Specialist alerts residents to the risks of kidney disease

HARLINGEN - Jorge Garcia spent months denying that his kidneys were failing. Then he became increasingly short of breath, exhausted and sick.

"I just held on until I had no choice," Garcia said.

Garcia has spent four years on dialysis after being diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease, and feels better now because he's receiving proper treatment, he said. He's also waiting for a kidney transplant.

Many Rio Grande Valley residents, like Garcia, might not realize they're at risk for kidney disease, said Dr. Andrew Levine, a Harlingen kidney-disease specialist, at a barbecue Thursday at Fresenius Medical Care in honor of World Kidney Day.

World Kidney Day is a global-awareness campaign sponsored by the International Federation of Kidney Foundations and other groups to promote kidney disease prevention.

According to Levine, Valley residents are at particular risk for kidney failure because of high diabetes rates.

"Anyone who has diabetes or hypertension is at risk and should be screened (for kidney disease)," Levine said.

The state doesn't keep statistics on renal-failure diagnoses in the region, but the condition is the ninth-leading cause of death in South Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Kidney failure is the seventh-leading cause of death for Texas Hispanics.

Uncontrolled diabetes can eventually damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys, affecting their ability to get rid of excess waste and fluids, according to the National Kidney Foundation. Kidney disease related to diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in Hispanics, the foundation says.

That's why patients with diabetes should be monitored by a doctor and their disease controlled, Levine said.

Also, the foundation says, people with diabetes should have their blood pressure checked often, take medications exactly as prescribed and avoid alcohol and cigarettes.

If a person with diabetes does eventually suffer kidney failure, there is hope, said Jorita Lehman, a dialysis patient from Weslaco. Before starting dialysis, Lehman, 74, felt weak, threw up frequently and was extremely anemic. She now undergoes dialysis treatment 3 times a week, for more than 3 hours at a time, but feels good, she said.

"It's given me a new lease on life," said Lehman, who chose not to be added to the transplant waiting list.

Patients who need dialysis shouldn't be afraid of it, she said.

"Don't let anyone tell you it hurts or it's miserable," Lehman said.

But ideally, kidney problems should be caught early, because then they possibly could be reversed, Levine said.