The perfect treatment part 2
Hi everyone, welcome to 00Kidney,
The goal of today’s video is to find the perfect treatment to repair your kidneys.
And don’t believe anyone telling you that this isn’t possible, because as we’re going to see,
in some stages of chronic kidney disease repairing the kidney damage is totally possible.
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My name is Katherine, by the way, and I’ve been working with people suffering from chronic kidney disease for 7 years, now.
I’ve helped many of them improving their kidney health.
And if you are new here on 00kidney, WELCOME to our journey together to a better kidney health!
Don’t forget to subscribe and click the notification bell!
So, this is what we’re going to focus on today: the best treatment for chronic kidney disease based on your condition and your renal function.
Obviously, the aim is giving you the right information to repair your kidneys.
This is a two parts video and in the first part we have seen some of the best options for kidney patients suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes.
If you haven’t watched part 1 of this, don’t worry, you don’t need to watch that one before this one.
Link to that video is up here by the way, you can save it for later.
And a lot of you asked me very interesting questions about that video, ok? So, as promised, I’m also going to answer ALLL your questions in today’s video.
Now, A QUICK TRIVIA just before I start.
We are in 2020 now and … do you know what changed in the way a dialysis machine works since 1978?
Do you know?
Nothing. Nothing changed.
If you brought a patient on dialysis from 1978 forward in time 42 years, he wouldn’t have a very different experience from what they were used to.
There’d be a flat screen TV to watch. They may have an iPhone to read on instead of a pile of magazines.
But there would probably be nothing fundamentally different about the whole dialysis experience.
And this is a shame in my opinion. I think people with kidney disease deserve better.
Because, and many people don’t know this, but kidney disease is the 9th cause of death in the world.
And more than 850 million people in the world have kidney disease.
So the main thing I want to talk about today is: how to find the perfect treatment for the stage of kidney disease you’re in.
Now, chronic kidney disease is divided in 5 different stages, as we can see here. Each one of these stages requires a totally different approach.
And I feel a lot of doctors are not as thorough and accurate in explaining what to do to their patients like a disease so serious as kidney disease would require.
This is why I’m here, this is why I’m trying to give people some answers, and to create some awareness.
So, let’s see what can be done better!
And let’s start with the perfect treatment for stage 1 and 2 of kidney disease.
Now, remember that in stage 2 your GFR is still above 60, meaning that your kidneys are still working at 60% or more.
So, we have no symptoms here. Most people will not know they have stage 2 CKD unless they get diagnosed.
Now, people diagnosed at stage 1 and 2 are getting diagnosed because they got tested for kidney function or
because they were found with evidence of kidney damage during an MRI or CT scan.
And if you’re in stage 3, 4 or 5 and you want to skip this part, there’s a timestamp down in description you can use.
But most of these things can be useful for everyone.
Let’s start from the diet.
So, the diet is going to be pretty easy here, ok?
And, I know, people don’t like diets.
I don’t like ’em too.
But we don’t eat healthy because we like dieting, we eat healthy because we like being healthy.
And trust me if I tell you that the diet in stage 1 and 2 is a breeze.
And keep watching this video if you don’t believe me, because when we’re going to see what restrictions patients in stage 4 are going to face, you’ll want to start the correct diet immediately.
Now, in stage 1 and 2 the best diet is… basically, a normal, healthy diet.
So, you can do the diet that you want, actually, but if you eat mostly whole-foods, with most calories coming from plant foods, your kidneys are going to be really happy.
This is a good way to limit your intake of sodium, protein and cholesterol, alright?
Notice that I haven’t mentioned phosphorus and potassium. Because they’re not restricted in these stages.
And this is a good thing, because it means you don’t have to avoid a lot of healthy fruit and vegetables.
You can still have bananas and other exotic fruit; you can still have dairy but also spinach… and you can still have whole grains.
But remember that the diet alone can save your kidneys, so don’t wait for your conditions to get worse before you start working on it.
So, what’s the perfect treatment for stage 1 and 2 of kidney disease?
