Dr. James Cain
Nephrology and Dialysis
Roanoke, VA
37 years experience male
Locations
Valley Nephrology Associates
Roanoke, VA
Phone
Practice website
About
Bio
Old Dominion University MT (ASCP) 1980
Eastern Virginia Medical School 1985
EVMS Graduate School of Medicine (Internal Medicine) 1988
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Virginia (Nephrology) 1992
Valley Nephrology Assocites, Roanoke Virigina 1995-present
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Nephrology and Dialysis
Languages spoken
English
Doctor Q&A
280 Answers
77 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 24-year-old female asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Many things: this test detects normal amounts of albumin frequently as 30 mg/dl. I suggest a first morning void, if elevated then check a protein/creatinine ratio.... Read More
877 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Many things: leading causes are diabetes and high blood pressure, autoimmune disease (like Lupus) affects the kidney and congenital diseases also. toxic chemicals... Read More
888 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Remove lid: Once blood has entered the vacutainer tube the vacume is much less powerful. The top can be easily removed. The tops of these tubes can be easily rem... Read More
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Medication: You should be seeing an expert in kidney disease. Specific medications for blood pressure control and kidney protection are required.
If you are d... Read More
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
The drugs did it: A common side effect of the drugs used to treat hbp is impotence. It is not usually attributed to the hbp directly as the problem usually gets better ... Read More
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Infection, bleeding: Cloudy urine is caused by small particles that block the passage of light, the most innocuous cause would be the precipitation of amorphous salts, usu... Read More
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Keep healthy: There is no way to improve the kidneys that you are born with, the best you can do it to avoid damaging them. And if they do get damaged to follow you... Read More
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old female asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Nope: See your doctor for follow up, five days out you should have neither of these symptoms.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Increase GFR: Creatinine can be reduced by losing muscle mass or by increasing renal function. Starvation will do the first, correction of obstruction or stenosis o... Read More
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Probably you can not: Everyone who runs long distance will perspire to dissipate the body heat made by muscle work, this water is lost and needs to be replaced. Well traine... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Yes: There are several polycystic kidney diseases (pkd), and they are generally divided into autosomal dominant and recessive types. These are the patterns... Read More
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Low pressure, : Water leaks out of the vessels and can not be pumped out of the legs due to low pressure. Low pressure also reduces the blood flow to the kidneys, res... Read More
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Kidney needle: A kidney biopsy is performed to determine the cause of kidney disease. It is performed by inserting a biopsy needle, usually with ultrasound guidance,... Read More
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
GFR 10: This differs for everyone but in a relatively narrow range. Some patients with cardiac disease benefit from dialysis at higher GFR (low creatinine), a... Read More
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Proper medication: Minimal change (or nil) disease. Correctly diagnosed by biopsy but frequently diagnosed by the symptoms of proteinuria, edema and intact renal functi... Read More
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Higher: This product contains creatine which is metabolised into creatinine. Thus for a short time the creatinine level may be higher. This should be of no cl... Read More
5.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Glucose is fuel: Every cell in your body uses glucose to keep you living. It is the biologic fuel that generates movement, and heat.
4.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Yes, but......: Testing for this disease is safe and simple but beware of what you ask for. Knowing that you have polycystic kidney disease will make it difficult or ... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Time, supportive med: If kidney disease is reversible then the diagnosis will guide the therapy, for example, contrast nephropathy resolves over time, lupus required steroi... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
For life: A successful transplant can have the dose of drugs reduced over time, perhaps some of them discontinued, but even the best matched organs will need co... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Blood and urine: Urinalysis with tests for protein, glucose, blood, bilirubin, pH and specific gravity, blood tests for na, k, cl, creatinine, urea, bicarbonate (sodiu... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed Aug 14, 2020
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Yes: The aorta starts at your heart, runs down your middle right between your kidneys and ends around your umbilicus (belly button).
