Can You Survive Kidney Disease

For Families Speaking To Patients

Educate yourself first. Being well-informed is the key to having an effective discussion with your loved one about a topic as sensitive as hospice. We encourage you to read and share Considering Hospice: A Discussion Guide for Families at HospiceCanHelp.com

Ask permission. Asking permission to discuss a difficult topic assures a family member with kidney disease that you will respect and honor his or her wishes. Say something like, I would like to talk about how we can continue to ensure you get the very best care and attention as your condition progresses. Is that okay?

Determine what is important to your loved one. Make sure your loved one knows you want to put his/her needs first. Ask what he/she is hoping for in the future a desire to be comfortable, to stay at home, to be pain-free?

Discuss hospice care as a means of fulfilling the patients wishes. Once your loved one has told you what is important, explain that hospice is a way of making sure that his or her wishes and desires are met. For some, the word hospice evokes a false notion of giving up. Explain that hospice is not about surrendering to disease or death. It is about bringing quality of life to the patients remaining months, weeks or days. Learn why choosing hospice isnt giving up.

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Later Stages Of Kidney Disease: Stages 3 4 And 5

Many people with CKD arent diagnosed till the disease has advanced, as symptoms often dont appear till kidney function is at 25% or less. CKD is a progressive disease that worsens slowly over a period of years and leads to kidney failure. With kidney failure, waste products must be cleaned out of your blood by mechanical means. Here are the life expectancies for later stages of chronic kidney disease, though individual experiences and life spans vary widely:

• Stage 3 Kidney Disease: You may not have symptoms, but your creatine levels indicate some damage to your kidneys. At this relatively early stage, you do not need dialysis or a kidney transplant. Life expectancy for stage 3 kidney disease differs between men and women. A 40-year-old man has a typical life expectancy of 24 years after diagnosis, and a 40-year-old woman with the same diagnosis has a life expectancy of 28 years.

• Stage 4 Kidney Disease: The kidneys are significantly damaged. Kidney failure becomes likely, which will require dialysis or a kidney transplant. A 40-year-old man with stage 4 kidney disease has a life expectancy of 14 years after diagnosis, while a 40-year-old woman can expect to live 16 more years. The right diet and medication may still slow disease progression.

How Low Is Low

A healthy kidney filters wastes from the blood at a rate of 90 milliliters per minute or more. This is known as the glomerular filtration rate, or GFR. With time, many men’s kidneys start to slip, but function must decline quite a lot before you start to really feel the impact. You feel fine up to the point that kidney function is almost gone, which means you can lead a normal life with reduced kidney function.

On the other hand, lack of early warning from symptoms can deny you the chance to slow the slide. Most people don’t start feeling really ill until kidney function is under 10%.

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What Does Recovery Look Like

Your recovery depends on the type of treatment recommended by your doctor.

With dialysis, you can receive treatment at a facility or at home. In many cases, dialysis allows you to prolong your life by regularly filtering waste from your body. Some dialysis options allow you to use a portable machine so that you can continue your daily life without having to use a large machine or go to a dialysis center.

Kidney transplants are also likely to succeed. Failure rates of transplanted kidneys are low, ranging from 3 to 21 percent in the first five years. A transplant allows you to resume normal kidney function. If you follow your doctors recommendations for diet and lifestyle changes, a kidney transplant can help you live free from ESRD for many years.

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Where Can I Find Out More Information About Chronic Kidney Disease

Asking questions and getting them answeredby a healthcare professional or in a book or other reliable sourceis a key part of doing well with any chronic disease. Here are some thoughts:

• Ask your care team to teach you about your condition and to give you any information they have. Never feel shy about coming to a clinic visit with a list of questionsand write down the answers.

• Visit the Medical Education Institutes FREE Kidney School16 modules of self-paced learning on kidney topics from nutrition to anemia to lab tests and much more.

• At this Life Options website, we have a long list of kidney links and many booklets and fact sheets about kidney disease that you can read or download.

• Your local library is another option.

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What Are The Different Kinds Of Peritoneal Dialysis And How Do They Work

There are several kinds of peritoneal dialysis but two major ones are:Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis and Automated Peritoneal Dialysis .

Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis is the only type of peritoneal dialysis that is done without machines. You do this yourself, usually four or five times a day at home and/or at work. You put a bag of dialysate into your peritoneal cavity through the catheter. The dialysate stays there for about four or five hours before it is drained back into the bag and thrown away. This is called an exchange. You use a new bag of dialysate each time you do an exchange. While the dialysate is in your peritoneal cavity, you can go about your usual activities at work, at school or at home.

