Kidney killer medical errors and how to avoid them
Mistakes made by healthcare professionals are now twice
as likely to kill you than kidney disease.
If you want to avoid them, you need to know them.
This is especially important if you are suffering from
chronic kidney disease.
Sources of the studies
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4415096/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4571161/
https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2019192094
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/study_suggests_medical_errors_now_third_leading_cause_of_death_in_the_us
http://www.gwlr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/79-1-Weiss.pdf
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2623607Mistakes made by healthcare professionals are now twice as likely to kill you than kidney disease.
If you want to avoid them, you need to know them.
This is especially important if you are suffering from chronic kidney disease.
Hello, this is Katherine, welcome to 00Kidney.
I’ve made many videos about the hidden causes of kidney disease, it’s a really important topic.
But there’s 1 thing in the medical world that’s killing EVEN. MORE. PATIENTS. THAN KIDNEY DISEASE ITSELF.
Mistakes made by Healthcare providers are now killing more than 250,000 people per year just in the US.
It’s frightening. And people are losing their faith in doctors.
Today, medical errors are the third leading cause of death, accounting for 10 percent of all the deaths in the US.
And nobody ever talks about this. In fact, these deaths are often hidden or attributed to other factors.
And the worst part is that people suffering from chronic kidney disease are those more at risk.
Because it’s easy to take care of your kidneys when they’re healthy, you know?
You just need to avoid eating too much junk food and to maintain a couple of good habits.
But when you have kidney disease … it’s different.
Many medical procedures are going to be both dangerous AND unavoidable, now.
And even when you’re doing your best to improve your kidney health, dangerous mistakes can hide everywhere.
So, let’s see what the top 5 worst medical dangers in the world are and,
Most importantly, how to avoid them.
Because there’s only one thing that can help you, and it is knowledge.
So, the main focus of today’s video is going to be the knowledge you need to avoid being victim of a medical error.
The aim of this video is to help you become an empowered patient, the best advocate of your own health.
Here’s what you need to know:
Hidden danger number 5:
Overprescription
Overprescription of drugs is one of the biggest dangers of modern medicine.
in some cases, it begins when adverse drug reaction is misinterpreted as a new medical condition, OK?
Another drug is then prescribed, and this puts the patient at risk of developing additional adverse effects.
Yes, this can definitely put your kidneys at risk.
Taking too many different medications, or a dosage that’s too high can lead to very serious complications.
An increased risk of side effects, drug interactions and symptoms that are hard to explain.
But also kidney damage because, remember, any pill that you take is going to take a trip trough your kidneys.
.
Now, many patients are starting to think that their doctors may be over prescribing
NOT JUST BY MISTAKE… BUT ALSO BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE AN INTEREST.
And this is even worse.
I mean, it’s no news that pharmaceutical companies employ whole sales teams to have doctors sell, and yes, you heard this right, sell their products to patients.
Because doctors are cooperating with the pharmaceutical industry.
Again, this is not news.
But did you know that
Pharmaceutical companies spend an average of more than $20,000 annually,
per single physician, on marketing efforts?
This is what a study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows.
You can see my sources both here in the slide and down in video description.
Now the problem is that people start to wonder if the health of the patient is the first concern anymore.
Because there are huge sums of money at stake here,
And this is especially noticeable with some doctors.
How can you tell if your doctor is one of them?
He may become especially pushy when it comes to prescribing brand-name drugs.
And maybe doesn’t want to give explanations even if you ask for them.
Let me know in comment section if this happened to you.
This could be a way for everyone to understand this problem better.
By the way there’s a thing called medical detailing, it’s a marketing technique and the most common cause of this behavior.
Pharmaceutical companies call this “educating” doctors about a vendor’s products, ok?
but what they actually hope is that the physician will prescribe the company’s products more often.
And yes, Pharmaceutical companies are spending huge sums to “educate” doctors.