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Feeling ill,weak: Football coaches from the lombardi school of training have learned to not push athletes into dehydration to "toughen them up" the dangers of heat exha... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Low Sodium: Hyponatremia means that a blood test revealed a low value for sodium. This can be from excess water or less likely insufficient sodium. It can be a v... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Yes: Tachypnea, rapid breathing, is one way that the body can compensate for a metabolic acidosis.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
BS, BP,ACEi: Management of chronic diabetic renal disease requires blood sugar control, BP control, preferably with an ace inhibitor or an arb. Usually diuretics w... Read More
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Cells,casts: Urinalyis in acute renal failure helps to determine the cause, rbcs and RBC casts indicate a glomerulonephritis, wbcs an infection and WBC casts pyelo... Read More
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
BP related hormones: Metanephrines are hormone compounds related to the presence of an endocrine tumor called a pheochromacytoma. These tumors cause hypertension, the meta... Read More
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
A blue dye: Green urine is usually from eating medications containing blue dyes that get excreted in the urine, mixing with the yellow pigment there (called uroc... Read More
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
This is normal: Creatinine is normally excreted in the urine. The concentration of creatinine by itself means nothing other than the kidneys are doing their job.
... Read More
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
It gets better: Lisinopril overdose can cause high potassium, renal failure, and low blood pressure. Support the patient until the drug is removed by the body and al... Read More
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
4.6k viewsAnswered >2 years agoMerged
A 40-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
5.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Not likely: Your renal system can excrete a water load of this size, which is about the size of four canned beverages. People with impaired renal function may not... Read More
5.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
About the same: These medications are about equivalent although the makers of Moexipril claim better tissue penetration. Drugs in this class of angiotensin converting... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
IV fluids: Hypovolemia means low blood volume, the immediate response is usually intravenous fluid such as saline. The reason for the fluid loss needs to be dete... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years agoMerged
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Could be: Low potassium is usually caused by medications called diuretics, there are used for control of hypertension and heart failure as well as swelling of t... Read More
5.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Hard to tell: It is important to be specific when giving advice. I do not know what a "minor" side effect is. It is sometimes not possible to prove that symptoms ar... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Ketones: Ketones in the urine can cause a characteristic sweet odor. This can be seen in severe diabetes or low carbohydrate diets. It is the result of fat met... Read More
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Depends: Some weed users are highly productive and are able to focus on the job at hand, others famously not so..
I believe that marijuana has the remarkab... Read More
4.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 23-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Most of the time: Ekgs change in characteristic ways after a heart attack.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old female asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Blood is serious: There are a few benign causes of red blood in the stool (hematochezia) but there are also some serious ones. You need to see your physician for a rect... Read More
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Not usually: Alcohol could cause this by enablling trauma or rhabdomyolysis. But not on it's own. Something else happened.
4.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old female asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Many things: Red cells in the urine can mean kidney or bladder stones glomerulonephritis cancer of the kidney or urinary tract. They can be benign. Persistent micr... Read More
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Medical technology: Laboratory work requires professionalism and focus it may allow you to bring your diagnosis to work as a plus. Look into it. It is not like xr as typi... Read More
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old male asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Units are important: What units is the creatinine reported in? In the us we most frequently see mg/dl while in more sophisticated countries mmol/liter is preferred.
This ... Read More
4.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
Probably: Sugar in the urine can be benign, but not usually. Some people have glycosuria but not diabetes. This is rare, the rest usually have diabetes.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
The baby: The risks include damage to the baby by diabetes, (increased birth weight etc.) the high bllood pressure may be pre eclampsia, this can cause loss of ... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. James Cainanswered
Nephrology and Dialysis 37 years experience
No: Your family must be very small to be able to lie down in economy. In any case it is common to see the blood pressure rise upon standing to get the bl... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
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Recommendations
486
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Jan 1, 2014
You have been extremely helpful! And detailed . Thank you for taking the time and the promptness.
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Cain is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Cain is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
This was very helpful. Thanks! One leg-lower calf & ankle has been swollen for about 6 months with pitting edema. I've asked all my doctors about this. Not one of the 7 can give me an answer. My Natur...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer or tip was very helpful! This issue comes this month after getting brgnet this is my third time I used as doctors said that I have stone but getting bigger scares me
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Thank you for the list of true symptoms of heat illness. I thought I was going to end up in the ER
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Eastern Virginia Medical School, VA,
Graduated 1985MD
Awards
FACP
Fellow of American Society of Nephrology (FASN)
Top Doctor, First Place, Roanoke Region, VA - Summer
2013
Publications
Point of Care Medicine McGraw Hill
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