Is Drinking A Lot Of Water Good For Your Kidneys
Water helps the kidneys remove wastes from your blood in the form of urine. Water also helps keep your blood vessels open so that blood can travel freely to your kidneys, and deliver essential nutrients to them. But if you become dehydrated, then it is more difficult for this delivery system to work.
What Treatments Are Available
The treatment of CRF depends on the results of blood tests, and specific treatments are aimed at resolving specific abnormalities. The majority of cats are effectively managed with diet change including supplementation and one or two other treatments. Your veterinarian will work with you to determine the best treatment for your cat.
“Different treatments are available and the majority of cats are effectively managed with diet change including supplementation and one or two other treatments.”
- Special diets – feeding low protein and low phosphorus diets help lower the level of waste products in the bloodstream. These can be prepared at home or are available ready prepared from your veterinary practice.
- Phosphate binders – despite low phosphate in the diet, blood phosphorus levels remain above normal in some cats. Reducing blood phosphorus can have a major effect on improving your cat’s well being and slowing disease progression. Oral phosphate binders such as aluminum hydroxide help to lower the amount of phosphorus absorbed through the gut wall.
- Antibiotics – many cats seem to respond well to antibiotics though the reason for this is not always clear. Cats with CRF develop bladder infections more frequently and routine urine cultures are recommended for many patients.
- Vitamins B and C – when the failing kidneys are unable to concentrate the urine, these water-soluble vitamins are lost and affected cats need daily supplementation.
Kidney Failure And Alcohol
If you have kidney failure and drink alcohol, your kidneys will be forced to work harder than they already are.
Alcohol doesnt metabolize out of your system, so youll feel its effects until you receive dialysis to filter it out of your blood.
Beer and wine contain large amounts of phosphorous. It can cause severe heart issues and even death if your kidneys are unable to filter it out. However, most hard liquor doesnt carry the same risk.
If you have kidney failure or late-stage kidney disease, your doctor may recommend you limit how often you drink alcohol. For some people, completely eliminating alcohol from the diet may be best.
Drinking alcohol with kidney failure can hurt the normal function of other organs. Over time, long-term, heavy alcohol use can lead to liver disease.
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Anemia And Chronic Kidney Disease
What is anemia?Anemia happens when your red blood cells are in short supply. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body, giving you the energy you need for your daily activities.
What are the symptoms of anemia?Anemia can cause you to:
- Look pale
- Have little energy for your daily activities
- Have a poor appetite
- Feel dizzy or have headaches
- Have a rapid heartbeat
- Feel depressed or “down in the dumps”
Why do people with kidney disease get anemia?Your kidneys make an important hormone called erythropoietin . Hormones are chemical messengers that travel to tissues and organs to help you stay healthy. EPO tells your body to make red blood cells. When you have kidney disease, your kidneys cannot make enough EPO. Low EPO levels cause your red blood cell count to drop and anemia to develop.
Most people with kidney disease will develop anemia. Anemia can happen early in the course of kidney disease and grow worse as kidneys fail and can no longer make EPO. Anemia is especially common if you:
- Have diabetes
- Have moderate or severe loss of kidney function
- Have kidney failure
- Are female
How do you treat anemia?Your treatment will depend on the exact cause of your anemia.If your anemia is due to kidney disease, your healthcare provider will treat you with:
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What Treatments Are Available For Kidney Failure
There are two treatments for kidney failure dialysis and kidney transplant. The dialysis treatments or transplanted kidney will take over some of the work of your damaged kidneys and remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. This will make many of your symptoms better.
- Two different types of dialysis can be done hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Both remove waste products and extra fluid from your blood.
- A kidney transplant is an operation that places a healthy kidney in your body.
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Treatment Of Chronic Kidney Disease
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Treatment of conditions that worsen kidney function
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Dietary measures and drugs
The anemia caused by chronic kidney disease is treated with
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Drugs such as erythropoietin or darbepoietin
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Blood transfusions
Doctors also look for and treat other causes of anemia, particularly dietary deficiencies of iron, folate , and vitamin B12 .
Most people who take erythropoietin or darbepoietin regularly need to be given iron intravenously to prevent iron deficiency, which impairs the bodys response to these drugs. Erythropoietin and darbepoietin should be used only when necessary because they can increase the risk of stroke. The tendency to bleed can be temporarily suppressed by transfusions of blood products or by such drugs as desmopressin or estrogens. Such treatment may be needed after an injury or before a surgical procedure or a tooth extraction.
