Neil and Bety

[patti]

Hi Neil and Bety,

I was following your posting regarding your husband’s RARS and I wanted to hone in on something Neil said because we just found out about this for my MIL.

Neil, you mentioned you weren’t sure how iron overload affects an 83yr old and we just found out. My MIL is 76 and we just found out that iron has deposited on her kidneys and liver and the functions (especially her kidneys) are being severly compromised. She has to take a kidney supplement (it works similar to lasix but isn’t a drug) just to keep the fluid from building up. If she doesn’t take it, by nighttime she’s nearly drowning in her own fluid.

So I guess my thought on this, Bety, is first to consider how much treatment your husband wants. If he wants to fight this thing tooth and nail then you’ll want to stay on top of his ferritin when it hits 1000. Mom’s is at 3018 and we are just doing the paperwork for Exjade now. I wish we had known a year ago what we know now, but that happens. Our doc said that children and older folks (over 70) are effected by the iron worse.

All the best,

patti

[bety]

Hi Patti,
I appreciate your input regarding iron overload. I will check on husb’s ferritin level when I see our hemo next week. As of last month, his liver and kidney function test results were within range. I understand that for aranesp to work well, an iron supplement is generally recommended. Unfortunately, the aranesp does not seem to be effective even with the iron supplement. Almost a catch 22. All the best, bety

[patti]

Bety,

Unfortunately, I’m not sure how accurate the blood tests are for liver and kidney function. Mom’s both test out fine but she is obviously having problems with fluid (which is kidneys) and other issues that indicate liver. I figured it out by talking with Marla (lots) and asking the doctor lots of questions about iron, fluid, etc. I kind of had to play Sherlock to figure this one out. I think part of the purpose of a forum like this is to pass on info we learn and so you get to learn easier then we did with this one.

Patti

[shirlsgirl]

Hi guys,

Found a great site listing info on fluid retention.

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcArticles.nsf/pages/Fluid_retention?OpenDocument

Heart failure and chronic lung diseases are also conditions that can cause edema. If kidney and liver function are okay, perhaps these other conditions should be considered. The lab tests that test for kidney function (creatinine,urea, creatinine clearance) and those that test for liver (enzymes – AST, ALT, ALP etc..) are all accurate tests and excellent indicators for kidney and liver health.

Hope this helps,

Jody

[Author]

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