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.
What Do The Kidneys Do
The kidneys have several jobs. One of the most important is helping your body eliminate toxins. The kidneys filter your blood and send waste out of your body in urine.
The kidneys are bean-shaped organs about the size of your fist. They sit under your ribcage, toward your back. Most people have two working kidneys, but people can live well as long as at least one is working correctly.
When the kidneys dont work effectively, waste products build up in your body. If this happens, you might feel sick. In the most serious situations, kidney failure can be life-threatening. However, many people can manage kidney failure with the right treatment.
Acute Kidney Failure Prevention
You can reduce your risk of getting acute kidney failure by practicing some healthy habits.
- Be careful when taking over-the-counter pain medications. Whether you are taking NSAID medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen or other types of OTC pain medications like acetaminophen, itâs important to read and follow the recommended dosing instructions on the package. If you take too much of these meds, you could increase your chances of getting acute kidney failure.
- Follow your doctorâs advice. If you have a higher risk of getting acute kidney failure because of pre-existing kidney disease or other conditions, make sure to follow your doctor’s advice for treating and managing your condition.
- Keep a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, eating right, and drinking little or no alcohol can go a long way to preventing acute kidney failure.
American Kidney Fund: âKidney Failure/ESRD.â
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: âKidney Failure.â
Mayo Clinic: âAcute Kidney Failure,â âLow potassium .â
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: âKidney Disease: What to Expect.â
Merck Manuals: âAcute Kidney Injury.â
University of New Mexico health Sciences Center: âElectrolyte Imbalance.â
Hopkins Medicine: âHealth Home, Treatment, Tests and Therapies, 24-Hour Urine Collection.â
National Health Service, UK: âAcute Kidney Injury, Complications of Acute Kidney Injury.â
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What Should I Eat When I Have Kidney Failure
Dialysis helps to do some of the work that your kidneys did when they were healthy, but it cannot do everything that healthy kidneys do. Therefore, even when you are on dialysis, you will need to limit what and how much you eat and drink. Your diet needs may depend on the type of dialysis you are on and your treatment schedule. Learn more about the diet for living with kidney failure.
Learn what healthy eating means for people in every stage of kidney disease, including those on dialysis or living with a kidney transplant. Find recipes on Kidney Kitchen.
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 body’s toxic wastes are not being effectively eliminated.
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Will Kidney Failure Affect My Sleep
People who have kidney failure may have trouble sleeping. Sleep loss can affect your quality of life, energy level, and mood. Restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, pain, or itching may make it hard for you to sleep.
You can take a number of steps to improve your sleep habits. For example, physical activity during the day and a warm bath before bed may help you sleep better at night. Avoid caffeine after lunchtime. Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. Avoid smoking.
Talk with your health care provider if you often feel sleepy during the day or have trouble sleeping at night. Health care providers can treat sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome.
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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What Are The Causes Of Kidney Failure
It depends on the type of kidney failure or kidney injury. Acute renal failure has a sudden onset that happens in days. In contrast, chronic kidney failure has a progressive and slow beginning that may take months even years.
Having kidney failure means that 85% to 90% of kidney function is gone. The following are the causes for each one of the possible scenarios of kidney failure.
What Causes Kidney Failure
The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure. Sometimes, though, kidney failure happens quickly due to an unforeseen cause.
When the kidneys lose function suddenly , its called acute kidney failure . This type of kidney failure is often temporary. Common causes of acute kidney failure can include:
- Autoimmune kidney diseases
- A urinary tract obstruction
- Uncontrolled systemic disease like heart or liver disease
Kidney failure usually doesnt happen overnight. Chronic kidney disease refers to a group of health conditions that affect how well your kidneys function over time. If left untreated, chronic kidney disease can lead to kidney failure.
The biggest causes of kidney failure from chronic kidney disease are:
- Diabetes: Unmanaged diabetes can lead to uncontrolled blood sugar levels. Consistently high blood sugar can damage the bodys organs, including the kidneys.
- High blood pressure: High blood pressure means blood travels through your bodys blood vessels with increased force. Over time, untreated high blood pressure levels can damage the kidneys tissue.
Other causes of chronic kidney disease include:
- Polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary condition where cysts grow inside your kidneys.
- Glomerular diseases, such as glomerulonephritis, which affect how well the kidneys can filter waste.
- Lupus and other autoimmune diseases that can affect multiple body systems.
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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.
Can Kidney Failure Be Prevented
While kidney failure from chronic kidney disease cant be reversed, you can do many things to help preserve the kidney function you have today. Healthy habits and routines may slow down how quickly kidneys lose their functional abilities.
If you have chronic kidney disease or kidney failure, youll want to:
- Monitor your kidney function, with your doctors help.
- Keep your blood sugar levels under control, if you have diabetes.
- Keep your blood pressure levels in a normal range.
- Avoid smoking.
- Make healthy diet choices, such as limiting foods high in protein and sodium.
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What Are The Treatment Options For Kidney Failure
If you have kidney failure , you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to live. There is no cure for ESRD, but many people live long lives while on dialysis or after having a kidney transplant.
There are just a few options for treating kidney failure, including kidney transplant and several types of dialysis. Your doctor can help you figure out which treatment is best for you. Learn more about the treatment options for kidney failure.