Blood transfusions are given only if the anemia is severe, is causing symptoms, and does not respond to erythropoietin or darbepoietin.
High blood pressure is treated with antihypertensive drugs to prevent further impairment of heart and kidney function.
Diuretics may also relieve symptoms of heart failure, even when kidney function is poor, but dialysis may be needed to remove the excess body water in severe chronic kidney disease.
Dialysis For Kidney Failure
Dialysis artificially removes waste from your blood. There are two forms of dialysis haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is further broken down into two main types, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and automated peritoneal dialysis .The choice of dialysis method depends of factors such as your age, health and lifestyle. Over 2,000 Australian adults start renal replacement therapy each year.
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Kidney Failure Definition And Facts
- Kidneys are the organs that filter waste products from the blood. They are also involved in regulating blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and red blood cell production in the body.
- Symptoms of kidney failure are due to the build-up of waste products and excess fluid in the body that may cause weakness, shortness of breath, lethargy, swelling, and confusion. Inability to remove potassium from the bloodstream may lead to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death. Initially kidney failure may cause no symptoms.
- There are numerous causes of kidney failure, and treatment of the underlying disease may be the first step in correcting the kidney abnormality.
- Some causes of kidney failure are treatable and the kidney function may return to normal. Unfortunately, kidney failure may be progressive in other situations and may be irreversible.
- The diagnosis of kidney failure usually is made by blood tests measuring BUN, creatinine, and glomerular filtration rate .
- Treatment of the underlying cause of kidney failure may return kidney function to normal. Lifelong efforts to control blood pressure and diabetes may be the best way to prevent chronic kidney disease and its progression to kidney failure. As we age, kidney function gradually decreases over time.
- If the kidneys fail completely, the only treatment options available may be dialysis or transplant.
What Are Dialysis And Hemodialysis
Dialysis cleanses the body of waste products in the body by use of filter systems. There are two types of dialysis, 1) hemodialysis and 2) peritoneal dialysis.
Hemodialysis uses a machine filter called a dialyzer or artificial kidney to remove excess water and salt, to balance the other electrolytes in the body, and to remove waste products of metabolism. Blood is removed from the body and flows through tubing into the machine, where it passes next to a filter membrane. A specialized chemical solution flows on the other side of the membrane. The dialysate is formulated to draw impurities from the blood through the filter membrane. Blood and dialysate never touch in the artificial kidney machine.
For this type of dialysis, access to the blood vessels needs to be surgically created so that large amounts of blood can flow into the machine and back to the body. Surgeons can build a fistula, a connection between a large artery and vein in the body, usually in the arm, that allows a large amount of blood to flow into the vein. This makes the vein swell or dilate, and its walls become thicker so that it can tolerate repeated needle sticks to attach tubing from the body to the machine. Since it takes many weeks or months for a fistula to mature enough to be used, significant planning is required if hemodialysis is to be considered as an option.
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How Will Kidney Failure Affect How I Feel About My Life
Coping with kidney failure can be stressful. Some of the steps that you are taking to manage your kidney disease are also healthy ways to cope with stress. For example, physical activity and sleep help reduce stress. Learn more about healthy ways to cope with stress.
Depression is common among people with a chronic, or long-term, illness. Depression can make it harder to manage your kidney disease. Ask for help if you feel down. Your health care team can help you. Talking with a support group, clergy member, friend, or family member wholl listen to your feelings may help.
Treatment for depression is available.
What Color Is Urine When Your Kidneys Are Failing
When kidneys are failing, the increased concentration and accumulation of substances in urine lead to a darker color which may be brown, red or purple. The color change is due to abnormal protein or sugar, high levels of red and white blood cells, and high numbers of tube-shaped particles called cellular casts.
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What Are The Kidneys Where Are They Located
The kidneys play key roles in body function, not only by filtering the blood and getting rid of waste products, but also by balancing the electrolyte levels in the body, controlling blood pressure, and stimulating the production of red blood cells.
The kidneys are located in the abdomen toward the back, normally one on each side of the spine. They get their blood supply through the renal arteries directly from the aorta and send blood back to the heart via the renal veins to the vena cava.
How Is The Disease Diagnosed
Renal disease is usually diagnosed by looking at the level of two biochemical byproducts in the bloodstream, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, in conjunction with the urine specific gravity . Microalbuminuria is another indicator of CRF. Tests to measure the blood levels of other substances such as proteins, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium, as well as the red and white blood cell counts are important in order to determine the extent of kidney failure and the best course of treatment.