Automated Peritoneal Dialysis usually is done at home using a special machine called a cycler. This is similar to CAPD except that a number of cycles occur. Each cycle usually lasts 1-1/2 hours and exchanges are done throughout the night while you sleep.

Why Do I Need Dialysis

If your kidneys are not working properly for example, because you have advanced chronic kidney disease the kidneys may not be able to clean the blood properly.

Waste products and fluid can build up to dangerous levels in your body.

Left untreated, this can cause a number of unpleasant symptoms and eventually be fatal.

Dialysis filters out unwanted substances and fluids from the blood before this happens.

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Regular Reviews And Monitoring

You’ll have regular contact with your care team to monitor your condition.

These appointments may involve:

• talking about your symptoms such as whether they’re affecting your normal activities or are getting worse
• a discussion about your medicine including whether you are experiencing any side effects
• tests to monitor your kidney function and general health

It’s also a good opportunity to ask any questions you have or raise any other issues you’d like to discuss with your care team.

You may also want to help monitor your condition at home for example, by using a home blood pressure monitor.

Contact your GP or healthcare team if your symptoms are getting worse or you develop new symptoms.

Kidney Disease Can Be A Silent Emergency

CKD occurs when your kidneys are damaged to the extent that they cant filter your blood effectively.

Proper kidney function is crucial to balancing the needed minerals and electrolytes in your body, like potassium or calcium, as well as serving in red blood cell production.

Your kidneys also help release water-soluble waste from your body and maintain your bodys acid-base balance, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases .

Kidney disease is very important to discuss because its one of those silent emergencies, what they call silent killers, a lot of people think of like heart disease, said Dr. Erkeda DeRouen, a primary care physician and Inlightened expert.

DeRouen told Healthline that a lot of people with some degree of CDK can live for years without knowing anything is wrong, given that it doesnt always have the most clearly defined symptoms.

Its not like you develop a rash or something changes with your vision. Oftentimes, symptoms wont manifest themselves until the kidney is severely damaged or you experience kidney failure.

These signs and symptoms can range in everything from swelling of your legs and fatigue, to bone pain or blood in your stool.

It can be confusing because a lot of these symptoms resemble those of other chronic conditions.

Causes of CKD can include comorbid conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.

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Can You Change Treatments For Kidney Failure

If you start on one type of treatment for kidney failure but feel you would like to try something else, you can speak to your healthcare professional about changing. For most people, it is often possible to change treatments. For example, if you choose hemodialysis, it doesn’t mean you can’t switch to peritoneal dialysis at a later date. Even if you choose to have a kidney transplant, you may need a period of dialysis until you can be transplanted with a new kidney. It is not uncommon for people who have had kidney failure for many years to have had more than one type of treatment in that time.

How Do I Cope With Kidney Failure

Learning you have kidney failure can be a shock, even if you have known for a long time that your kidneys were not working well. You may feel sad or anxious.

Reach out for support from your health care team and your family, friends and community. They can help you make changes to feel your best while you get dialysis and may be waiting for a kidney transplant.

To feel your best, your doctors will recommend that you:

• Go to every dialysis visit and consider getting a kidney transplant.
• Have visits with a nephrologist.
• Meet with a dietitian to help you create and follow a kidney-friendly eating plan.
• Keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. They may prescribe blood pressure medicines
• Keep your blood sugar at a healthy level if you have diabetes.
• Be active for 30 minutes on most days of the week.

• Drink less alcohol and quit smoking or using tobacco.

• Learn about mental health and kidney disease.

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How Long Does It Take To Die From Kidney Failure

It depends on many factors, and there is not an exact answer for that as each patient is different from each other. Kidney failure is most common in elderly patients, but it can affect young patients as well.

The age of the patient at the time of the diseases onset plays a major role, and if there are any other underlying conditions like diabetes.

A dialysis is an option for people who suffer from kidney failure. It is a very effective treatment that may help to increase the life expectancy of the patients. Nonetheless, the remaining life of patients with kidney failure depends on the remaining percentage of functional kidney and the age of the patient.

If the patient is young , the average remaining time is 24 years for males and 22 for women if they receive treatment.

Individuals from 30 to 35 have an average remaining life of 14 years for males and 13 for women. Those aged between 70 and 75 years have an average of 4 years for both males and females.

Statistics show that even with treatment, as people grow older, the remaining life with this disease grows shorter as it reduces with age.

If patients decide to not receive dialysis treatment, life expectancy significantly reduces. Kidney failure is a life-threatening condition. The patients remaining time depends on the residual kidney functionality, and it can go from days to several weeks.

