Hello, this is Katherine.
If you don't know me, I've been working with people suffering from chronic kidney disease
for the last 7 years, now.
I've helped many of them getting some of their kidney function back.
Some patients have even reversed their kidney disease.
And today I'm here to give you good news.
You can do it too.
You can repair your kidney damage and improve your health.
All you need is to have a plan.
Today's video is all about the correct treatment to repair kidney damage.
We are going to focus on those treatments for kidney disease that actually work, ok?
So, you can use them to create your masterplan to get out of kidney disease.
Let's start immediately, this is your first step toward a better health!
And, by the way if you are new here on 00kidney, welcome to our journey together to a better
kidney health!
Don't forget to subscribe and click the notification bell!
And, if you're already following me here... if you're one of those subscribers that's
always watching me and commenting my videos... this is a shoutout to you guys, I wouldn't
be here today if it wasn't for you.
So, thank you!
Now, remember that if you have chronic kidney disease, you should never lose hope.
There's still hope even if you're in stage 5.
But having CKD means that your kidneys cannot take care of you like they used to.
So, why not show them some love?
Take care of them like they took care of you!
No one else can eat healthy for you, No one else can be active for you and
No one else can do the treatments you need to do.
In this spirit, let's see how to set up your masterplan to defeat chronic kidney disease.
Now, the very first thing you need to know is what stage of chronic kidney disease you're
in.
Because many treatments to repair kidney damage are specific for just one or two stages.
Let's see:
Now, there are 5 stages of CKD, from stage 1 where there are basically no symptoms and
no complications to stage 5.
In stage 5 of CKD you usually need to undergo kidney dialysis and to be put in a transplant
list.
So, the severity of the symptoms increases as the functionality of the kidneys decreases,
right?
The stage of chronic kidney disease you're in depends on the GFR, or glomerular filtration
rate.
That's an accurate measure of how much your kidneys are working.
As we can see here, if your GFR is more than 90, or 90% of kidney function, you are in
stage 1, ok?
Between 89 and 60 is stage 2.
Stage 3 is between 60 and 30 and stage 4 is below 30.
In stage 5, kidney function is less than 15 percent.
Now, today's video is going to focus more on the symptoms of kidney disease and the
correct treatments for each stage.
But this only works if you already know what stage you are in and how to read your blood
tests, your creatinine levels and so on.
If you don't know what your values are or if you want to know more about the tests,
this video up here is for you.
For now, let's say that you know what stage you're in, ok?
So, we may focus on the correct treatment to start repair your kidney damage, starting
from stage 1 and 2 Very few people get diagnosed at these stages,
actually, because as we can see here, there are basically no symptoms.
Now, as you can see from my slide, I've added "foam in the urine" as a symptom of stage
2, but that's actually really, really difficult to spot.
It still happens that people get diagnosed this early, and mainly it's because they have
some risk factors for CKD.
I'm talking about diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease.
So, if you were actually diagnosed in stage 2, well, that's somewhat good news.
Because you can take care of your health better now and start facing what's causing you problems.
In stage 2 your GFR would still be above 60, ok?
This would mean that your kidneys are still in a good enough shape to completely do their
job of purifying your blood.
There are people born with just one kidney that never know this, because you only need
half of your kidney function for your body to feel healthy.
Ok, here are the treatments, medical procedure and medications for Stage 1 and 2.
Now, if you're in stage 3, 4 or 5 you can skip this part, there's a link in description
to the time frame of the treatment for each stage.
And, while most of these things are going to be valid for everyone, the main focus in
these stages is prevention.
You do these steps to avoid losing more kidney function, alright?
So, 1, Get checked regularly.
Do regular checkups to monitor creatinine and GFR.
This would let you know what's your renal function and if it's increasing or decreasing.
Now, in stage 2 regular means once in a year.
What you should monitor more frequently is your blood pressure and, if you have diabetes,
your blood sugar levels.
2, The diet.
The diet is really important already in these stages.
We are still not talking about a real kidney diet here.
But limiting sodium and sugar intake can really help.
If you have watched my videos about the kidney killer foods, the most dangerous are always
the foods with the most sugar and sodium in them.
Yes, that's what's damaging your kidneys.
So, avoid junk foods, processed foods and sodas.
Even diet sodas.
Those beverages should come with a "health danger" label on them, like they do with cigarettes.
3, Lower blood pressure.
A lot of people get CKD from high blood pressure.
So, if you have hypertension, that could be what's causing your kidney problems, ok?
Take the necessary steps to keep a healthy blood pressure.
4) Keep blood sugar or diabetes under control.
Now, diabetes is the number 1 cause of kidney disease.
So, like I've said for blood pressure, everyone needs to keep blood sugar under control to
improve their kidney health.
5) Lifestyle changes.
These can help basically everyone, no matter the stage.
Drink only in moderation, avoid irregular sleep patterns, exercise regularly, avoid
stress.
The kidney friendly diet, the medications, the lifestyle changes... everything we will
do is basically aimed at keeping blood pressure and blood sugar levels at healthy levels.
This will give your kidneys the chance to recover.
6) Avoid painkiller.
Regular use of NSAIDs like naproxen, ibuprofen... has been proven to cause life lasting kidney
damage, so avoid them.
There are other prescription and over-the-counter medications that can cause kidney damage,
actually.
If you want to know more about this, watch this video up here.
Now, let's talk about the third stage of chronic kidney disease.
Now, looking at this table it is clear that when we get to ckd stage 3 things are already
starting to get a lot worse.
