next 6 weeks, and I'm going back to see her again. She also took me OFF one of my BP meds (Altace) because she doesn't think it's doing anything to help my BP. I'm still taking hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic. I was most impressed when she gave me encouragement and congratulations for becoming healthier and taking measures to correct my hypertension. I have been waiting for that for a while, since my former family physician never said I was doing better, even though my BP went down a LOT since I've lost 60 pounds...she just kept telling me it still wasn't low enough for someone my age, and upping my BP meds. I have little respect for doctors who just want to medicate you and send you away without getting to the bottom of WHY you have this problem!!
My theory about the reason I'm having this issue with protein in my urine is this: Perhaps there was always an underlying flaw in my kidneys, but it was never evident because I never ate a lot of protein before I was on Atkins. Only after I incorporate a lot more protein in my diet did this show up, so that could have just exacerbated the problem with my kidneys. And that could be the real reason why I have high blood pressure, because one job of the kidneys is to regulate BP. I mentioned this to the nephrologist, and she said that is possible. So really, the fact that I'm on Atkins may have helped me uncover the mystery of why I have hypertension!! That is yet another blessing of being an Atkid!! ~Sabrina 264/204/160-165 Atkid since July 17/03

Sarah
Sarah