Essential kidney information
Transforming the way we talk about chronic kidney disease
Living life with chronic kidney disease
‘Thankfully, I had great support around me.’
How can my healthcare team help?
Your doctor or healthcare team can provide support and advice throughout your journey with chronic kidney disease.
If you have diabetes, regular appointments with your healthcare team can ensure that kidney disease is detected early through routine monitoring of your urine to check for abnormal protein or albumin levels.1
If you have high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, any other conditions that might affect your kidneys, or a family history of kidney disease, then regular testing is recommended.2 Talk to a doctor if you experience signs or symptoms related to kidney disease.
Speaking to your doctor or healthcare team about testing can ensure that kidney disease is diagnosed and managed early, reducing your risk of the disease getting worse and increasing complications over time.
Your healthcare team can also:
Help
you to understand your treatment options.
Provide
you with tools and resources to support your lifestyle goals.
Highlight
the signs to look out for that may help you avoid further health challenges with interconnected organ systems, such as your heart or your pancreas.
Treatments for chronic kidney disease
Finding out that you have a long-term condition can come as a shock and you’ll likely have a lot of questions, particularly around how your kidney disease will be managed. For the majority of people who have kidney disease, treatment can help to target symptoms and limit further damage to your kidneys.3
Types of treatment depend on the stage of kidney disease you have.
Lifestyle changes
For early stages, changes to your lifestyle such as healthy eating and more regular exercise, as well as medicine to help control whatever is causing the kidney damage, can help to minimize impact moving forward.3
Regular appointments
You will also be offered regular appointments to monitor for any changes in your kidney health.
Dialysis
For a small proportion of people with chronic kidney disease, their kidneys will eventually stop working. One of the ways this can be managed is dialysis, which is a method of removing waste products and excess water from the blood by a machine.
Kidney transplant
An alternative to dialysis for people with severely reduced kidney function is a kidney transplant, but this is very rare, with approximately two million individuals globally relying on dialysis or a transplant.4
Did you know:
Over two million individuals globally rely on kidney dialysis or a transplant.4
Each therapy has a different role in managing your condition, so be sure to take your treatments as directed by your doctor.
Staying on top of your chronic kidney disease
Speaking to your doctor about your symptoms can ensure that your kidney disease is managed in a way that is most appropriate for your situation.
Your doctor may have suggested that a change in lifestyle is necessary to help manage your kidney disease and help control your symptoms. While there are many benefits to a healthy diet and regular exercise, changing your lifestyle can seem like an overwhelming task, but you don’t have to make these changes all at once. Consider making lifestyle and healthcare related changes, such as:
Reduce your salt intake
to around one teaspoon a day.5
Reduce your weight
if you are overweight.6
Stop smoking,
if you smoke.
Lower your cholesterol levels
by adopting a more healthy diet e.g., think about steaming, boiling or grilling food, using vegetable oils as an alternative to frying with butter, ghee or lard.
Exercise each week
which could be as simple as: walking, if and when you can; taking the stairs instead of the elevator; parking the car a little further away; getting off the bus one stop earlier.7
Avoid anti-inflammatory medication
except when advised by your doctor and consult your doctor before starting any new medications to ensure that they could not potentially harm your kidneys.
Control your blood pressure
by asking your doctor what your blood pressure target should be.
Your emotional experience with chronic kidney disease
Being diagnosed and living with a long-term condition can leave you with a lot of emotions that you wouldn’t normally feel. Feelings such as anger, denial, fear and despair, are not uncommon to experience following life-changing news, but it’s important to remember there is help available if you need it.8
Ask your healthcare team what resources are available to you for psychological support. They may be able to direct you to online resources, support groups or counselling services.
You might find it helpful to speak to close friends or loved ones to help you to understand what you are experiencing. At the very least, sharing with someone close to you can help lighten the load.
Speaking to other people who are living with chronic kidney disease might also help. Online communities and support groups can be an amazing source of information, support and advice.
Everyone experiences periods of feeling low, but if this has been for longer than two weeks, then it’s important to speak to your healthcare team so that they can help.
For further information, or if you just want to talk, there are various helplines available that can offer support.
Did you know:
There is a strong connection between chronic kidney disease and depression, due to psychosocial and biological changes associated with the condition and its treatment.9 For this reason, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms of depression and to reach out for help if you need it.
Heart Talks
Diabetes Talks
References
-
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diabetic Kidney Disease. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/preventing-problems/diabetic-kidney-disease (Last accessed: October 2021).
-
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. High Blood Pressure & Kidney Disease. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/high-blood-pressure (Last accessed: October 2021).
-
NHS website. Chronic kidney disease. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/kidney-disease/ (Last accessed: October 2021).
-
Couser WG, Remuzzi G, Mendis S, et al. The contribution of chronic kidney disease to the global burden of major noncommunicable diseases. 2011;80(12):1258-1270.
-
NHS website. Salt: the facts. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/salt-nutrition/ (Last accessed: October 2021).
-
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Managing Chronic Kidney Disease. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd/managing (Last accessed: October 2021).
-
Bronas U. Exercise Training and Reduction of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2009;16(6):449-458.
-
Pagels, AA., et al. Health-related quality of life in different stages of chronic kidney disease and at initiation of dialysis treatment. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2012;10(71).
-
Ricardo A. Depression and Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney. 2010;19(4):172-174.
Job code: PC-CRP-102667