IgA Nephropathy

So...

I have IgA Nephropathy.

Is it a serious condition, or one that should be taken seriously?
I have High-Blood Pressure and suffer flank/loin pain, and have a cough.  The later is likely due to Ace Inhibitors, which I have recently changed for another kind of blood pressure tablet, so we'll see how that goes.

Is it advisable to do hard manual work?

Do you have any other non 'copy/paste' material/information that can help me out to understand more while I 'wait' to see a specialist.

Thanks in advance.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

Adults with IgA nephropathy may develop total kidney failure, if not managed. You should take this seriously to prevent this from happening.

ACE inhibitors usually have cough as a side effect as you mentioned, so a change of your medication will be helpful. Being a hypertensive, daily monitoring of your blood pressure is important as well as restrictions from salty and fatty foods. Aside from this, yo uare predispsed to high cholesterol levels.  Lowering cholesterol may help slow kidney damage.

What do you mean by hard manual labor You should clear this with your doctor before doing anything.  Regular follow up appointments are highly recommended. Take care and keep us posted.

[AlfTheAli3n]

Thanks, that was very helpful.
Just to clarify, 'hard manual labour' means physical work, such as 'lifting,' 'digging,' 'hurrying about,' 'fast walking' or 'a lot of walking.'  Not that I do all or any of those things often, but knowing the facts of what I can and can't do is important.  I already know I experience prolonged pain after doing some of those things of my own accord, but I don't know if this will always be the case.  I can't always take 'codein' because of the 'constipation' side effect.

I know I'll learn more about the disease after I see the specialist, but it just helps [for peace of mind] to know in advance.

Thanks again.