If you get diagnosed in stage 1, 2 or even in stage 3 but with a high gfr, my advice is to focus on prevention.
GFr, creatinine, they’re just numbers. If you’re in these stages, your kidneys are still working good enough, alright?
So your main goal should be to prevent the progression of the disease.
That’s the easiest task of them all, because the diet is easier and you may still be in a good enough shape to do some physical activity that’s actually funny.
So what you should remember is that this is a lifelong condition, ok?
So you will have to find a healthy lifestyle you can get used to and that you can maintain.
Remember, if you have CKD in stage 2 you can completely stop it from progressing.
OK? This is not always the case, unfortunately, for the advanced stages.
Now, let’s talk about the third stage of chronic kidney disease.
If you want to improve kidney function in stage 3, all the considerations I’ve made about stage 1 and 2 are still good.
Also, now it’s really important getting checked regularly for kidney function, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
The correct lifestyle and dietary choices will help you in reaching the goal of managing them.
So, try to improve your lifestyle avoiding the bad habits that are causing problems to the kidneys.
There will be some differences in the renal diet when you are in stage 3.
Like in stage 2, it’s still a good idea to limit sodium, dietary cholesterol and protein intake.
Limit, not avoid totally. You will still need some of these nutrients in all the stages.
Not every doctor recommends limiting protein in stage 3 of kidney disease.
The recommendation for protein intake in stage 3 is 0.8 g/kg of body weight, and that about the same recommendation for people with healthy kidneys.
Many patients prefer to have less protein, actually, because protein metabolism produces waste and it’s generally hard on the kidneys.
Now, my recommendation here would be not to focus too much on the quantity of protein, but to focus on the source.
It’s important to make sure your protein intake comes from high-quality sources such as egg whites, fish, poultry, lean meat, soy… ok?
So absolutely avoid bad protein sources such as processed meat and junk food in general.
That’s usually enough, unless your doctor tells you otherwise, alright?
Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables will help you getting the nutrients and vitamins your kidneys need.
What you actually need to restrict in stage 3 is your phosphorus intake.
This is the very first dietary restriction many patients have to face.
Now, getting phosphorus right may seem daunting at first, but it’s really important.
Not just for the health of your kidneys, but for your bones too.
People with kidney disease are generally told to limit their phosphorus to no more than 800 mg a day.
This number may vary depending on your body weight and kidney function, so if your doctor gave you a different number, refer to that one.
Let’s see how you can lower your phosphorus intake and the amount of phosphate in your diet.
Now, 800mg of phosphorus isn’t really a lot.
Because, for example, just a glass of milk has more than 200mg of phosphorus.
Phosphorus is the main reason why dairy products are not recommended for people with kidney disease.
Other foods rich in phosphorus you should avoid include dried beans and peas, many grains and cereals, dairy and several processed foods.
And if removing these isn’t enough, your doctor can prescribe you medications to lower the amount of phosphate your intestines absorb.
Now, potassium may be restricted too in stage 3, it’s not impossible.
It depends on the results of your blood test.
And, talking about blood tests, remember to
Get checked regularly. Schedule regular checkups with your doctor to monitor creatinine and GFR.
This is important because in stage 3 CKD is still very manageable, ok?
You can absolutely prevent kidney failure. And you want to focus on avoiding causing further damage to the kidneys.
Now, let’s talk about stage 4.
At stage 4, it’s necessary to see a nephrologist, a kidney disease specialist, at least every three months
Regular blood tests are going to be scheduled to check for hemoglobin, creatinine, calcium and phosphorus levels.
These tests will tell you how much the kidneys are working.
Again, high blood pressure and diabetes will be monitored.
Like for the other stages avoiding bad habits and getting checked regularly can really help.
There will be significant changes in the renal diet now that the kidneys have lost their filtering ability almost completely.
You will still need to limit sodium, protein and cholesterol intake. Obviously avoid completely junk foods, ok?
Potassium is restricted too in stage 4.
What does this mean.
This is a serious limitation because a lot of the fruit and vegetables that were perfectly healthy are now dangerous.
Bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, apricots, spinach, potatoes, beans… just to name a few, are now to be avoided.
Patients usually have a 2000 – 3000 milligrams per day allowance of potassium, ok?
This number depends on your blood analysis… so if your blood potassium is too high, your doctor will tell you to limit your intake of this nutrient.
Unfortunately, this has some repercussions on your blood pressure too, because potassium is very important for your body.
So you need to find the right quantity for you.
Now, potassium is a really wide topic that can greatly influence the way you eat.
And you can use potassium at your advantage.
I’ve talked about it extensively in my video “how to use potassium to repair your kidneys”, which I recommend you watch if you’re in stage 4 and 5 of kidneys disease.
Another important restriction is protein.
In stage 4 you should seriously limit your protein intake, alright?
You need to plan a lower-protein diet, because it has a protective effect on your kidneys.
I’ll tell you why I think this is a serious limitation.
On average, Americans consume 90 to 100 grams of protein a day, but if you’re in stage 4 of CKD you will have to limit your protein intake to less than half of that.
This means, first, that you will need to have just one portion per day of a high-quality protein source and avoid other protein.
Meat, fish, or eggs are allowed in a reasonable quantity.
Most patients are having better results the lower the protein, so don’t exceed one portion per day.
One portion is about the size of a deck of cards.
For patients in the advanced stage, eating just half portion a day of these high protein foods is recommended.
Eating high quality protein only is as important as the quantity.
So, what are the best sources of high-quality protein?
- fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, herring
- lean cuts of meat
- poultry
- eggs
- tofu
I’ve listed fatty fish as first choice because they’re rich in omega 3, which is full of benefits for the health of your kidneys.
Omega 3 reduce inflammation, blood glucose levels, cardiovascular risk and improve bone density.
Completely avoid processed meats and dairy products
I really, really want to highlight this last tip. All these foods are rich in something you don’t want to put into your body.
Like protein, salt, potassium and phosphorus… these can really mess up your dietary regimen, trust me.
And your kidneys.
Unfortunately, no exceptions can be made here.
The bright side here is that this rule can make your life easier.
YES, it’s a lot better to just avoid junk foods and dairy altogether.
Now, the last point here is an important one.
NEVER lose hope. Many people are scared and… that’s perfectly normal. But, remember, you can still win this battle.
You can still greatly slow down the progression of this disease even in stage 4.
Now, let’s talk about stage 5 of chronic kidney disease.
Patients in this stage need to be tested frequently and closely followed by their doctors.
Dialysis is usually started in stage 5 of CKD.
Because, in stage 5, the kidneys are no longer able to remove toxins and extra water from the body.
These build ups will cause an overall ill feeling.
The kidneys also regulate blood pressure and produce hormones important for our red blood cells and bones.
They will no longer do this in stage 5.
So, patients at this stage will need to see a nephrologist regularly and to be constantly monitored.
Symptoms of the advanced stages of CKD include
Itching, Muscle cramps, Nausea and vomiting, Not feeling hungry, swelling in the hands and feet, Back pain, urinating more or less than normal, trouble breathing and trouble sleeping.
These symptoms are mostly caused by a condition called uremia.
So, one of the most important goals of the treatment of the advanced stages of CKD is to reduce uremia.
This is what dialysis does: it filters the blood and removes all the toxins the kidneys cannot remove anymore.
So, all these symptoms are going to be reduced in case of dialysis.
Ok, now that we have clarified the symptoms, let’s talk about the treatments.
There will be significant changes in the renal diet now that the kidneys have lost almost all their filtering ability.
In stage 5, fluid intake is going to be restricted too, so this is another thing to consider in the choice of the diet.
Patients will have to choose meals that are not making them thirsty.
Now, we can see that there is a significant number of restrictions here.
Sodium, cholesterol, phosphorus, potassium, even fluids.
Not all these restrictions apply to all patients, and people on dialysis will have different needs.
Malnutrition can become a serious problem.
Now, the diet of a renal patient is a really wide topic that I’m really trying to tackle thoroughly here on 00kidney.