This marketing technique is not illegal because doctors need to be informed on the pills they’re prescribing, right?
But obviously, the main goal of these pharmaceutical companies is to get your doctor to prescribe you more pills.
Now, the best way to protect yourself from this is being aware of the danger.
Patients should know everything they’re taking and why, in my opinion.
They should be aware of the active compounds and how they work, the dosages, side effects and interactions.
I’ve talked about this in my video titled kidney killer pills
The title may sound scary but it’s a great way to get informed.
You can watch it or save it for later if you want to know more.
But, and this is important, I’m not saying that you should stop taking the pills your doctor gave you, ok?
That’s even more dangerous.
Let’s see why.
Number 4 not having a doctor you can trust
If you don’t like or don’t trust your doctor, well you’re not alone.
The proportion of Americans who “had great confidence in medical leaders” has dropped from more than 75% in 1966 to just 34% today.
According to a recent statistic.
And in other parts of the world things can be better, but not by much.
The worst part here is that kidney disease patients are the ones getting the worst outcome from this trend.
.
Let me explain with an example.
.
Hypertension is the second leading cause of kidney disease, as you may already know.
Hypertension is easy for many patients to ignore, because it has no symptoms in most of the cases.
but once the damage to the kidneys becomes apparent, patients want to get on track.
This is perfectly normal.
So, they get prescribed blood pressure medications and do whatever it takes to keep their blood pressure down.
Which is good.
But much to their dismay, their kidney function doesn’t get better, it actually gets worse.
Yes, this can happen, I’ll tell you why in a moment.
Problems start when the patient doesn’t trust their doctor and stops the blood pressure medication.
Because now their kidney function gets better, so in their mind clearly the drugs were the problem.
And since their fatigue seems worse with a beta blocker, who can blame them?
Now, giving up blood pressure medications is the worst thing a kidney disease patient can do.
Because, you know, the kidney is like a sponge.
As the kidneys filter the blood across a pressure gradient, so the more internal tension there is in the kidney, the more it will filter the blood.
Just like a sponge, the tighter one squeezes a sponge, the more liquid they get.
Liquid here is the perfect metaphor for GFR or kidney function.
When the kidneys are weak and not filtering the blood well, the blood pressure goes up.
This helps the kidneys filter out the waste products.
So, if you have higher blood pressure, your GFR will be higher.
And this may seem a good thing, but actually you’re just putting more pressure on your kidneys.
Like squeezing a sponge.
And like a sponge that is squeezed too vigorously and becomes worn out, the extra wear and tear of uncontrolled blood pressure will make the situation worse in the long term, even if it temporarily makes the kidney function look better.
As bad as this already is, it can lead to even more dangerous consequences.
Hidden medical danger
Number 3
medical tests
Now your doctor doesn’t know why your levels keep bouncing up and down, and starts ordering you tests.
Medical tests are not something you should be afraid of, actually, but there’s a hidden danger here.
I have seen too many people, too many patients that were on stage three of chronic kidney disease and they have been pushed to Stage five because they took a contrast during a test.
And, I know, their doctors should have known better.
But it still happens. So you, the patient, should learn what tests are dangerous for you.
Now, what I’m talking about are scans with intravenous contrast, angiograms, like a cardiac angiogram when they inject dyes into your vein in your hand or arm and MRIs.
Yes, these Tests Are very Dangerous for Your Kidneys.
And yes, the doctors prescribing a test like these should be aware if the patient has kidney problems.
Now, these tests are routinely used, they are being done every day on millions of people, because they provide information that can be helpful for a correct diagnosis.
The problem with these dyes is that they can both lead to kidney problems and cause problems in patients with kidney disease.
So, especially if you have kidney problems, talk to the doctor ordering the diagnostic test and make sure they know about your GFR and creatinine numbers, so they can lower the quantity of contrast or make you avoid the test altogether.
So what should you do if you have kidney disease and your doctor prescribes you a CT scan, and Angiogram or an MRI?
