Metallic Taste In Food
If you have kidney disease, it is very common to experience changes in your taste. Waste building up in the blood can make food taste like metal and leave a bitter aftertaste in your mouth. Unfortunately, this can make even your most favorite foods difficult to eat. In addition to making your food taste different, the waste buildup can also cause bad breath.
How Can I Live Well With Kidney Failure
Doing well with kidney failure is a challenge. You will feel better if you
- stick to your treatment schedule
- review your medicines with your health care provider at every visit and take your medicines as prescribed
- work with a dietitian to develop an eating plan that includes foods you enjoy eating while also helping your health
- stay activetake a walk or do some other physical activity that you enjoy
- stay in touch with your friends and family
Treatment with dialysis or transplant will help you feel better and live longer. Your health care team will work with you to create a treatment plan to address any health problems you have. Your treatment will include steps you can take to maintain your quality of life and activity level.
Your eating plan plays an important role. When you have kidney failure, what you eat and drink may help you maintain a healthy balance of salts, minerals, and fluids in your body.
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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Prevention Of Kidney Disease
Medication and changes to lifestyle, along with an early referral to a kidney specialist , can prevent or delay kidney failure.
Heathy lifestyle choices to keep your kidneys functioning well include:
- Eat lots of fruit and vegetables including legumes and grain-based food such as bread, pasta, noodles and rice.
- Eat lean meat such as chicken and fish each week.
- Eat only small amounts of salty or fatty food.
- Drink plenty of water instead of other drinks. Minimise consumption of sugary soft drinks.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Stay fit. Do at least 30 minutes of physical activity that increases your heart rate on five or more days of the week, including walking, lawn mowing, bike riding, swimming or gentle aerobics.
- If you dont smoke, dont start. If you do, quit. Call the Quitline or ask your doctor for help with quitting.
- Limit your alcohol to no more than two small drinks per day if you are male, or one small drink per day if you are female.
- Have your blood pressure checked regularly.
- Do things that help you relax and reduce your stress levels.
A range of medication is available for high blood pressure. Different blood pressure medications work in different ways, so it is not unusual for more than one type to be prescribed. The dose may change according to your needs.
Stages Of Kidney Disease
Kidney disease or kidney failure is among the most serious kidney problems. You may be suffering from chronic kidney disease in which your kidneys won’t fail all at once. Instead, the disease progresses slowly over the course of several years. Therefore, it is possible to improve your life expectancy if CKD is diagnosed early. You can take certain medications and make some lifestyle changes to slow its progress. For early diagnosis, it is important that you have some knowledge about stages of kidney disease and different symptoms you experience in each stage. Keep reading to learn more.
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Tips For Managing End
There are several different ways you can help a loved one manage their end-stage kidney failure symptoms. Perhaps the most valuable thing you can do is listen to your loved one and try as best you can to address their issues. However, if at any time you are unsure of how you can help, or if the patient is unable to communicate effectively, we recommend contacting their primary care physician.
What Is Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease, sometimes called CKD, is an umbrella term for several conditions that affect the kidneys, but it generally means permanent and usually progressive damage to the kidneys caused by a variety of conditions.
Learn Your ABCs of Kidney Disease
Johns Hopkins nephrologists Drs. Sumeska Thavarajah and Daphne Knicely offer a free educational class most months, from 5 6 p.m. at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. For more information, call .
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Foods To Keep In The House
If there is a virus outbreak in your area and you need to decrease your risk of getting sick, its important that you have food in your home. This will help reduce your risk of infection by allowing you to avoid crowded spaces like grocery stores and drug stores.
It’s important for you to have shelf stable food choices to help you follow your kidney diet. Shelf stable means foods that last a long time without spoiling, such as canned foods. Its important to prepare now by stocking up 2-3 weeks worth of healthy, kidney friendly foods, fresh water, and medicines. Check with your healthcare professional if you have any questions about your medications.
Kidney friendly low-sodium items
Includes all dialysis friendly foods as well as foods listed below.
Fruits
- No sugar added canned fruits
- Dried fruit
- No salt added or low-sodium canned vegetables
Protein
- No sodium added or low-sodium canned beans
- Shelf stable Tofu
- Shelf stable milk alternative
- Rice, soy, almond
- Whole grain breads and pastas
- White or brown rice
- Cream of wheat or rice
- Grits
- Rolled or steel cut oats
Fats
What Are Dialysis And Hemodialysis
Dialysis cleanses the body of waste products by 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 are never touched 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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Treating Kidney Disease Based On Stages
With information about different stages of kidney disease, you can definitely take steps to slow the progression rate of your kidney disease. However, you can also try certain ways to treat your kidney disease based on different stages.
