Since Chronic Kidney Disease Is Basically Just A Wearing Out Process How Is It Treated
The treatment of chronic kidney disease depends on the results of blood tests, and specific treatments are aimed at resolving specific abnormalities. In some cases, the kidneys are damaged beyond repair before diagnosis and medical treatment is ineffective. However, with early diagnosis and aggressive treatment, many dogs will live a normal lifestyle for many months or years.
Treatment usually occurs in two phases, first flushing the kidneys and removing the accumulated toxins from the blood, and then providing treatments to manage the disease and delay its progression.
Progression Of Kidney Disease
Once somebody has some degree of kidney disease it frequently progresses over time. The rate of progression can vary. The stages of CKD can be thought of in terms ranging from 1 to 5.
In CKD stage 1, the patient has normal filtering function as measured by the Glomerular Filtration Rate of about 120 mls/min. Other levels of CKD are outlined below:CKD 1 GFR greater than 90mls/minCKD 2 GFR 60 to 89CKD 3 GFR 30 to 59CKD 4 GFR 15 to 29CKD 5 GFR less than 15mls/min
Most patients who are diagnosed as having CKD 1, 2, or 3 have only mild kidney disease and do not progress to ESKD. The GFR can be calculated by doing a 24 hour urine collection. Once the GFR is below 70, it frequently continues to decline. If the GFR declines by one ml per year, it will take 80 years to progress from CKD Level 1 to CKD Level 5, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. However, if GFR declines by 10mls per year it will only take 8 years to go from CKD Level 1 to CKD Level 5.
About Joanna Pendergrass Dvm
JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM, is a veterinarian and freelance medical writer in Atlanta, GA. After graduating from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine with her veterinary degree, JoAnna completed a 2-year research fellowship in neuroscience at Emory University. During this fellowship, she learned that she could make a career out of combining her loves of science and writing.As a medical writer, JoAnna is passionate about providing pet parents with clear, concise, and engaging information about pet care. Through her writing, she strives not only to educate pet parents, but also empower them to make good health decisions for their pets. JoAnna is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and Dog Writers Association of America.
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Diabetes And Kidney Failure
Without management, high blood sugar can damage your kidneys. The damage can worsen over time.
Diabetic nephropathy, or kidney damage caused by type 1 or type 2 diabetes, cant be reversed. Managing your blood sugar and blood pressure may help prevent or limit kidney damage. Taking medications as prescribed by your doctor is important, too.
If you have diabetes, your doctor will likely perform regular screenings to monitor for kidney failure.
Your risk for diabetic nephropathy increases the longer you live with diabetes.
Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. About one-third of adults with diabetes have kidney disease, according to the
Will Kidney Failure Affect My Sex Life
Kidney failure will affect your emotions, nerves, hormones, and energy levels, all of which may change your sexual relationships. Taking good care of yourself by managing your kidney disease and controlling your blood pressure and blood glucose levels can help prevent some sexual problems, such as erectile dysfunction. Getting counseling may help with some emotional problems, such as anxiety and depression, which can get in the way of having satisfying sex.
You may feel shy asking questions about your sex life, but your health care team has heard the same questions from other people. Your provider is trained to help you address concerns about your sex life.
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What Causes Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease is caused by damage to the kidneys. The most common causes of this damage are:
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure over many years.
- High blood sugar over many years. This happens in uncontrolled type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Other things that can lead to chronic kidney disease include:
- Kidney diseases and infections, such as polycystic kidney disease, pyelonephritis, and glomerulonephritis, or a kidney problem you were born with.
- A narrowed or blocked renal artery. A renal artery carries blood to the kidneys.
- Long-term use of medicines that can damage the kidneys. Examples include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as celecoxib and ibuprofen.
How The Kidneys Work
The kidneys are like the body’s garbage collection and disposal system. Through microscopic units called nephrons, the kidneys remove waste products and extra water from the food a person eats, returning chemicals the body needs back into the bloodstream. The extra water combines with other waste to become urine, which flows through thin tubes called ureters to the bladder, where it stays until it exits through the urethra when someone goes to the bathroom.
The kidneys also produce three important hormones:
- erythropoietin, which stimulates the bone marrow to make red blood cells
- renin, which helps regulate blood pressure and
- the active form of vitamin D, which helps control the calcium balance in the body and maintain healthy bones.
Kidney failure, which is also called renal failure, is when the kidneys slow down or stop properly filtering wastes from the body, which can cause buildups of waste products and toxic substances in the blood. Kidney failure can be acute or chronic .
