Q:
My father is 63 and has Diabetes that is controlled with insulin, mixed out on 4 blood pressure medicines to control blood pressure. Now, he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Failure. His BUN is 55, creatinine is 3.6 and GFR is 23. Nephrologist says my father needs to prepare for dialysis, and what is your opinion?
A:
Your father still has chance to avoid dialysis according to present medical technology, if he receives medical treatment immediately. Stage 4 kidney failure actually refers to stage 4
Chronic Kidney Disease and from what you say, we know your father is suffering insulin injection and high blood pressure. Both high blood pressure and high blood sugar are the risky factors for accelerating kidney disease, so it is great that your father is trying to controlling them.
Dialysis usually is adopted when GFR is lowered than 15, but unfortunately for
Diabetic Nephropathy patients, they need to start earlier because of their persistent high blood sugar. Your father's GFR as of now is 23, and without treatment, he will definitely need dialysis. For an individual with early stage Diabetic Nephropathy, he can live the rest of his life without being affected by kidney problem if he gets his illness controlled. But for your father, it is far from enough if he just gets his disease controlled. Your father's disease has developed to a relatively serious condition, and he may suffer so many fatal complications like strode at any time. To live a better future life, it is better and necessary for repair kidney damages and then increase kidney function.
In old times, there is no effective treatment for kidney disease and in many cases, what stage 4
Kidney Failure patients can do is to wait for dialysis or kidney transplant. But currently, with the rapid development of medical technology, new treatment has been developed to help kidney disease patients. Therefore, to help your father live a better life, I suggest your father to try some new medical treatments.
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