Activity resulting from blood tests

[BlackCat]

I'm hoping one of the folks here will be able to give me a clearer idea of how serious or not this incident is, all I know is that my father isn't telling me much 'to keep me from worrying', and frankly that just makes my imagination go into overdrive.

As a result of a new medication his specialist put him on (sorry don't know details) he had a reaction with high blood pressure and apparently some kidney function problem. They've been running lots of tests and earlier this week apparently when they were analysing the latest of the blood tests, there was something sufficiently abnormal that they rang him and told him to get to a hospital right away. Based on what he said I think it was a high potassium level. The hospital monitored him for the day/night, ran lots of tests and released him the next day saying he was alright (or so I was told), but with some warnings about eating/drinking fruit/veges.

Just how serious is it for that sort of reaction, or is it normal for labs/drs to be over cautious with any deviations?

[greek_jester]

First up, I am not a doctor, but my mum has kidney problems so I can help a bit on some points.

I am uncertain exactly how it ties together, but if my mum's blood pressure goes too high her kidney function drops (it could be that due to how poor her kidneys are they're over-sensitive, so this may not be the case in a healthy adult).

What I can tell you is that potassium is very important to the heart; it regulates your heartbeat. If your potassium levels go too high or too low you risk your heart stopping or having a heart attack. It is also linked to kidney function; if your kidneys aren't operating properly high/low potassium levels are a risk. My mum has ended up in hospital twice as her potassium level dropped so low they though she was about to have a heart attack. Cue the drip until it was up to less dangerous levels, then tubes of disgusting brown soluble pills to try to maintain the level.

I'm assuming your dad has been given a tailored list of foods. As every person is different there isn't really a "kidney friendly diet", they have to be personally tailored by the kidney nurse and regularly reviewed.

If your dad has been told to avoid high potassium foods, tell him to avoid Low Salt substitutes; they're usually potassium based and can cause damage if used to excess. Otherwise spend some time researching online. Again, it depends on how his potassium levels, blood pressure and kidney function are in relation to each other.

The main thing to avoid is panicking! If necessary, sit your dad down and tell him that only having shreds of the story is making you panic worse than having all the details; if you had all the details you can research what is happening and have a good idea of your options, rather than imagine worst-case scenarios that end up with a nicely fitting box.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Something else for him to avoid is chocolate. My mom's potassium tends to be on the low side because of her kidney issues, and her specialist told her to eat more chocolate because it's a good source of potassium.
Needless to say, she loves her specialist.

[greek_jester]

Something else for him to avoid is chocolate. My mom's potassium tends to be on the low side because of her kidney issues, and her specialist told her to eat more chocolate because it's a good source of potassium.
Needless to say, she loves her specialist.

Mum's diabetic, so her nurse was kind enough not to tell her this. Not that she'd have done it anyway; only my maternal nan and my younger sister have a sweet tooth. The rest of us would rather munch on nuts or Twiglets.

[BlackCat]

thank you both. greek jester that does fit in nicely with the bits I do know. Much appreciated.

[Sapphire Silk]

This sounds backwards actually. It sounds more like a low potassium if it's a blood pressure medication. Thiazide and loop diuretics are potassium wasting.

Telling your dad to eat more fruits (especially bananas) means a replacement for potassum.

What medication is he actually on?

[BlackCat]

I don't know exactly what he's on (he just calls them grumpy pills), although I believe the one in question was a blood thinner (he had a stent put in several years ago and was put on a few pills as a result - the specialist has him visit for yearly reviews). His blood pressure was perfect before the new med, but went very high as a reaction (180/130 I think he said). And when they ran tests as a result of that reaction turned up the kidney function problem (so it's possibly all related to this new med)

He has spoken several times in the past about one of his specialists warning him to not eat anything high in potassium, and specifically after the hospital visit this week that they had told him to avoid even fruit juices as they can also be high in potassium.

He also has type2 diabeties but as far as I'm aware that wasn't related to this drama.

[Seshat]

Okay: anything we can tell you is guesswork.

Since you're an Aussie, our medical culture can be assumed to hold. He'd have been held out of caution: ie, there probably was a risk, but since they didn't say 'call your family in', it probably wasn't serious 'ohmygodhe'sgoingtodie' one.


But you really should tell your father how you feel, and that not telling you things 'so as not to worry you' is just making you worry more. Heck, tell him you were so worried you told random internet people about this and asked them how serious it was.

[greek_jester]

But you really should tell your father how you feel, and that not telling you things 'so as not to worry you' is just making you worry more. Heck, tell him you were so worried you told random internet people about this and asked them how serious it was.

This, seconded and thirded. One of the reason I like really old horror films is their budgets were low so the monster was usually off-screen; your imagination fills in something far scarier than their special effects could ever manage.

By not telling you anything, your father is allowing your imagination run riot and fill in worst case scenarios with all that entails.

[Sapphire Silk]

I don't know exactly what he's on (he just calls them grumpy pills), although I believe the one in question was a blood thinner (he had a stent put in several years ago and was put on a few pills as a result - the specialist has him visit for yearly reviews). His blood pressure was perfect before the new med, but went very high as a reaction (180/130 I think he said). And when they ran tests as a result of that reaction turned up the kidney function problem (so it's possibly all related to this new med)

He has spoken several times in the past about one of his specialists warning him to not eat anything high in potassium, and specifically after the hospital visit this week that they had told him to avoid even fruit juices as they can also be high in potassium.

He also has type2 diabeties but as far as I'm aware that wasn't related to this drama.

Well, it's hard to say for sure, but my best guess is Ticlid (ticlopidine). Since your dad has a stent, he would be on an anti platelet aggregate inhibitor. Ticlid is known to be used with caution in people with known renal impairment. If your dad had an undiagnosed kidney problem, this could be the issue. Patients with kidney failure can have problems with high potassium.

Is he on dialysis?

[BlackCat]

Patients with kidney failure can have problems with high potassium.

Is he on dialysis?

Spot on Sapphire Silk, I've learnt a fair bit more in the last couple of days (pity about why he's opened up, but I'll post that elsewhere). He has stage 4 kidney failure, not on dialysis yet but apparently the specialists are saying it's probably going to happen in a few years time.
The multiple tests they were doing were as a result of another medication one of the specialists put him on (for another unrelated health issue), which is apparently known to sometimes cause kidney damage, and his GP being unhappy about dad taking it. Test results said kidney function dropped, and potassium was up, and so the hospital visit.

Thank you all for your help and information.

[greek_jester]

Thank you all for your help and information.

You're welcome. Good luck to your dad.

[Kittish]

But you really should tell your father how you feel, and that not telling you things 'so as not to worry you' is just making you worry more. Heck, tell him you were so worried you told random internet people about this and asked them how serious it was.

Thirded (or fourthed or fifthed). The whole "I won't/didn't tell you because I don't want to worry you" just leads to even MORE worry than simply telling in the first place.

Best wishes to him and you and all of your family.