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Food Tastes Like Metal
Why this happens:
A build-up of wastes in the blood can make food taste different and cause bad breath. You may also notice that you stop liking to eat meat, or that you are losing weight because you just don’t feel like eating.
What patients said:
Foul taste in your mouth. Almost like you’re drinking iron.
I don’t have the appetite I had before I started dialysis, I must have lost about 10 pounds.
Medicines To Treat High Blood Pressure
Most people who have chronic kidney disease have problems with high blood pressure at some time during their disease. Medicines that lower blood pressure help to keep it in a target range and stop any more kidney damage.
Common blood pressure medicines include:
You may need to try several blood pressure medicines before you find the medicine that controls your blood pressure well without bothersome side effects. Most people need to take a combination of medicines to get the best results. Your doctor may order blood tests 3 to 5 days after you start or change your medicines. The tests help your doctor make sure that your medicines are working correctly.
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What Can I Do To Help Myself
If you smoke, stop. Ask for help in stopping if you need to. There are lots of treatments to help.
Try to control your blood pressure. Take any blood pressure medications regularly and as directed by your doctor. Reduce the amount of salt in your diet to less than 6g per day.
You can find advice on how to reduce your salt intake on the FoodSwitch UK website.
Maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight, have diabetes or advanced kidney disease, and need advice on your diet, ask your GP about the services available in your area. They may refer you to a dietitian for specialist advice.
Eat a healthy and balanced diet, with support from your GP and dietician where this is available.
You can find out a lot more about following a kidney-friendly diet on our Kidney Kitchen site.
Avoid anti-inflammatory medicine such as ibuprofen as they can make kidney disease worse. Ask your pharmacist each time you are given a new medicine to check that it is okay for you to take with your reduced kidney function
If you are unwell you may need to temporarily stop taking certain medications. This is particularly important if you take blood pressure medications. Please discuss this with your GP, pharmacist or kidney specialist.
Do not stop your medication without taking medical advice.
What Is Chronic Renal Failure Is It The Same As Chronic Kidney Disease
Many people think that chronic kidney failure or chronic renal failure means that the kidneys have stopped working and are not making urine. This is not the case. By definition, chronic renal failure , or chronic kidney disease is the inability of the kidneys to efficiently filter the blood of waste products, not the inability to produce urine. Ironically, most dogs in kidney failure produce large quantities of urine, but the bodys toxic wastes are not being effectively eliminated.
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What Medications Are Prescribed For People With Chronic Kidney Disease
Depending on the cause of your kidney disease, you may be prescribed one or more medications. Medications your nephrologist may prescribe include:
- An angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker to lower your blood pressure.
- A diuretic to help your body eliminate extra fluid.
- Medications to lower cholesterol levels.
- Erythropoetin, to build red blood cells if you are anemic.
- Vitamin D and calcitrol to prevent bone loss.
- Phosphate binder if your kidneys cant eliminate phosphate.
Why Do Kidneys Fail
Most kidney diseases attack the nephrons, causing them to lose their filtering capacity. Damage to the nephrons may happen quickly, as the result of injury or poisoning, but most kidney diseases destroy the nephrons slowly and silently. Only after years or even decades will the damage become apparent. Most kidney diseases attack both kidneys at the same time.
The two most common causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure. If your family has a history of any kind of kidney problems, you may be at risk for kidney disease.
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What Are Some Indicators Of Fast Kidney Disease Progression
While the rate of disease progression will be different for everyone, multiple studies have shown that reliable indicators of faster progression include:
- Congestive heart failure
- Low serum albumin
- Age of under 65, especially if diabetic
- Longer duration of diabetes before diagnosis
- African, Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Native American, or Pacific Islander ethnicity
Additional factors that various studies have shown to indicate a faster progression of CKD include:
- Acute kidney injury
- Treatment with dual RAS blockades
- Low hemoglobin levels
How Is Kidney Failure Treated
Kidney failure treatment is determined by the cause and extent of the problem. Treating your chronic medical condition can delay the progression of kidney disease. If your kidneys start losing their function gradually, your doctor may use one or more methods to track your health. By watching you closely, your doctor can help you maintain your kidneys function as long as possible.
Your doctor may gauge your kidney function with:
- Routine blood tests
- Blood pressure checks
Because the kidneys serve such an important purpose, people in kidney failure need treatment to keep them alive. The main treatments for kidney failure are:
- Dialysis: This treatment helps the body filter the blood .
- In hemodialysis, a machine regularly cleans your blood for you. People often receive this kidney failure treatment at a hospital or dialysis clinic, 3 or 4 days each week.
- Peritoneal dialysis cleans the blood in a slightly different way using a dialysis solution and a catheter. Sometimes, people can do their treatment at home.
