Working With Your Doctor To Manage Kidney Disease
While most types of kidney disease are not reversible, its still possible to maintain health and quality of life by working with your doctor and making lifestyle changes pertinent to your diagnosis. Its important to realize that no two cases of kidney failure are the same, and you should continue to rely on your care team to provide the best course of care. Make and keep regular appointments, adopt a kidney-friendly diet, and make other everyday changes to lessen symptoms.
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Kidney Failure From Severe Dehydration
Severe dehydration is one of the most common causes of reversible kidney failure. Dehydration can be a serious life-threatening disorder. Read Hospitalized for Dehydration if you would like to understand what to expect when hospitalized for dehydration. Kidney failure is one of the most common complications of dehydration.
During the early stages of every dehydration, your kidneys essentially shut themselves down to preserve water. Once the dehydration is corrected, the kidneys start to open up and quickly get your urine production back to normal. The blood tests I mentioned earlier help decide whether the kidney failure is still in the early rapidly reversible state. If the ratio of BUN to Cr is equal to or more than 20, your kidney failure from dehydration is likely in the early rapidly reversible stage.
When the treatment of dehydration is delayed for several days, your kidneys go into the second stage of kidney failure. Small tubes inside the kidneys start to die off and you have structural damage inside the kidneys. This type of kidney failure is medically called Acute Tubular Necrosis or ATN. Necrosis simply means dying off. ATN is still reversible in most cases, but it takes longer to recover from. The tubes that die off will have to regenerate so that the kidney failure can ultimately be reversed. It may take a few weeks to reverse the kidney failure when ATN is present.
Preventing Kidney Failure In Dogs
While its impossible to avoid kidney failure, there are measures to take to help keep your dog healthy and safe, ensuring a good quality of life.
A healthy, well-rounded, balanced diet is essential, so make sure to feed only high-quality foods containing the necessary nutrients, moisture content, and protein quality thats needed for the body to function. Your vet will be able to guide you when it comes to your dogs dietary needs.
Be careful where you leave certain products consuming toxic substances often triggers acute renal failure. Secondary illnesses can also contribute to kidney failure, so its important to seek treatment as soon as possible to avoid any additional problems.
Kidney failure can happen to dogs as they age. Therefore, the less pressure put on a dogs kidneys in the later stage of their life, the longer the kidneys will work in a healthy and effective manner.
And lastly, routine vet visits to ensure your pup is healthy and there are no underlying issues that can contribute to the onset of kidney disease.
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Are There Different Types Of Kidney Failure In Cats
There are two types of kidney failure in cats, and they differ in causes, treatment options and prognosis.
Acute Renal Failure
This type of kidney failure occurs suddenly, within days or weeks. It can happen in cats of any age and typically results from poisons, disorders, diseases, organ failure, medications and other causes.
Acute renal failure can often be reversed if caught in time.
Chronic Kidney Failure
With chronic kidney failure, the kidneys gradually stop working over months or years as they lose the ability to filter the blood of toxins. This type of kidney failure can lead to total kidney failure.
Investigating The Underlying Cause
Urine can be tested for protein, blood cells, sugar and waste products, which may give clues to the underlying cause.
Doctors also need to know about:
- any other symptoms, such as signs of or signs of heart failure
- any other medical conditions
- any medicine that’s been taken in the past week, as some medicines can cause AKI
An ultrasound scan should reveal if the cause is a blockage in the urinary system, such as an enlarged prostate or bladder tumour.
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Role Of The Kidneys In Maintaining Salt And Water Homeostasis
Extracellular volume is sensed by several types of volume and stretch receptors in the vascular beds. Adjustments to extracellular volume are made by the kidneys, which modify sodium and water excretion under the influence of hormonal and other mediators including the renin-angiotensin system, prostaglandins, vasopressin, natriuretic peptides, and the sympathetic nervous system. These mediators act on the renal vasculature as well as directly on the renal tubule to modify a series of highly regulated sodium and water transporters expressed along the renal tubule.
In addition, the kidneys have a role in maintaining the tonicity of body fluids. Within the range of serum osmolalities 280290 mOsm/kg, homeostasis of circulating tonicity is maintained by changes in circulating vasopressin levels in response to hypothalamic osmoreceptors, which modify water excretion by the direct action of vasopressin on its receptors in the cortical collecting duct. Only when serum osmolality rises above 290 mOsm/kg does thirst normally stimulate increased fluid intake. These responsive tubular transport mechanisms along with the unique anatomy of the tubule allow a sophisticated mechanism for generating precise control of sodium and water homeostasis.
