Uncensored Guide to Lowering Creatinine
TRANSCRIPT
Hello this is Katherine, welcome to 00kidney.
Today’s video is all about the untold truth on improving renal function in kidney disease patients.
In this uncensored guide to lower creatinine naturally I will focus on all those treatments that really work and that people are actually using to improve their renal function.
Home remedies, herbal supplements… some of them work and some of them are dangerous.
So I’ll show you all those things that are usually left out or hidden or censored.
Because, yes, Kidney disease can be slowed down and, in some cases, even reversed.
There’s always a way to improve your health and getting the right information is the first step.
Before I start, a very quick update for the 00Kidney community… I’ve just got the silver play button, the Youtube award for surpassing 100.000 subscribers.
I just want to take a second to thank everyone for making this possible, because this is all thanks to you watching me right now.
I want to share this award with you guys. This is… 00kidney Community… this is your story, this is OUR award and I am honored to be part of your lives. Thank you.
And it was a great joy for me to receive this award, but it’s nothing compared to the joy I have when one of you tells me that my videos helped them improve their health.
So I want to read you this one real quick
I didn’t know this could be done.
I’m 52, stage 4 and the doctors and specialists I went to always told me that I had to wait for my kidneys to fail to get a transplant and that it wasn’t even possible to find treatments to improve my health.
Then I came here and I discovered that people were actually fighting for their health, they weren’t just waiting.
I started watching the videos and talking with the people here… it’s really nice to know that someone actually cares.
Well, the great news is that I actually had an improvement in my GFR.
So now I know there is still hope for people ,who are fighting against their fears, diseases, disasters and tragedies.
This is why, despite all I’ve been through, I have and WILL NEVER give up
Thank you, this was really great to know.
So this is why I’m here today, to help you improve your kidney health and to help you getting back as much kidney function as you can.
If there’s one thing that I want to show you is that if you don’t lose hope there’s always a way to win this battle.
So let’s start with our guide.
Your kidneys may be small, but they are very powerful because they perform many vital functions that help maintain your overall health, including filtering waste and excess fluids from your blood.
They filter about a half cup of blood every single minute. They remove toxins and unnecessary fluids and combine them to make urine.
Now, let’s say that your kidney function is compromised, that you have chronic kidney disease, or CKD.
As your kidney function declines, your creatinine levels rise.
This disease is divided into five stages, the fifth being the more severe.
Now, what I want to focus on today is what they usually don’t tell you, the untold truth of Kidney disease.
I’m taking about what really matters if you want to get your kidney health back.
So, let’s start from what you need to do before using any supplement or herbal remedy
It is understanding what’s causing kidney damage
Ok this is really important.
Home remedies CANNOT help you if you haven’t already removed what’s causing the kidney damage in the first place.
I’ll put this in a very blunt way:
there is no herb and no magic pill that will work if what’s damaging your kidneys is still doing so.
So watch this part very carefully because it’s maybe the most important part.
What’s causing kidney damage?
Let’s take a look at some of the things that can damage your kidneys.
As you can see the first two things are
diabetes and high blood pressure. These are the two most common causes of patient ending upon dialysis in the US.
Combined, they account for up to 70 percent of all the cases of people ending up on dialysis.
So, if you go to a dialysis center, and you see 3 people, 2 of them have either diabetes or hypertension or both.
Now, from this chart you can see that diabetes is more common, but hypertension is equally important because both diabetes and chronic kidney disease itself can cause hypertension.
But remember that hypertension can do very serious damage to your kidneys and to your heart and should be never left untreated.
Now, this is something they never tell you about.
But it is very important to understand that, in a lot of cases, especially for people in the second or third stage of CKD, kidney disease can often be slowed down or even stopped just by controlling these two factors: diabetes and hypertension.
And both these conditions can be treated with the appropriate drugs and medications.
But, in any case healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and regular exercise, often help to control, and may even help to prevent, high blood pressure.
Now, drugs have side effects and dangerous interactions while an healthier lifestyle does not have any hidden risks… so it’s clear which one of the two you should focus more on.
Obviously don’t neglect taking any of the medications your doctor prescribed, but if there’s a way to get results without any of the sides… why not?
Now, in diabetics, careful control of blood sugar levels helps to prevent the progression of kidney disease, coronary heart disease and stroke.