Slowing Down Kidney Disease: It Can Be Done

When a new family doctor told me nine years ago that I had a problem with my kidneys maybe kidney disease my first reaction was to demand, “What is it and how did I get it?”

No doctor had ever mentioned kidney disease before. I was diagnosed at stage 3 there are only five stages. I had to start working to slow it down immediately. I wanted to know how medication, consuming kidney-friendly foods and fluids, exercise and other lifestyle changes could help. I did not want to be told what to do without an explanation as to why, and when I could not get an explanation that was acceptable to me, I started researching.

I read just about every book I could find concerning this problem. Surprisingly, very few books dealt with the early or moderate stages of the disease. Yet these are the stages when we are most shocked, confused and maybe even depressed and the stages at which we have a workable chance of doing something to slow down the progression of our kidney disease to kidney failure.

I have learned that 37 million Americans 1 in 7 people have kidney disease, but most do not know they have it. Many, like me, never experienced any noticeable symptoms. Many, like me, may have had high blood pressure for years before it was diagnosed. Yet, high blood pressure and diabetes are the two leading causes of kidney disease.

Another critical piece of slowing down kidney disease is medication.

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S To Take At Stage 5 Kidney Disease

• See a nephrologist regularlyIt’s important to have your labs and symptoms monitored closely to track progression. Continue to see your primary care doctor and any other specialists to monitor any other health conditions.
• Continue following a kidney-friendly dietA healthy stage 5 kidney disease diet may involve limiting or monitoring your intake of things like potassium, phosphorus, sodium, or fluids. If you plan to start dialysis, your dietary needs may change. Talk to your renal dietitian about which kidney-friendly foods are the best choices for you. Eating well can help you stay your healthiest and feel your best.
• Meet with your insurance coordinatorWhen preparing for treatment, make sure you have your best possible health insurance coverage. Before making any changes to your plan, talk to your insurance coordinator to help you understand your health coverage options.
• Prepare for treatmentIf you’ve chosen home dialysis, prepare your treatment space and learn what to expect from your dialysis training. If you’ve chosen in-center dialysis, schedule a tour with your local dialysis center.
• Build your support networkReach out to people who care about you and can help support you. Friends, family, and your care team all want you to feel your best.

Stage 2 Kidney Disease Symptoms

EGFR readings at stage 2 are still considered within a normal kidney function range, so it can be difficult to diagnose this form of chronic kidney disease.

If you have elevated eGFR levels, you may also have high creatinine levels in your urine if you have kidney damage.

Stage 2 CKD is largely asymptomatic, with most noticeable symptoms not appearing until your condition has progressed to stage 3.

Possible symptoms include:

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Life Expectancy With Ckd

Life expectancy tables for people with CKD have been created from a large population-based registry in Alberta, Canada and stratified for different levels of eGFR . Data are calculated for men and women from 30 years of age to age 85 years by their levels of kidney function as defined by eGFRs of 60, 4559, 3044 and 1529 ml/min/1.73 m2 1) . These data show that life expectancy is progressively reduced with each age band of worse renal function.

What Is Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease is the disease in which the gradual loss of kidney functions found to get occur. Our kidneys play very important jobs in the body and protect the other organs from damage. It helps in the excretion of waste and toxins from the body which can be much dangerous for our overall health. At the time of kidney disease, all the functions performed by the kidneys found to get affected and cause the waste build up inside the body. Here are the causes of chronic kidney disease, every individual need to be aware of:

• Diabetes and frequent hypertension
• Urine backs up inside the kidneys
• Kidney infection

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How Does Stage 3 Kidney Disease Influence Your Life

At stage 3, the kidneys have been moderately damaged however, you can usually continue normal body functions, so it shouldn’t have a massive impact on your life.

Nevertheless, it does need to be taken seriously, as if you do not receive effective and timely treatment, the kidney condition will worsen, and this can severely shorten your life. Patients with stage 3 kidney disease have suffered a moderate GFR reduction to 30-59 ml/min/m2, and a loss of around half the kidney function.

When And What To Discuss With Doctor About Stage 4 Ckd

Having a close relationship with your doctor is vital for optimal kidney disease treatment. You should disclose any problems and concerns that you may be having as well as symptoms that develop. This is important as your doctor will be able to pick out and investigate potential problems before they become any more serious.

For the sake of convenience, you may discuss with your doctor your dialysis options and whether you can perform dialysis from the comfort of your own home. Speaking directly to a nephrologist will also provide more insight into your condition.

Those with stage 4 kidney disease are expected to visit their doctor at least every three months, getting a full workup and making sure the treatment plan is working well.

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