Living With Stage 3 Kidney Disease
Aside from taking your prescribed medications and eating a healthy diet, adopting other lifestyle changes can help you manage CKD stage 3. Talk to your doctor about the following:
- Exercise. Aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate activity per day on most days of the week. A doctor can help you begin an exercise program safely.
- Blood pressure management. High blood pressure can be a precursor for CKD, and it can make your condition worse. Aim for a blood pressure of 140/90 and below.
- Stress management. Techniques can include exercise, getting better sleep, and meditation.
- Smoking cessation. Talk to a doctor about the right methods of quitting smoking for you.
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Sudden Loss Of Kidney Function: Do You Know What To Do In This Emergency
Some people suddenly lose their kidneys function. All at once, the kidneys stop doing their important tasks: eliminating excess fluid and salts and removing waste material. When the kidneys go on strike, dangerous levels of fluid, salts and wastes build up in the body. Without functioning kidneys, the persons life is at risk.
Acute kidney failure is the name of this problem. Most people with chronic kidney failure gradually lose the function of their kidneys. In people with acute kidney failure, though, kidney failure develops rapidly over a few hours or a few days. People at high risk are those who are already hospitalized, or who are critically ill from other causes and need intensive care.
Acute kidney failure requires immediate treatment. The good news is that acute kidney failure can often be reversed. The kidneys usually start working again within several weeks to months after the underlying cause has been treated. Dialysis is needed until then. If the kidneys fail completely, the only treatment options available are dialysis for the rest of your life or transplant.
Acute kidney failure almost always occurs in connection with another medical condition, infection or use of kidney-harming medicines. There are many possible causes of kidney damage. Many other serious conditions can increase your risk of acute kidney failure. Some of the situations that put you at risk of acute kidney failure include:
Kidney Damage From Alcohol
Your kidneys, along with your liver, are responsible for filtering harmful waste products in your blood, which includes alcohol. However, if exposed to these harmful products in excess quantities for a long period of time, even these filtration systems become damaged.
Combined with the fact that alcohol is a diuretic , and the fact that alcohol can lead to high blood pressure in the long term, you have a three-pronged risk for kidney disease.
Most experts say that increased risk kidney damage from alcohol begins to take place at an average of more than two drinks per day, and with heavy drinkers , this risk can be doubled.
- NSAIDs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Discontinue taking NSAIDs if you were diagnosed with kidney disease.
- Popular over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen are NSAIDs.
- Taking NSAIDs is one of the biggest preventable risk factors for chronic kidney disease.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are probably in your medicine cabinet or work desk.
- NSAIDs are used for various ailments and they cause kidney damage.
- The damage caused by NSAIDs can lead to chronic kidney disease.
- Limit the use of NSAIDs
- We suggest that you check with your health care provider for safer pain relief options.
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Statistics On Kidney Disease
Some of the statistics on kidney disease are quite surprising and alarming. Kidney disease affects over 37 million people in the United States. It is a very serious disease that is often overlooked. Kidney disease usually takes less priority to many other diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Believe it or not, kidney disease causes more deaths than breast or prostate cancer. There seems to be a lack of mentorship and information for people who are newly diagnosed with kidney disease.
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Diagnosing Kidney Disease In Dogs
To determine kidney failure in dogs, a complete blood profile, a chemical blood profile, a complete blood count, and a urinalysis will be done. The urinalysis offers a full study of kidney function. A low urine specific gravity is an early indication of kidney failure. An increase of protein in the urine is another indicator of decreased kidney function. If a urinary tract infection is suspected, a urine culture will also be performed.
The blood biochemistry analysis determines the function of various internal organs. The levels of specific protein enzymes and chemicals such as blood urea nitrogen and blood creatine will be high with kidney failure. Other tests to measure the blood levels of other substances include albumin, globulin, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, and calcium, as well as the red and white blood cell counts. These tests will determine the extent of failure and can aid with figuring out the best course of treatment.
Another indicator of chronic kidney failure is when the urine is dilute, which is a sign of the kidneys inability to process the urine correctly. Abnormally small kidneys is another effect of the disease an X-ray or ultrasound can be performed to see the size and shape of the dogs kidneys and determine any abnormalities.
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Check Potassium And Sodium Intake
When your body is not able to remove excess fluids properly, you should reduce the intake of potassium and sodium. As this can put some additional load on the kidneys, it is better to limit their quantity.
You can check some foods that provide healthy amounts of potassium and avoid those that contain high potassium. In the same manner, eating too much salt can lead to fluid retention in many cases.
Check this issue with your dietician and understand how much salt can safely be used in your diet without leading to fluid retention problems.
When salt gets mixed with water, it becomes a burden for the kidneys to remove the excess salt, and this fluid gets stored in the body. You can easily lessen the burden on your kidneys by reducing salt intake.