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Feeling Faint Dizzy Or Weak
Why this happens:
Anemia related to kidney failure means that your brain is not getting enough oxygen. This can lead to feeling faint, dizzy, or weak.
What patients said:
I was always tired and dizzy.
It got to the point, like, I used to be at work, and all of the sudden I’d start getting dizzy. So I was thinking maybe it was my blood pressure or else diabetes was going bad. That’s what was on my mind.
Signs Your Kidneys Might Be Failing
Your kidneys are the unsung heroes of the body. Best known for removing waste and excess fluid, they also perform a variety of other essential roles: They regulate salt, potassium, and acid levels keep blood pressure in check produce vitamin D and control the production of red blood cells. And while kidney disease might not be high on your list of things to worry about, the truth is that over 20 million Americans have it, but many don’t know it.
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“Symptoms of kidney damage are typically very subtle, and by the time you notice them, there is usually already serious harm done,” says Jeremy Allen, DO, a board-certified family practitioner with American Family Care. “It is possible to lose as much as 90% of kidney function without having any overt symptoms.”
The best way to protect yourself is to keep your blood sugar and blood pressure under control. “Hypertension and diabetes are the main culprits responsible for at least two-thirds of renal failure,” says Jonathan Shaffer, MD, an internist affiliated with Concierge Choice Physicians. You should also see your doctor for an annual checkup, including a full blood workup. If levels of a molecule called creatinine are too high, additional blood tests, urine tests, and/or scans of your kidneys might be in order.
More fluid being stuck in your tissues translates to less of it being flushed out of your body .
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Having Dry And Itchy Skin
Healthy kidneys do tremendous work by removing waste and extra fluid from the blood, helping produce red blood cells, and maintaining the proper amount of minerals in your body. Itchy and dry skin signal the failure of kidneys to maintain the right balance of minerals and nutrients which can result in bone and kidney disease.
Warning: If you have dry and itchy skin, try to stay more hydrated. Remember, before taking any medication for itching consult your doctor. Certain medications have ingredients that potentially could damage your kidney function even more.
Feeling Tired Or Sluggish During The Day
Everyone has a day when they feel tired maybe you didnt get enough sleep, or ate the wrong foods, or some other temporary factors are at play. But sometimes, fatigue is caused by lack of a hormone called erythropoietin, or EPO. The main function of EPO is to stimulate the production of red blood cells, and red blood cells carry energizing oxygen to cells throughout your body.
Stressed kidneys do not produce enough EPO, thereby reducing the number of red blood cells and making you feel weak and tired out.
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What Happens To Electrolytes In Renal Failure
Renal failure is often complicated by elevations in potassium, phosphate, and magnesium and decreases in sodium and calcium. Additionally, chronic renal failure patients often present with an anion gap metabolic acidosis.
What happens when your body is low on electrolytes?
Low potassium may not cause symptoms, but it may affect how your body stores glucogen or cause abnormal heart rhythms. A level under three can cause muscle weakness, spasms, cramps, paralysis and respiratory problems. If it continues, kidney problems may occur.
Get To Know The Signs Of Kidney Failure
Sohow do you turn up the volume on this silent killer? Dr. Calle says to payattention to these five signs of kidney failure:
But heres the problem : These symptoms seem to appear with no rhyme or reason. You could have all the symptoms at the same time or intermittently, or you may have one but not the others, Dr. Calle explains. It can feel like playing symptom Russian roulette.
Toplay it safe, see your doctor even if just one of these symptoms makes anappearance.
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How Long Can I Expect My Cat To Live
Unfortunately, once the kidneys are damaged, they have very limited ability to recover. However, with proper management, most CRF cases progress very slowly. With treatment, your cat may have several years of good quality, active life ahead.
Does Kidney Failure Cause Pain
Kidney failure in itself does not cause pain. However, the consequences of kidney failure may cause pain and discomfort in different parts of the body.
Amyloid proteins
Normal functioning kidneys filter amyloid from the blood stream. In kidney failure amyloid proteins in the blood rise, and can separate and clump together forming amyloid deposits into a variety of tissue and organs, including joints and tendons. This can result in symptoms of:
- Patients who are on dialysis may have discomfort when on the dialysis machine.
Underlying chronic disease pain
- Pain is often a consequence of the underlying chronic disease that led to kidney failure, for example:
- People with poorly controlled diabetes may develop diabetic neuropathy pain.
- People who have peripheral vascular disease also may have pain in their extremities, and may develop claudication .
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