GFR is between 30 and 59 milliliters per minute, and that's not enough to get the body rid
of all the toxins and scores.
This means that changes in blood and in the urine will be a lot more visible, causing
symptoms.
I mean, real symptoms, like fatigue, back pain and swelling.
A lot more people get diagnosed at this stage than those that get diagnosed in stage 2.
Unfortunately, getting diagnosed in the most advanced stages is even more frequent because
the symptoms in stage 3 are still difficult to notice.
So, if you have any doubt, if you are here because you have reasons to think you're at
risk for kidney disease... don't wait and get checked as soon as it is safe.
Because the sooner we diagnose kidney disease the better.
METTI SLIDE Let's talk about the correct treatment for
stage 3.
If you want to improve kidney function in stage 3, all the considerations I've made
about stage 1 and 2 are still good.
So, keep getting checked regularly for kidney function, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
The tests for kidney function should be done more frequently now.
And there will be some differences in the renal diet when you are in stage 3.
Like in stage 2, it's still a good idea to avoid junk foods and limit sodium and sugar.
But in stage 3 potassium may be restricted.
I say it may be restricted, because it depends on the results of the lab tests.
If your doctor sees too much potassium in your tests, then you're going to have to limit
the intake in the diet.
Not all the patients in this stage have to limit potassium
What's always restricted in stage 3 is phosphorus.
And many people don't know about this, ok, because phosphorus won't kill you, unlike
potassium.
So, many people only care about potassium rich foods.
But you should also care about phosphorus, if you want to improve your kidney health.
Now, if you want to know what foods have potassium, what foods have phosphorus, how much you can
eat ... and more, watch this video up here.
But remember that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables will help you getting the nutrients
and the vitamins your body needs.
Now, Stage 3 CKD doesn't require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Instead, you will be prescribed certain medications to treat underlying medical conditions that
may be contributing to kidney damage.
These include angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor
blockers (ARBs) for high blood pressure, as well as glucose management for diabetes.
Your doctor may also prescribe medications to help alleviate the side effects of CKD,
such as: iron supplements for anemia
calcium/vitamin D supplements to prevent bone fractures
diuretics to treat edema, if you have that symptom.
Vitamin C and vitamin B complex are also usually prescribed to patients in stage 3.
This is all you need to manage this disease at this stage.
Ok, let's get back to our symptoms table.
As you can see, in the later stages there will be other symptoms we haven't seen before.
When kidney function drops below 30%, symptoms like fatigue, swelling and changes in urinary
patterns are going to be more noticeable.
Some patients will also have trouble breathing.
But, as we can see here, is in stage 5, when kidneys are no longer able to remove toxins
and extra water from the body, that we are going to see a lot more symptoms.
Itching, Muscle cramps, Nausea and vomiting, and more.
Now, let's see what the treatments are for these stages.
Many of the things that worked in stage 3 are still useful in stage 4 and 5, so I'm
not going to repeat them.
Like for the other stages avoiding bad habits and getting checked regularly can really help.
There will be significant changes in the renal diet now that the kidneys have lost almost
all their filtering ability.
We will still need to limit sodium, protein and cholesterol intake.
Like for stage 3, avoid junk foods and packaged foods COMPLETELY.
Potassium is usually restricted in stage 4.
This is a serious limitation because a lot of the fruit and vegetables that were perfectly
healthy are now dangerous.
Bananas, avocados, spinach, potatoes, beans... just to name a few, are now to be avoided.
Patients usually have a 2000 milligrams per day allowance of potassium, and shouldn't
eat more than that.
In stage 5, fluid intake is going to be restricted too, so this is another thing to consider
in the choice of the diet.
Patients will have to choose meals that are not making them thirsty.
Now, the diet of a renal patient is a really wide topic that I'm really trying to tackle
thoroughly here on 00kidney.
I've made a whole series of videos on how to set up a kidney friendly diet.
Diet is always a very predominant part of the everyday life of a kidney patient.
So I'm trying to make things easier for patients creating recipes healthy and tasty.
Also there are supplements that can help.
In the advanced stages, the kidneys will no longer be able to produce hormones needed
by our red blood cells and bones, and to regulate blood pressure
So in stage 5 you will also be prescribed a special type of Vitamin D that can help
solving these issues.
Iron will be prescribed too, alongside vitamin B and C.
Take all prescribed medications as directed.
In addition to taking all prescribed medications, ask your healthcare provider before adding
over-the-counter medications or supplements.
See your healthcare provider regularly.
Be sure to report and discuss any new and worsening symptoms with your healthcare provider
Before stage 5, usually patients are asked to prepare for dialysis.
Ok, the situation seems pretty dire right now, but there's a very important thing that
I want to tell you.
You should never lose hope.
And it's normal to be scared, but you can still win this battle.
You will want to be put in a transplant list, alright?
Remember that the median waiting time is about 3 years, but you will be able to get a transplant,
if you need one, eventually.
Because every year kidney transplants become more frequent, and now there's even what they
call the kidney swap, or paired kidney exchange program.
It's a pool of donors people can join to help patients getting a kidney from a relative
that wouldn't be able to donate to them for compatibility reasons.
I've talked about this in one of my previous video, I'm leaving a link up here.
And there are new treatments being developed as we speak for people in stage 5.
Stem cells and the artificial implantable kidney, just to name a few.
In a matter of years, dialysis and transplant may not be the only options.
So never, never lose hope.
Where to go from here?
I've made a playlist with a lot of detailed information on the right, kidney friendly
diet that you can watch right now to have more detailed information on the topic of
the diet.
This is all for today!
Thank you for watching!