Diet is always a very predominant part of the everyday life of a kidney patient.
So, I’ve made a very interesting video with a lot of different options and choices of foods you can add to your diet.
All these foods are perfectly safe for all the stages. Link is up here.
But remember, the battle for kidney disease is a battle you fight with your mind.
You should never lose hope.
Find a reason to keep on fighting.
Do it for what matters the most in your life.
DO it for your loved ones.
Do it for the hope of a brighter future.
I’ve seen people fighting with hope in mind and they are those who are able to survive kidney disease.
There are new treatments being developed as we speak and dialysis and transplant may not be the only option in just few years.
SO you should never lose hope.
OK guys now, as promised, I’ll answer your questions from the previous video!
Some very interesting questions here:
Ok, a very interesting question here
1)If my BP is fully controlled by medications and is at 120/ 80 or lower with normal salt intake (like say 3500 mg per day)
can i contnue to have this level of intake of salt ?
This was from eM – ANANTHA KRISHNAN. I hope I’m not mispronouncing your name too badly.
Especially because I know you always watch and comment my videos and I really appreciate it, so, thank you.
Now, for your question, if your blood pressure is stable and your treatment is working… well, I’m not going to tell you to change it.
And I guess that your doctor doesn’t want you to change it either.
Now, the reason why a lowered salt intake is usually recommended is because that way you can lower the dosages of the medications you’re taking.
And, since you watch all my videos I know this is a concept you’re already familiar with, but the more medications you take, the higher the dosages, the higher the risk for unwanted side effects.
And many of these side effects are going to damage the kidneys.
So, should you get less sodium if your blood pressure is under control?
Should you start a more active lifestyle and find ways to lower your blood pressure naturally?
Obviously, these are questions only you can answer for yourself.
Now, for the second part of your question:
Can BP-Cardio CKD patients take Arginine and LCitrulline to improve blood circulation and also lower BP ? Thanks in advance. Regards
There are some encouraging studies on these two. We are talking about non essential amino acids here, meaning that our bodies makes them from the essential ones.
But the kidneys are involved in the production of these two, ok?
So, there are some clues that these two amino acids may help with pre hypertension, especially in patients with kidneys disease.
And these could be also part of the special amino acid regimens patients suffering from kidney disease may be prescribed.
Now, these amino acids aren’t going to change your life.
But they can help a little bit, definitely.
Another question
This one is from Lie Winarto:
Do you think, light exercises such as: walking 30 minutes 5 times a week can reduce high blood pressure level?
A very interesting question, but I’m not going to give you a personal opinion on this one.
Because there are countless studies and research documenting the effects that 30 minutes of walking can have on your blood pressure, ok?
So, the answer obviously is YES, walking can help you, especially if done at a brisk pace. But also regular walking helps. A lot.
Next question
A question from Everton Ricketts
Hi Katherine this is Everton can I drink coffee.
Hi Everton, This is an interesting question. For most people, coffee is harmless, if they don’t exceed the recommended amount of 4 cups of brewed coffee.
Now, we should also consider that coffee can raise your blood pressure a little bit right after consuming it, ok? And, for some people this effect is a lot more noticeable than for others.
Now, my advice would be avoiding even getting close to 4 cups of coffee per day, especially if you have high blood pressure. The less the dose, the less the side effects. Even for coffee.
Another question, this one from Rashid Rashid
He asks
Madam i have low blood pressure should I use garlic. I am a kidney dialysis patient.
Hello rashid. Garlic as a home remedy is great to lower your blood pressure. And it’s safe even for patients in dialysis.
Just don’t use it as a supplement if your blood pressure gets too low.
Ok, this was our las one for today.
So I want to say thank you to you all guys for watching me today and I hope you enjoyed this video.
See you next time!
Bye!
About the Author
Michaelw Hi, my name is Michael and in this blog I'm gonna share the story of how I got off kidney dialysis for good. Getting off dialysis isn't easy at all, and that's why I'm trying to help people as much as I can.
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