Q: I am 62 years old and have been advised by my doctor to take the following medicines: Betaloc 50 mg, Repace 50 mg, Shelcal, Prazopress XL 2.5 mg, Fefol -Z, A to Z, Ketolog and Neorecormon 2000. I have a creatinine level of 6 mg/dl, urea 148 mg/dl, sodium 141 mmol/l, potassium 5.3 mmol/l in serum sample. Please advise me whether I need dialysis or I can take medicines? I want to avoid dialysis.

A:Dialysis is not given for a creatinine figure, although it is an important criterion. The final goal is to see that the patient as a whole is well and stable and when he is not, you go on dialysis. When your diseased kidneys with their residual function cannot manage you anymore along with the medicines you are taking, you are put on dialysis. Remember dialysis has only as much value as a washing machine. Just as a washing machine removes dirt from clothes, so does the dialysis machine from your body. That is why it has to be done repeatedly, till an alternative treatment like transplant is done, which is permanent. Talk to your doctor, he is your friend.