Another complication of diabetes could be high blood pressure.
So diabetes is the first cause of kidney disease and it is also a risk factor for the second cause of kidney disease, hypertension.
So having both diabetes and high blood pressure is not uncommon, but it’s clear looking at this slide that it could be a very bad situation for your kidneys.
But both those conditions can be controlled with correct treatment and an improved lifestyle.
The good news is that if diabetes and hypertension are controlled with the correct treatment, in 2 people on 3 chronic kidney disease can be stopped.
The third leading cause of end stage kidney disease is, as you can see from this chart, glomerular disease.
This is a disease that damages the kidneys filtering units, the glomeruli.
This may include an infection or a drug or even a disease that affects the entire body, like diabetes or lupus, that’s now affecting the glomeruli.
This can even be idiopathic, meaning it happens without any cause that can be found.
Some of these diseases can be cured or, at least, treatments can help to slow the disease and prolong life.
Now, here’s the point.
If you want to improve your condition, if you want your best chance at stopping, or maybe reversing kidney disease, you need to know why you have it.
You have to understand exactly what’s damaging your kidneys and stop it immediately.
It can be one factor or two or three… every single person is different.
And I can only give you a list of causes and tell you which one is more common and why.
you have to do your part and understand what is causing YOU the kidney damage
Because, and this is the part they usually censor, doctors and physicians are not going to do this for you.
They won’t go tell you to do a thorough study on your symptoms and on your levels until you go there and ask them to do it.
They are going to deal with chronic illness in just one way. They give you drugs to alleviate the symptoms and complications and tell you to wait for it to get worse, so you can start dialysis or be put in a transplant list.
But those are not the only options.
If you are able to understand exactly what’s damaging your kidneys and stop it, you can really change things.
Obviously you have to be really informed on your own condition and you need to go to your doctor and ask for the right tests and the right treatments.
Because, in so many cases, this is your best chance to improve your kidney health.
So what’s damaging your kidneys.
As you can see from this pie chart there are a lot of cases caused by just two factors and then there’s about one third of people ending up on dialysis for a series of different reasons.
There’s even some miscellaneous and unknown causes here.
Ok, let’s understand that while I’m showing you exact numbers here reality can be more complex and for a lot of people it’s a mix of factors.
This is why we are taking into account everything that can damage your kidneys.
So, as you can see from this other part of my slide,
other than diabetes, hypertension and PKD, there are other causes of kidney damage worth mentioning.
We can see drugs and medications.
The kidneys can also be damaged by overuse of some over-the-counter pain killers, some antibiotics and some heartburn drugs.
Drugs and medications are very important because both prescribed and non-prescribed medications can cause kidney damage.
So you have to be careful with what you’re taking even if it’s just an over the counter painkiller and they told you that it’s safe. In some cases, it is not safe.
More about this in a moment.
Now, smoking and heart problems. Some people are convinced that the kidneys, the lungs and the heart are separate organs with totally different functions and what affects one doesn’t affect the other.
Well, sorry if I’m blunt again, but this is an uncensored guide, right?
So if you think that what damages your lungs and heart won’t affect your kidneys, you’re wrong.
Smoking is always a cardiovascular risk factor, meaning that it damages heart and vessels.
Now, those vessels bring blood and nourishment everywhere in the body, kidneys included.
Also, the kidneys are damaged by high blood pressure and smoking is going to cause that too.
Infections can cause kidney problems too. The most common situation are infections of the urinary tract that are left untreated and get to the kidneys. But even Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C and any kind of infection can cause damage.
But, as you can see from the pie chart, the causes of most of cases are diabetes and high blood pressure, so for the majority of people treating what’s causing these two things is the very first thing to do.
Ok, what drugs and medications are dangerous for your kidneys?
As you can see from my slide, the list is pretty extensive.
NSAIDs, PPI, even supplements.. and then there’s contrast imaging studies.
Now, NSAIDs are one of the worst.
Several studies have proven their nephrotoxicity. So Ibuprofen, Motrin, Aleve but even Aspirin … especially when used to manage chronic pain, have been shown to cause serious kidney problems.
These do not require any prescription so patients usually think that they are safe.
Well they are not. There are several studies proving that these drugs damage your kidneys, can increase your blood pressure and that these are even harmful to your heart.
