Medications and the kidneys
Medications can affect your kidneys. Key takeaway points are:
In those with chronic kidney disease, medications can build up in the system. This is especially the case when kidney function is less than 30% (ie 30mL/min/1.73m2).
Medications can cause acute kidney injury. This includes drugs that you can buy in supermarkets like ibuprofen (Nurofen)
Even if some medications do not affect the kidney function, they can affect how efficient the kidneys are at handling electrolytes
Please make sure your doctor is aware of your whole medical history and current medications before changes are made. Medications tend to change a lot especially if there are many doctors involved in your care. Some of my excellent patients carry a folder (or on their phone) which include their medical conditions, dates of surgeries, an up to date medication list, specialist letters and their test results. This is very useful to have on your person so that we can double check everything is right.
Watch the video below for more details on medication errors I see:
