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Your risk for kidney disease

Anyone can get chronic kidney disease at any age. However, some people are more likely than others to develop kidney disease. You may have an increased risk for kidney disease if you:
• Have diabetes
• Have high blood pressure
• Have a family history of chronic kidney disease
• Have glomerulonephritis, polycystic kidney disease, alport syndrome, urologic problems with obstruction, reflux or stone disease
• Belong to a population group that has a high rate of diabetes or high blood pressure, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians.

For more information, go to www.kidney.org.

Symptoms of Kidney Disease

Most people may not have any severe symptoms until their kidney disease is advanced. However, patients may notice that they:
• Feel more tired and have less energy
• Have trouble concentrating
• Have a poor appetite
• Have trouble sleeping
• Have muscle cramping at night
• Have swollen feet and ankles
• Have puffiness around the eyes, especially in the morning
• Have dry, itchy skin
• Need to urinate more often, especially at night.

Other stories with our doctors

Kidney specialists combine practices

With people living longer these days, kidney disease is being diagnosed with more frequency.

“We are starting people on dialysis who are older and sicker and with conditions that are more complex,” explained Dr. Shirish (Joe) Joglekar, who specializes in treating kidney disease. With his practice growing, it was getting harder to handle the number of patients and get any time off, he said. That’s a major reason why Dr. Joglekar, who has been in practice by himself for the last 15 years, and Dr. Ram Chary, Dr. Susan Alex and Dr. Murty Narapareddy, who were practicing at Madison Kidney Clinics, have decided to start a new practice together.

West Tennessee Kidney Specialists, P.C., opened in Spring 2009 in a new building at 221 Sterling Farms Drive in north Jackson. All four physicians are board certified in nephrology, the medical specialty that diagnoses and treats kidney disease. A fifth physician, Dr. R. Mulay, who is based in Dyersburg, also has joined the group.

“We had been covering for each other on weekends and in hospitals,” Dr. Chary said. “We discovered that together we are stronger and have more time off.”

With main offices in Jackson and Dyersburg, the physicians also see patients in satellite offices in Brownsville, Bolivar, Selmer, Savannah, McKenzie, Camden and Trenton, which were started by Dr. Joglekar, and in Martin, which was started by Dr. Chary.

They also are medical directors for dialysis facilities owned by DaVita, a national company, in Camden, Lexington, Dyersburg, Jackson, Tiptonville, Covington, Savannah, Selmer, Bolivar, Brownsville and Humboldt. Two nurse practitioners also see patients in the dialysis clinics.

With both satellite medical clinics and the dialysis sites, it’s a busy practice, Dr. Chary said. “Kidney disease has become a global epidemic. We need an enormous effort for public awareness on how to prevent kidney disease and slow its progression.”

The kidneys filter waste from the blood in the form of urine and regulate the body’s balance of water and salt. When the kidneys slow or stop their production of urine, wastes build up in the body and can lead to a life-threatening situation. This causes most people to go on dialysis, which mechanically removes waste products from the blood. Simply put, a person cannot live without kidney function.

A search for a kidney transplant follows, but not all patients qualify. “Not many kidneys become available,” Dr. Chary said. “The average wait for a kidney while on dialysis is five years.”

When Dr. Chary arrived in Jackson in 1980, he was one of the first subspecialists in any field in the community. “With no nephrologists, the need was here. Patients drove to Memphis or Nashville for dialysis three times a week.”

Dr. Joglekar came to Jackson 17 years ago. Though he and Dr. Chary were in a joint venture together for a while, he practiced in a separate clinic. Dr. Alex and Dr. Narapareddy joined Dr. Chary in 1999.

Both Dr. Joglekar and Dr. Chary say they were attracted to nephrology because of its complexity. “Nephrology is a lot more challenging than most medical specialties,” said Dr. Joglekar.

Dr. Chary agreed: “It’s a difficult field because so many diseases affect the kidneys and you have to know about these diseases. Patients are sick. You take it as a challenge to improve their quality of life. It’s a good feeling when you see a deathly sick person develop a quality of life. Traditionally, nephrologists go that extra mile to work with patients.”