So just because these are over-the-counter it doesn’t mean that they are safe. A lot of the drugs that are over-the-counter can be potentially very toxic not just for the kidneys but for other organs as well.
What about PPI. This is short for proton pump inhibitors. These are used for heartburn and acid reflux.
For these drugs too there’s, at least, an association with increased risk of kidney damage, so be very careful with these too. PPI is a very big class of drugs, there’s not just Prilosec, Nexium and Pentaprozole, so be careful.
If your healthcare provider gives you a prescription for these be sure to ask if there’s a good reason why you’re taking it and also be sure to never exceed the recommended dosage and course of treatment.
Now, here’s another thing that they always “forget” to tell you. A lot of drugs can have interaction.
I see a lot of patients that get prescribed 10 or maybe 20 different drugs from several specialists to treat different diseases and symptoms. It’s not that uncommon, actually, elderly patients in a lot of cases take up to 5 pills per day.
The problem here is that one of the main functions of the kidneys is to actually process and get rid of drugs.
So everything you take has an effect on the health of your kidneys, because they have to clear it.
The kidneys are always the body’s first line of defense against toxic ingredients and chemicals, but they are also taking the biggest blow.
This has two consequences: first, if you have kidney disease or a reduced kidney function, you need to take drugs at lower doses.
So let your physician and your pharmacist know about this when you are prescribed anything, so they can lower your dose.
Second, and this is true even for people with healthy kidneys, you should avoid taking any medication known to damage the kidneys for long periods of time.
DRUG INTERACTIONS
How to avoid risks from drug interaction?
Bring a complete list of what you’re taking and why you’re taking these medications along with your last lab results every time you see your doctor or any physician that’s supposed to prescribe you something.
Before taking a drug, ask your doctor or pharmacist the following questions:
Can I take it with other drugs? Should I avoid certain foods, beverages or other products?
Remember that when your doctor prescribes you a medication it’s always a risk versus benefits situation. In theory the benefits have to outweigh the risk but… this is not always the case.
This is also true for over-the-counter drugs. People always think that they are safe but, as we have seen, many of them aren’t.
Ok, so we have seen the dangers of drugs and their interactions.
Ok and what about herbal supplements? Are they dangerous too?
A lot of people is interested in home remedies because some of them actually work and can help you improving your kidney function.
There’s just one problem with home remedies and herbal supplements: the source of the ingredients.
Ok, here’s another thing that they never tell you.
Have you ever heard about the Chinese herb nephropathy?
In 1994, a 44-year-old woman progressed from normal renal function to advanced renal failure and end-stage renal disease within 8 months. Yes in 8 months she went from being healthy to needing a kidney transplant. This is all documented by the specialists that treated her.
According to their documentation, 5 months before the start of the symptoms, the woman received acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for pain relief.
Then her kidneys failed in a very short amount of time and she had to get a transplant.
After transplantation, the patient expressed concern that the Chinese herbal medicine might have caused the renal failure.
Samples of the original herbal therapies were sent to Belgium for analysis.
What they found was the presence of Aristolochic acid in 2 of the 6 Chinese herbs she ingested.
Aristolochic acids are a family of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and nephrotoxic phytochemicals commonly found in the flowering plant family Aristolochiaceae.
It was clear that Chinese herb she ingested were the cause of the renal failure.
This was the first time they diagnosed what is now known as the Chinese herb nephropathy.
Now, this doesn’t mean that all the herbs you may find are nephrotoxic or dangerous, but you have to be very careful with the source of what you may take.
Other than this scary story, they can also have agents or compounds that cause drug interactions.
And that’s a lot more common.
So be very cautious with any herbal supplements or supplements in general.
The other thing on this list is contrast.
Some Tests Are Actually Dangerous for Your Kidneys
Now, we are talking about CT scans with intravenous contrast, angiograms, like a cardiac angiogram when they inject dyes into your vein in your hand or arm and MRIs. (magnetic resonance imaging).
These tests are routinely used, they are being done every day on millions of people, because they provide information that can be helpful for a correct diagnosis.
In many cases, they use a contrast dye to enhance these tests and get the results needed.
But there’s a problem here: these dyes can both lead to kidney problems and cause problems in patients with kidney disease.
