Today was Chris' big monthly appointment at DaVita. They drew blood last week, and the results are in. Chris' phosphorus went way up to 9.7. He cut out most of his Kool-Aid consumption, so we don't know what's causing the spike in his phosphorus. They had him stop taking both the Lipitor and the Sensipar in hopes that this number will go down.
Of all the things Chris has going on, phosphorus didn't really seem like that big of a deal... until we found out more. The excess of phosphorus in the blood causes calcium to leech out of bones and, if there's a long-term imbalance, causes this calcium to be deposited in blood vessels and the heart. It makes vessels stiff and inflexible, and raises the risk of heart attack.
So it turns out that it is something to watch. I updated his pills this afternoon and he has a follow-up appointment Thursday the 15th.