What Can I Expect From This First Phase Of Treatment
There are three possible outcomes from the first phase of treatment:
1. The kidneys will resume functioning and continue to function for a few weeks to a few years.
2. The kidneys will resume functioning during treatment but fail again as soon as treatment stops, usually within three to fourteen days.
3. Kidney function will not return.
Unfortunately, there are no reliable tests that will predict the outcome. Each case should be treated aggressively and monitored closely. Even dogs that have severe kidney failure may respond favorably to treatment and resume a normal quality of life after treatment.
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How Is Chronic Kidney Failure Diagnosed
There are two basic tests for kidney function: a complete urinalysis and a blood chemistry analysis.
A urinalysis is needed to evaluate kidney function. A low urine specific gravity is the earliest indication of kidney failure. An increase in protein in the urine also indicates decreased kidney function.
A blood biochemistry analysis assesses the function of various internal organs. Measuring the level of two waste products in the blood, namely blood urea nitrogen and blood creatinine , indicates decreased kidney function. Tests to measure the blood levels of other substances such as albumin, globulin, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, and calcium, as well as the red and white blood cell counts are important in order to determine the extent of failure and the best course of treatment.
A recently developed blood test to assess levels of SDMA has been used to determine if early renal failure is occurring. SDMA concentrations increase above the normal reference interval well before serum creatinine becomes elevated. This will help your veterinarian provide treatment for your dog at a much earlier stage in the disease.
“SDMA concentrations increase above the normal reference interval well before serum creatinine becomes elevated.”
A dog diagnosed with low urine specific gravity as well as elevated BUN and CREA is said to be azotemic.
How Hospice Can Help With End
Besides providing help in recognizing the signs of end-of-life kidney failure, hospice can help the family caregiver in managing their own needs. The team at Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care includes nurses, volunteers, aides, social workers, and doctors who provide many different services, from personal care like grooming and bathing, to help with managing the patients medication.
If you would like to learn more about how Crossroads can help, we recommend you contact us now by selecting one of the Get Help options from the blue help center bar at the top of this page.
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What Is The Connection Between Liver Failure And Kidney Failure
The primary connection between liver failure and kidney failure is that both conditions can lead to many of the same symptoms. They may also occur together when a patient has certain conditions. The kidney and liver function in similar ways, since each organ is a filter for various regions of the body and they each act to absorb toxins from the urine, digestive tract, and blood. This makes them especially prone to illness in individuals who engage in high-risk behaviors.
Both liver failure and kidney failure are more common in those who abuse certain substances. Individuals who use alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs are at a much higher risk of developing these conditions than those who don’t. Eating a high fat diet and living a sedentary lifestyle also increase the risk. Both liver failure and kidney failure can often be avoided by exercising regularly and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Kidney Failure: How It Happens And What You Can Do To Prevent It
Your kidneys are an important organ with a very important job; they filter waste products from your blood and help to control your blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and red blood cell production in your body. When your kidneys are not functioning properly, waste and excess fluid can build up, leading to serious issues, including kidney failure. There are numerous causes of kidney failure, ways to effectively treat it, and most importantly, measures you can take to prevent kidney failure from happening.
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How Can I Prevent Acute Kidney Failure
Preventing and treating illnesses that can lead to acute kidney failure is the best method for avoiding the disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, having a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and a sensible diet can help to prevent kidney failure. Work with your doctor to manage existing medical conditions that could lead to acute kidney failure.
Acute kidney failure can be a life-threatening illness. Chronic renal failure or end-stage renal disease can develop. Theres a greater risk of death if kidney failure is caused by severe infection, trauma, or surgery.
The following can also increase the risk of death:
How Is Kidney Disease Treated
How kidney disease is treated depends on the particular problem and what’s causing it:
- Kidney infections are treated with .
- Medicines to decrease may help with nephritis and nephrotic syndrome.
- Medicines can treat high blood pressure or help the kidneys make extra pee if fluid or swelling is causing a kidney problem.
- A person might need to eat a special diet that limits salt or other things.
Occasionally, if medicines and other treatments don’t work, the kidneys can stop working well. They may not clear enough of the body’s waste products and excess water. In that case, a person might need dialysis. This process uses an artificial filtering system to do the job of the kidneys when they can’t.
Some people who need dialysis on a permanent basis might be candidates for a kidney transplant. This means they get a donated kidney from another person. Someone who gets a transplanted kidney no longer needs dialysis to clean the blood of waste products and remove excess water. The donated, healthy kidney takes over the job.
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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.
A Closer Look At Your Kidneys
You have two kidneys on either side of your spine, each roughly the size of your fist, deeply set in your abdomen. Made up of millions of nephrons, these tiny filtering systems take in blood, filter through it to clear out any toxins, and pass remaining fluid along to a tubule. Here, water and other chemicals are added or removed to provide your body with what is necessary to function. At the end, any remaining waste or extra fluid is excreted as urine. Your kidneys have an important job of keeping your electrolytes and water balance in check and ridding your blood of waste once you have received the hormones, vitamins, amino acids, and other substances you need.
If one or both of your kidneys are not working properly and cannot rid your body of waste, excess water, and toxins, you get a buildup that can end up back in your bloodstream and lead to serious complications in all areas of your body.
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