In general, managing IgA Nephropathy may include:
Lifestyle changes
to keep you healthy overall and lower blood pressure and stress on the kidneys
Medications
to lower blood pressure and/or protein in the urine and manage any issues that can develop from worsening kidney disease (for example, anemia, fluid buildup)
At later stages of kidney disease, you may need to consider dialysis or getting a new kidney.
Your treatment plan should be tailored to you and will depend on a number of factors. For example:
- Your current stage of kidney disease or how much kidney damage you have –you and your care team will keep a close eye on how much blood or protein is in your urine, your GFR, and/or kidney biopsy result, which will help guide treatment decisions
- Other treatments you’ve tried before
- Any related health issues, including anemia or excess fluid (edema)
- Other health conditions you have, such as diabetes or high cholesterol
- Your personal goals and preferences – be open about what’s most important to you in managing your IgA Nephropathy, and don’t be shy about asking questions
Even if you are feeling well, it’s important to keep up with a healthy lifestyle and take your medications as prescribed. IgA Nephropathy is a lifelong condition that needs to be closely followed and managed.
Medications
Most people with kidney disease are started on an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), which help lower blood pressure and protein in the urine. But it’s common to take multiple medications.
For some adults with high levels of protein in the urine whose disease is likely to get worse quickly, there are now medications specifically for IgAN that help to lower the amount of protein in the urine.
TARPEYO (budesonide delayed release capsules) and FILSPARI (sparsentan) were recently approved and are both taken once-daily by mouth. Ask your doctor if one could be right for you, and be sure to follow the patient medication guide on the product insert or website.
