When people get diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, they have a lot of questions.
A lot of very important questions, which need answers.
Today I'll give you the answers to questions like: Can I still have a good life with CKD?
Is kidney disease curable?
How can I improve my kidney function if I have CKD?
And more Hello, how are your kidneys doing? this is
Katherine, welcome to 00Kidney - don't forget to like and subscribe!
This is going to be a very interesting video, even if you already know the answers to some
of these questions.
You'll see why in a moment.
Now, let's start with the kidney disease frequently asked questions.
1 what is chronic kidney disease?
Chronic kidney disease, often shortened in CKD, describes a reduction in kidney function
that persists for more than 3 months.
What does this mean?
The human kidney is an organ of vital importance.
It fights a constant battle against all the wastes and toxins present in the body.
It's able to withstand an incredible amount of damage and it can repair itself.
Unfortunately, sometimes the damage is too big, and lasts for too long, for the kidney
to be able to recover.
This kind of damage may even be permanent, and it reduces the ability of the kidney to
filter our blood.
There a couple of causes of damage we should always keep an eye on.
2 what is actually damaging our kidneys?
Understanding the cause of the problem is the very first thing to do, if we want to
slow down the progression of the illness.
There are two main causes of kidney disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
People with diabetes are those risking more.
High blood sugar levels are known to damage the blood vessels in the kidneys, preventing
them from doing their job.
One on three people with diabetes develops kidney disease.
Fortunately, both diabetes and hypertension can be managed.
The third cause of kidney disease is glomerulonephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys.
It can be caused by an infection or it can be idiopathic.
Other causes of ckd include kidney stones, inherited diseases such as polycystic kidney
disease and infections.
Illegal drugs like, for example, heroin can cause kidney disease too.
Even the overuse of over the counter painkillers can increase the likelihood of kidney disease.
3 can I still have a good life if I have chronic kidney disease?
Yes!
This was an easy one, wasn't it?
Ok, ckd is nothing to joke about.
But not all hope is lost.
If you have been diagnosed in the early stages, you are somewhat lucky.
CKD is so much easier to manage if detected earlier.
Your hopes to never have to undergo dialysis are still high.
And, even if you are not in the early stages, or if you have to do dialysis, there are still
chances for things to get better.
Medical science is becoming every day more effective in treating diseases that were deemed
incurable.
Various types of cancer are now being cured.
A vaccine for HIV is on the horizon and AIDS may become completely curable during the next
few years.
And what about CKD?
Some of the new treatments that are being tested are really promising, and they will
eventually completely replace dialysis.
Or even cure CKD.
Treatments like stem cells, artificial kidneys and lab grown organs are being studied as
we speak.
They may actually completely cure kidney disease during the next decades.
So never lose hope!
4 I'm always tired.
Is there anything that I can do?
Yes!
But, the problem could come from different causes.
Healthy people are often feeling tired too, but for CKD patients fatigue can be a real
issue.
I've seen patients being so tired that they fall asleep in the morning, even after a full
night of sleep.
Often, this kind of fatigue is caused by anemia, a condition in which you don't have enough
red blood cells.
Other symptoms of anemia include cold hands and feet, chest pain, dizziness and inability
to focus.
Anemia is common in ckd patients, and can be managed.
Your doctor can prescribe you iron supplements and erythropoietin, a hormone involved in
the production of red blood cells.
5 Will I have to follow a special renal diet?
Yes!
Diet is everything when it comes to managing CKD and its symptoms.
The main function of the kidneys is to remove wastes, toxins and liquid in excess from the
blood.
Since these wastes and toxins come from what we eat, limiting their presence in our diet
is a sure way to make the work of our kidneys easier.
The right renal diet is critical to maintain the functionality of the kidneys as long as
possible, while avoiding us the worst symptoms of this disease.
In some cases it can be even helpful in reversing kidney disease.
More on this in a moment.
A good kidney diet focuses on the importance of consuming high-quality protein and limiting
potassium, calcium and fluids.
A renal diet, to work well, must be tailor made for the patient.
Every person is different; in fact even the symptoms can be different from patient to
patient.
6 what are the symptoms of CKD? they include: changes in the urination patterns, back pain,
nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, sleep problems, muscle twitches,
cramps, decreased mental sharpness, swelling of feet and ankles, itching, chest pain.
If you look at this list, you can easily see that most of these symptoms are nonspecific.
This means that they can also be caused by other conditions.
They are also hard to spot until the disease is in the advanced stages.
Chronic kidney disease is often called the silent disease, because symptoms may not appear
until it is too late.
So get checked regularly if you are 60 years or older, if you have diabetes or hypertension,
if you are very overweight or if you have CKD running in your family.
7 Is it possible to improve kidney function when we have CKD?
Yes, even if we have been diagnosed with CKD there are still steps we can take to improve
our kidney function.
There are herbal remedies, therapies and treatments proven to work.
There are lifestyle changes that can be done to significantly improve our kidney health.
If you want to know more about improving kidney function, I've made a very interesting video
about how to repair your kidneys.
It's in the card above, you can watch it now to know more!
This is all for today!
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Thank you for watching!