Medication to Prevent Renal Failure

Though diet and dialysis are the main treatment options for renal failure, medication is also sometimes used to treat and prevent symptoms associated with the condition. When your kidneys fail, your body is unable to remove waste from the bloodstream. Renal failure is a dangerous condition that requires hospitalization, but with the proper treatment the acute form is reversible. However, in most cases, dialysis will be needed in conjunction with medication to reverse renal failure.

Underlying Condition

• Renal failure can result from many different causes. In some cases, the cause may be treatable with antibiotics such inflammation of the kidneys or another infection. Antibiotics will likely be administered while you are hospitalized and will probably be used in conjunction with dialysis. If the kidney is allowed to fail completely, a transplant will be necessary, so if the underlying cause is treatable, you could save your kidney by using antibiotics.

Other Medications

• While you are being treated for renal failure, your doctor may prescribe various medications to maintain the levels of electrolytes and other substances in your blood. Medications such as Caltrate and Renagel are used to lower the levels of phosphorous in the blood while Aranesp may be needed to increase your production of red blood cells. Since red blood cell count drops during renal failure, iron supplements may also be needed.

Diuretics

• When the kidneys fail, your body will have trouble ridding itself of excess fluid. If there is an accumulation of fluid, your doctor may prescribe a diuretic to help get rid of it. The most commonly used is called Lasix, which helps stimulate urine output. However, there is some controversy about the use of diuretics since some doctors feel they may actually be harmful to people that are very sick since important minerals are lost as well.