Know your GFR and if you have CKD. Telling your doctor what your GFR and creatinine numbers are will help him understanding if the test can be dangerous for you.
This way they can take due precautions, which includes hydration.
Water can help detoxifying your kidneys from the dangerous substances present in the contrast.
We are talking about plenty of water here, a gallon of water the day you do the test, another gallon when you have done the test.
The sooner you flush out the substances the better.
So avoid these tests as much as you can but if you can’t, talk to your healthcare provider and take precautions, alright?
Now, these tests can be dangerous for a kidney patient, but ignoring the problem is even worse.
Let’s see why.
Hidden danger number 2,
not getting checked
I see a lot of people especially here on Youtube being obsessed with the symptoms of kidney disease.
They’re really concerned with the bubble in their urines and the back pain they’re having.
It’s kidney pain? It’s a problem with my kidneys?
Can this metal taste in my mouth be a symptom of kidney disease?
Now, what I always tell people here is, if you have any doubt, get checked.
Especially if we’re talking about kidney health, waiting for the symptoms to show up before scheduling an appointment with the doctor can be extremely dangerous.
Kidney disease is called the silent killer for a good reason.
The kidneys are a redundant system, meaning that they can get their job done even with just 40 or 50% of their capability of filtering the blood.
But, if kidney function went down to 40% without you noticing it means that there’s a very serious underlying problem causing damage.
And this also means that this condition can eventually lead to kidney failure, dialysis or even death.
Yes, there are people out there with seriously compromised kidneys that don’t even know they have a problem.
Now, time for our number 1.
Ok, maybe you have noticed that I’ve talked about both the MISTAKES made by patients and by doctors.
Because they can be both really dangerous.
And there’s only one thing you can do to protect yourself from this danger.
you should avoid
Number 1
not being informed
there’s always more to learn about your health, and if you spend time doing this you will have the best chance possible of repairing your kidneys.
I may have said this a million times and… will keep saying it.
And today I also want to give you my very personal opinion on how to use this knowledge at your advantage.
How to transform watching my videos and getting informed into an actual benefit for your kidney health and your wellbeing.
First of all, ask the right questions when you’re talking with your health-care provider.
In today’s video I’ve raised many concerns, many things a kidney disease patient should be aware of.
Use social media, youtube, facebook, do your best to learn more about your own condition,
as well as those medications and procedures for which they were prescribed.
Then talk about them with your doctor.
Ask questions. Gain as much insight as you can from your health-care provider. Ask about the benefits, side effects and disadvantages of a recommended medication or procedure.
And if you’re not happy with what you hear, Seek a second opinion.
If the situation warrants or if uncertainties exist, get a second opinion from another doctor.
A good doctor will welcome confirmation of his diagnosis and resist any efforts to discourage the patient from learning more, ok?
This will also give you some leverage, some power in a relationship where the power is all in the hands of the doctor.
And if this is not enough, bring along a family member or a friend to your appointment.
Because sometimes it’s hard to process all the information by yourself.
So, having someone with you who can understand the information and suggestions given and ask questions would be a game changer.
And maybe download an app. There are several apps you can use to track your lab values and medications, and they can be a serious tool to avoid medical errors.
Health-care apps can be simple or complex, and since I’ve never talked about them, let me know if you want me to make a comparison or a video review.
Let me know in comment section.
Now, another thing that can help you understand better is the program to beat kidney disease.
It has been developed by an Australian doctor and is a great way not just to understand your health better but also to repair your kidneys.
I read comments here every day of people that used this exact program to improve their kidney function dramatically.
If you’re interested, click here for more info.
This is all for today, I hope you enjoyed this video and thank you for watching.
See you next Tuesday! Bye!
About the Author
Michaelw Hi, my name is Michael and in this blog I'm gonna share the story of how I got off kidney dialysis for good. Getting off dialysis isn't easy at all, and that's why I'm trying to help people as much as I can.
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