Stage 1
Your GFR will be 90 or above with in this stage with fewer symptoms. Sometimes, there are no symptoms at all. Still, it is possible to identify kidney damage before the GFR begins to drop. The treatment used in this stage,like eating a healthy diet, taking exercise regularly, stopping smoking, will slow the progression of chronic kidney disease and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Stage 2
Your GFR will be between 60 and 89 with evident symptoms and some kidney damage. The kidney function will start to decline in this stage. Your doctor will continue with the same treatment of stage 1, like controlling the blood pressure, taking some medications, to reduce to risk of other health issues.
Stage 3
You will notice moderate decrease in GFR, which may still be between 30 and 59. Kidney damage is usually quite noticeable in this stage with other issues, such as bone problems and anemia. Your doctor will suggest medication option and some lifestyle changes to avoid and treat these complications.
Stage 4
Stage 5
Your GFR will be less 15, which will result in kidney failure. In this stage, you will need to a kidney transplant to maintain life.
What Are The Warning Signs Of Kidney Disease
What are the warning signs of kidney disease???
Kidney problem or diseases related to it are now visible even in youth. A big reason behind this is the poor lifestyle of the youth. Bad eating habits make the kidney weak. If any two or three of the 7 symptoms match in your body, then you should understand that there is a problem in your kidney.
Symptoms are not visible in the early stages when there is a problem in the kidney, but as the problem progresses, the symptoms are seen in a serious form. So let’s know how the signs of kidney weakness are visible in the body.
Weak Kidney Symptoms
Poor Appetite
If suddenly your appetite has started decreasing, then do not consider it normal. If this is happening continuously then it can be a symptom of kidney failure. When there is a decrease in kidney function, the build-up of toxins in the body increases, which slows down digestion and reduces appetite.
Puffy Eyes
If there is continuous swelling around the eyes, then it is a sign of kidney failure. This happens due to the presence of protein in the urine.
Tired or Trouble in Concentrating
Feeling tired all the time and feeling low energy, then it is a sign of kidney failure. When the kidneys fail to function properly, toxins and impurities build up in the blood, leading to fatigue, weakness, and difficulty concentrating.
Dry and Itchy Skin
Foamy Urine
Frequent Urination at Night
Muscle Cramping
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What Is Acute Kidney Injury
Acute kidney injury , also known as acute renal failure , is a sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days. AKI causes a build-up of waste products in your blood and makes it hard for your kidneys to keep the right balance of fluid in your body. AKI can also affect other organs such as the brain, heart, and lungs. Acute kidney injury is common in patients who are in the hospital, in intensive care units, and especially in older adults.
How Common Is Esrd
Not everyone with chronic kidney disease will develop ESRD. Of the 37 million people living with CKD in the United States, around 786,000 have ESRD. Comparatively, men are 50% more likely to get ESRD than women, while Black people are 3 times more like to get ESRD than White people.
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What You Can Do For Your Loved One
Besides managing symptoms, as a family caregiver you can help by communicating what end-of-life kidney failure signs you are seeing to the patients doctor and the hospice care team. Additionally, as a loved one, you can help the patient get their affairs in order. And finally, if it hasnt been done already, by contacting a hospice services provider as soon as possible.
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.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Kidney Failure
The kidneys remove waste and extra fluid from your body and help maintain proper levels of various minerals. Without correct levels of nutrients, nerves, cells, muscles, and organs may not work properly.
When your kidney function goes below 15% of normal, it’s classified as kidney failure.
It might be preceded by kidney disease. The symptoms that occur are typically a result of waste buildup. There are treatments for kidney failure, and your healthcare provider can go over which treatment is best for you.
This article will review the symptoms of kidney failure. Knowing what the symptoms are can help you recognize warning signs early so you can see your healthcare provider about any concerns.
What Is Kidney Failure
Kidney failure means one or both kidneys can no longer function well on their own. Sometimes, kidney failure is temporary and comes on quickly. Other times, it is a chronic condition that can get worse slowly over a long time.
Kidney failure may sound serious, and it is. But treatments such as dialysis and kidney transplant help many people with limited kidney function continue to live fulfilling lives.
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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 an 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 risks. 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 a 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.
Ordering Takeout With Confidence
Many restaurants are now closed to enforce social distancing, but take-out is still available from many eateries. Here are some ideas for making ordering take-out easy even with your special kidney diet. Start by knowing your diet well and asking your dietitian for any tips or advice. If you have sodium, potassium, phosphorus, or protein restrictions, this information will help you make good decisions based on your specific dietary needs.
Plan ahead
Choose a restaurant where it will be easiest to select foods best suited for your diet. Restaurants where food is made to order are the best choice.
Making your selections
Look over the menu carefully. Ask for more details about items you do not know about. When you place your order explain that you are following a special diet. Make special requests about the way your food is prepared as follows:
Entrées:
Side dishes:
- If you need to restrict potassium, choose starches and vegetables that are lower in potassium, such as rice, noodles and green beans.
- If your meal does not include a good choice for your diet, request a substitute.
- Ask that sauces be omitted or served in a separate container.
Stay safe
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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