So what should you do if you have kidney disease and your doctor prescribes you a CT scan, and Angiogram or an MRI?
Know your GFR and if you have CKD. Telling your doctor what your GFR and creatinine numbers are will help him understanding if the test can be dangerous for you.
So talk to the doctor ordering the diagnostic test and make sure your doctor knows about your kidney problems.
This way they can take due precautions, which includes hydration.
Water can help detoxifying your kidneys from the dangerous substances present in the contrast.
We are talking about plenty of water here, a gallon of water the day you do the test, another gallon when you have done the test. The sooner you flush out the substances the better.
So avoid these tests as much as you can but if you can’t, talk to your healthcare provider and take precautions.
Home remedies that really work
Ok, there’s some remedies that can really help and that, most of all, are perfectly safe.
Not a lot of patients know about this one
Vitamin D
The “sunshine vitamin,” so named because it is synthesized in your skin from sun exposure, has been shown to help every aspect of kidney disease.
This is because, according to recent studies, Vitamin D deficiency is found in about 79 percent of people suffering from kidney disease.
Why does this happen? One of the function of the kidneys is to convert vitamin D from supplements or the sun to the active form of vitamin D that is needed by the body.
When they start to fail they cannot perform this important function anymore.
And this is a problem, vitamin D deficiency can cause a wide array of problems.
Bone problems, fatigue, depression and higher risk of heart disease.
And, as I was saying, anything that can harm your heart can cause kidney damage.
Now, wait a moment before rushing to buy some vitamin D for your kidneys.
The problem for kidney patients is not the lack of vitamin D in the diet, but the inability of the kidneys to convert it in the active form.
There are two major forms of Vitamin D you can get.
Vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol (synthetic), and vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol (natural).
D2 is often given as a prescription and studies show it benefits the kidneys, but the natural form D3 has shown additional benefits over D2.
So you will want to get a prescription for vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, because that’s the one that will give you most of the benefits.
Body acidity
Ok, here’s something really really important that they never tell you about.
Body acidity and sodium bicarbonate.
You may have already heard that taking sodium bicarbonate can help with kidney problems, but in my opinion taking it indiscriminately is not the right way.
One of the kidney’s jobs is to keep acidity-alkalinity in balance.
In people with kidney disease, this balance is often compromised, so there’s more acid in the body than the kidneys can manage.
This is a condition called metabolic acidosis, often associated with chronic kidney disease.
This condition can result in bone problems, protein wasting and damage to the kidneys, accelerating the progression of CKD.
The very first way of fighting this, before taking any supplement, is to improve your nutritional status.
Western diet is high in meat and tends to have a much higher acid load.
This acid load can have negative consequences on your overall health and the health of your kidneys.
And I’m not talking about the acid in your stomach here.
The important point here is that the kidneys get rid of acid, right? When they don’t work properly this acid will build up in the blood. And this will cause further kidney damage.
This is where baking soda can help: it neutralizes excess acids, reduces the payload on the kidneys and brings the acid alkaline level back into balance. There are studies proving this.
A treatment based on sodium bicarbonate was tested over a period of a year.
The decline of kidney function in treated patients was two third slower than those in the control group. This rate of decline was comparable to what would be expected with normal ageing.
The study showed that treated patients were less likely to develop end-stage renal failure.
Now, I know that a lot of people would be just tempted to grab some baking soda and start drinking it as a supplement, but I don’t think that would be the best thing to do.
It’s not just for the sodium, because the sodium in baking soda is not completely absorbed by the body and won’t cause water retention like regular sodium or table salt.
There’s a lab test that can tell you if you need to take baking soda.
It’s called a CO2 blood test or bicarbonate test.
This test should be done regularly by kidney patients, but this is not always the case, so talk to your doctor and be sure that you’re being tested for CO2.
That’s one of the best things you can do to actually minimize the damage caused by kidney disease.
So make sure the acid load does not build up.
The normal range for CO2 is 23 to 29 mEq/L (milliequivalent units per liter of blood).
In case you are out of the range, meaning that your level is 22 or below, you would have to take immediate action.
Other than being prescribed sodium bicarbonate, you should also be improving your renal diet.
If you want to know more about how to improve your renal diet, watch this video now.
if you want to know more about herbs and supplements that really work, watch this one
Thank you for watching, see you there!
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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