Sex and Kidney Disease
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_mnPTPeRBM
Hello everyone, this is Katherine. Welcome to 00kidney.
Today I’m making a special video just for the subscribers of this channel!
And it’s going to be a little different than usual.
A lot of you asked me some very important questions… and today I want to give you answers!
Questions like for example:
I have swollen feet, what can I do?
CAN YOU SUGGEST AN healthy SNACK I CAN EAT?”
I HAVE itchy SKIN WHAT SHOULD I DO?
How to lower creatinine and improve kidney function?
And more!
Now, doctors and nephrologists usually don’t spend enough time with kidney patients and other patients with chronic conditions to give them nearly enough information.
And, if this wasn’t already a big enough problem, some doctors don’t even understand their patient’s concerns.
Now, chronic kidney disease is a terrible illness and I see a lot of people here really frustrated about all the problems caused by this disease.
In the community section of my channel I usually post moral support quotes every single day.
You might find really hard to control your bad emotions.
You might be in bad moods sometimes, you might think that life is really unfair and all kind of bad things, but BELIEVE ME, you are stronger than you think.
You must be a fighter and put your trust in God.
God is always good.
Ok let’s start with the questions now!
QUESTION NUMBER 1 “My husband thinks I’m cheating because I don’t feel like being intimate… what should I do?”
So let’s talk about kidney disease and SEX.
Ok, I never ever talked about this topic here on 00Kidney since I started the channel: can people with kidney disease or kidney failure still enjoy sex? Are there any limitations?
This is not easy to answer. Because this is a very personal topic and a lot of people find difficult to even talk about it.
Maintaining an intimate relationship with the person you love is really important. Everyone needs it.
Unfortunately this is not always easy for people suffering from kidney disease.
Many things can affect the sexuality of people suffering from CKD or any other chronic illness, really.
Medicines can cause troubles. They have a lot of side effects and even when everything else is fine medicines alone can put a lot of people in a mood too bad to even think about sex.
Then there are hormones problems, low energy levels, nerves…
It is easy to understand why the intimate life of kidney disease patient is not easy.
Sometimes, people may even lose interest in sex: coping with the illness requires a lot of energy, maybe too much.
And there’s the emotional part to consider too: depression, stress, fear are way too common in the life of a patient and can cause a lot of troubles and affect sexual interest.
What I want to tell you is that all these problems are perfectly normal and that there could be solutions.
In some cases it is necessary to seek out for help.
Sex therapy, psychologists… they can help.
But remember that feeling anxious, worries or even depressed is completely normal when facing an illness as serious as kidney disease.
But you can still have meaningful relationships, an healthy marriage and you will still be able to stay intimate with those you love.
Sexuality does not refers only to sexual intercourse… it may be just kissing or hugging… or you know, spending quality time with the person you love.
So now I ask you: what do you think about this topic? has kidney disease affected your sexual life? Tell me in comment!
QUESTION NUMBER 2 “I have dry skin, itchy skin… what should I do?”
To relieve itchy skin the best way would be to drink a lot of water, but we all know that this is not always possible for kidney disease patients.
Skin moisturizers can help in this case. And you can also use a chamomile extract on your skin to soothe it.
Another solution would be an oatmeal bath. This can be very soothing.
Take a bathe with lukewarm – not hot – water. Try to limit your bath to just 10 minutes.
There are colloidal oatmeal products on the market created just for this… Colloidal oatmeal baths can help relieve the dry, itchy and irritated skin. But you can also use regular oatmeal.
To make the bath even more soothing you can also add essential oils or olive oil.
Even chamomile extract may help. You can apply it directly too to your skin.
Consult your doctor before trying any home remedy.
QUESTION Number 3 “Is there a solution for swollen feet, hands and ankles?”
Swollen feet, hands and ankles are very common for kidney disease patients. They are caused by a fluid build-up. Gravity usually makes the fluids accumulate in the feet and ankles, but the build-up can even reach the abdomen and chest.
Now, if you want to get rid of all this excess fluid a good idea would be to… well, drink more water.
This may seem counterintuitive at first but it can really help since fluid retention is a lot more frequent in case of dehydration. Obviously don’t do this if you’re on a fluid allowance. Never drink more than your doctor told you to drink.
Another thing that can help are massages of the swollen part. This can help moving the fluid out of the area and reduce swelling.
And also lifting regularly the feet above the heart. You may lie down with your feet on a pillow, for example.
Wearing compression garments and socks will also help pushing out fluids from the legs and reducing the swelling.
Another solution is to move, do some moderate exercise every day… it can help a lot with kidney function too. This bring us to the next question…
QUESTION NUMBER 4 “you always talk about moderate exercise… what is considered a moderate exercise and why is it so important for kidney disease patients?”
This is a great question! Exercise is really important for anyone, never underestimate the importance of physical activity.
But it’s even more important for kidney disease patients:
Exercising is important to keep your body healthy, it’s good for the muscles and the bones and it can help with weight loss.
It is also proven that exercising regularly can lift your mood naturally and improve sleeping patterns.
If you do regular exercise every day you will improve your insulin sensitivity. This is important because insulin spikes can damage the kidneys, so improving insulin sensitivity is a way to actually protect the kidneys.
Regular exercise will decrease your blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol levels.
Also consider that moderate exercising is just… walking at a brisk pace.
So you can have all these benefits, improved mood, improved sleep patterns, decreased blood pressure and decreased blood sugar… just by taking a walk for 30 minutes a day.
QUESTION NUMBER 5 “can you suggest any snack that I can eat?”
Yes, fruit! Fruits like apples, grapefruits, grapes, pineapples, watermelons are very healthy and low in potassium and phosphorus, so they are good for kidney patients too.
Berries are also good, try blueberries or strawberries.
I can also suggest to you to try eat oatmeal with some almond milk preheated in microwave for 1 min at 900 watts. You can put fresh sliced apples on top and some blueberries or strawberries.
If you want to try something more… appetizing, I’ve published here a recipe for a really tasty and healthy dip: the tzatziki sauce.
If you don’t know what the tzatziki sauce is… I’m leaving the link up here of my healthy version.
It’s like a cream cheese, but more tasty and healthy. It’s suitable for kidney patients.
QUESTION NUMBER 6 “how can I lower creatinine level and increase GFR?”
If you want to lower creatinine there are 3 factors that really matter.
First there’s the correct, healthy kidney friendly diet. This is really important because lowering creatinine means actually increasing the GFR, which is nothing else than our kidney function.
So what we are actually trying to do is to improve our kidney health.
To do so the best way is to follow a diet that gives our kidneys the right nutrients and that doesn’t contain harmful toxins.
Then there’s the lifestyle. Sleeping regularly, exercising , avoiding stress.
Third there are the medications prescribed by your doctor. It is important to follow the prescriptions and to be informed about what medications we are taking and why.
This way we can help our doctor giving us the best treatment to keep under control conditions like hypertension or diabetes. These conditions are what is causing kidney disease in most of the cases, so keeping them under control is really important.
Now, if you want to know more about how to improve kidney function… I’ve made this playlist with lots of advice and info, be sure to check it out.
This is all for today, thank you for watching.
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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Can’t find the link to tzatziti sauce