Treatment For Acute Kidney Failure Caused By Sepsis
When someone has sepsis or is in septic shock, the doctors work to treat the sepsis, the infection that caused the sepsis, and the damage that the sepsis has done, such as the kidney failure.
If the kidneys are not working efficiently enough to filter toxins and allow urine to flow, an artificial way of filtering the kidneys, dialysis, can take over. Dialysis is not a cure though. Instead, it gives the doctors a way to clean the blood while trying to control everything else.
There are two types of dialysis, hemodialysis, and peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is generally used to manage chronic kidney failure. But it can be used for acute kidney failure where hemodialysis isnt possible in areas with limited resources. For example, peritoneal dialysis has been used in Africa for patients who have malaria-associated acute kidney injury.
With hemodialysis, a machine called a hemodialyzer is the artificial kidney. A catheter placed into the patients vein leads to the other end of the catheter in the hemodialyzer. When the process starts, blood flows a few ounces at a time from the patients body to the machine. The machine filters it and sends the blood back through the catheter to the body.
People who receive dialysis are at risk of infection at the catheter site since the catheter is an invasive device. Therefore, its essential that they monitor the site for any signs of infection, like redness, swelling, skin warmer to touch, and fever.
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Kidney Health Grocery List
This is an additional great supplement to your recipe book along with a menu planner. The main ingredient to have an ideal kidney health is diet, and you have to replace unhealthy food with healthier ones. This helpful guide will help you choose the best foods next time you go grocery shopping. It lists down what you should eat and what you should avoid to improve your kidney function.
Symptoms Of Kidney Failure
If your cats kidneys arent removing waste from his or her body, you may notice many signs. General symptoms of kidney failure in cats can include:
Additionally, indications of acute kidney failure include an arched back or stiff-legged gait , and either frequent or no urination.
Because chronic kidney failure may gradually progress over years, you may not notice it. By the time you see symptoms, the disease may already have advanced.
However, with appropriate treatment some cats that have experienced chronic kidney failure live a good quality of life for years to come.
Symptoms of chronic kidney failure include easily bruising or bleeding, and increased urination.
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The Kidney Disease Solution Ebook
Its the main section of the program comprising 114 pages, divided into thirteen chapters. Its a complete step-by-step guide to the entire program. It contains all the information that you require to alter your life style and improving your kidneys. The solutions that are provided in the book are backed by the most recent studies and research in simple language.
What Lifestyle Changes Can I Make
Chronic kidney disease will gradually get worse, but there is plenty you can do to slow the progression and improve your quality of life. Changes you should make include:
- eat a healthy diet. That means eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, wholegrain cereals, lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, legumes and beans, and low-fat dairy products. Make sure you limit salt to less than 6g a day and limit your intake of saturated and trans fats. In the later stages of chronic kidney disease, you may need to follow specific instructions from your doctor on what you can eat or drink
- maintaining a healthy weight. If you have chronic kidney disease, you should ideally have a BMI of 25 or less
- limit alcohol to less than 2 standard drinks a day
- be physically active on most, preferably all, days of the week. Aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week, and make sure you do some muscle strengthening exercises
- take medicines to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or other underlying conditions
If you are being treated for chronic kidney disease, your doctors may need to change other medicines you are on, since many medicines can affect the kidneys, such as blood pressure drugs and anti-inflammatories. Some medicines which leave the body through the kidneys may need to have their dose adjusted.
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How Is Chronic Kidney Disease Treated
Chronic kidney disease cannot be cured but treatments can help prevent it from getting worse.
There are 5 stages of kidney disease. The type of treatment depends on the :
Stages 1-2: Your doctor will probably take steps to prevent you from developing cardiovascular disease. This may involve lifestyle changes and medication to lower blood pressure and keep your blood sugar under control. Make sure you tell your doctor of any medications you are taking, including natural or herbal remedies, as these can affect your kidneys. Your doctor will need to see you every 12 months.
Stages 3-4: People often discover they have kidney disease when it has already progressed and they start to feel unwell. You may need treatment to lower your blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugar. Your doctor will need to see you every 3 to 6 months.
Stages 4-5 : When the kidneys can no longer function on their own, people need kidney replacement therapy. This may include:
- kidney transplant, in which a diseased kidney is replaced by a healthy one from a donor
- dialysis, which uses a machine or other parts of the body to remove waste and extra fluid from the blood
- supportive care, which means providing all health care and support possible, but not attempting to cure the kidney failure. In this case the person with kidney failure will eventually die
You can buy a book about living with kidney failure from Kidney Health Australia.