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Can Hbp Cause Kidney Failure
Your kidneys and circulatory system depend on each other for good health. The kidneys help filter wastes and extra fluids from blood, using a lot of blood vessels. When the blood vessels become damaged, the nephrons that filter your blood dont receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to function well. This is why high blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure.
Stage 3 Kidney Disease Life Expectancy
When diagnosed and managed early, stage 3 CKD has a longer life expectancy than more advanced stages of kidney disease. Estimates can vary based on age and lifestyle.
One such estimate says that the average life expectancy is 24 years in men who are 40, and 28 in women of the same age group.
Aside from overall life expectancy, its important to consider your risk of disease progression. One 10-year study of stage 3 CKD patients found that about half progressed to more advanced stages of kidney disease.
Its also possible to experience complications from CKD, such as cardiovascular disease, which can affect your overall life expectancy.
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Complications Of Chronic Kidney Disease
- Anemia. You may feel weak, have pale skin, and feel tired, because the kidneys can’t produce enough of the hormone needed to make new red blood cells.
- Electrolyte imbalance. When the kidneys can’t filter out certain chemicals, such as potassium, phosphate, and acids, you may have an irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, and other problems.
- Uremic syndrome. You may be tired, have nausea and vomiting, not have an appetite, or not be able to sleep when substances build up in your blood. The substances can be poisonous if they reach high levels. This syndrome can affect many parts of your body, including the intestines, nerves, and heart.
- Heart disease. Chronic kidney disease speeds up hardening of the arteries and increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. Heart disease is the most common cause of death in people with kidney failure.
- Bone disease . Abnormal levels of substances, such as calcium, phosphate, and vitamin D, can lead to bone disease.
- Fluid buildup . As kidney function gets worse, fluids and salt build up in the body. Fluid buildup can lead to heart failure and pulmonary edema.
Is A Kidney Transplant An Option
If kidney failure occurs and is non-reversible, kidney transplantation is an alternative option to dialysis. If the patient is an appropriate candidate, the healthcare professional and nephrologist will contact an organ transplant center to arrange evaluation to see whether the patient is suitable for this treatment. If so, the search for a donor begins. Sometimes, family members have compatible tissue types and, if they are willing, may donate a kidney. Otherwise, the patient will be placed on the organ transplant list that is maintained by the United Network of Organ Sharing.
Not all hospitals are capable of performing kidney transplants. The patient may have to travel to undergo their operation. The most successful programs are those that do many transplants every year.
While kidney transplants have become routine, they still carry some risk. The patient will need to take anti-rejection medications that reduce the ability of the immune system to fight infection. The body can try to reject the kidney or the transplanted kidney may fail to work. As with any operation, there is a risk of bleeding and infection.
Kidney transplants may provide better quality of life than dialysis. After one year, 95% of transplanted kidneys are still functioning and after five years, the number is 80%. It seems that the longer a patient is on dialysis, the shorter the life of the transplanted kidney.
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Early Ckd May Not Have Any Symptoms
You may wonder how you can have CKD and feel fine. Our kidneys have a greater capacity to do their job than is needed to keep us healthy. For example, you can donate one kidney and remain healthy. You can also have kidney damage without any symptoms because, despite the damage, your kidneys are still doing enough work to keep you feeling well. For many people, the only way to know if you have kidney disease is to get your kidneys checked with blood and urine tests.
As kidney disease gets worse, a person may have swelling, called edema. Edema happens when the kidneys cant get rid of extra fluid and salt. Edema can occur in the legs, feet, or ankles, and less often in the hands or face.
What Is Peritoneal Dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of the abdominal cavity as the dialysis filter to rid the body of waste and to balance electrolyte levels. A catheter is placed in the abdominal cavity through the abdominal wall by a surgeon, and it is expected to remain in place for the long-term. The dialysis solution is then dripped in through the catheter and left in the abdominal cavity for a few hours after which, it is drained out. During that time, waste products leech from the blood flowing through the lining of the abdomen , and attach themselves to the fluid that has been instilled by the catheters. Often, patients instill the dialysate fluid before bedtime, and drain it in the morning.
There are benefits and complications for each type of dialysis. Not every patient can choose which type he or she would prefer. The treatment decision depends on the patientâs illness and their past medical history along with other issues. Usually, the nephrologist will have a long discussion with the patient and family to decide what will be the best option available.
Dialysis is lifesaving. Without it, patients whose kidneys no longer function would die relatively quickly due to electrolyte abnormalities and the buildup of toxins in the blood stream. Patients may live many years with dialysis but other underlying and associated illnesses often are the cause of death.
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