6. Xue Xi

6. Xue Xi

Q: My mother is receiving intravenous fluids at home for gallstones, and she has developed leg edema. A hospital examination diagnosed her with nephrotic syndrome, with proteinuria at 2+. After 17 days of hospitalization, the leg edema has subsided, but the proteinuria remains at 2+. The doctor recommends taking hormones and antihypertensive medications. Although my mother doesn’t usually have high blood pressure, the doctor suggests a small dose of antihypertensive drugs. Is it safe to take these medications? Will they cause her blood pressure to drop too low? How should we treat this condition?

A: Generally, patients with nephrotic syndrome don’t need antihypertensive drugs if their blood pressure is normal. In your mother’s case, nephrotic syndrome came first, which disrupted her immune system and subsequently led to biliary tract infection. Therefore, treating the nephrotic syndrome should be the priority. Western medicine advocates hormone therapy for this condition, but it often fails to achieve a “soft landing”—patients can’t stop taking hormones, which further impairs their immune function, and some even suffer lifelong complications. I recommend consulting a TCM practitioner; their treatment tends to be more effective than Western medicine.

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