kidney disease

Treatment options

Although there is no cure for Chronic Kidney Disease, there are treatments available to improve symptoms and prevent the condition from progressing and becoming worse.⁷

Lifestyle changes (especially your diet and exercise) and stop smoking to help you remain as healthy as possible.
Medicine to control associated problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol and diabetes.
Dialysis (also called renal replacement therapy) – treatment to replicate some of the kidney’s functions; this may be necessary in advanced Kidney Disease.
Kidney transplant – this is considered in End-stage Chronic Kidney Disease.^2,7

Why is diet important?

Every day we eat foods that may be high in salt, which causes high blood pressure, one of the main causes of Kidney Disease. Salt can also make you thirsty and worsen fluid retention, which cannot be removed by the kidneys.^2,9

Chronic Kidney Disease may cause our body to retain excess amounts of potassium and phosphorus, which are taken in through our diet.² For those with advanced Kidney Disease, it is advisable to make changes to their potassium, phosphates, protein, or fluid intake.⁹

Too much phosphate is harmful to the kidneys, heart and bones; however many processed foods contain phosphate additives. Look at food labels and take note of certain parts of a word such as “phos” to identify these.⁹

Certain salt-substitutes contain high levels of potassium, which might be harmful to a person with Kidney Disease.⁹ Speak to a dietician to provide you with dietary advice tailored to your needs and severity of your condition.

Fluids & the renal system

Healthy kidneys remove fluids as urine. When kidney function slows down, you make less urine, and fluids build up in your body, which is called fluid overload.^1,10

Fluid overload puts strain on your heart and lungs, causing problems such as:¹⁰

Headaches

High blood pressure

Breathlessness due to fluid on the lungs

Chest pain due to fluid build-up around the heart

How much fluid that you can drink each day when you have Kidney Disease will differ from person to person, and depends on: ¹⁰

Stage of kidney disease
Treatment, such as dialysis
Blood pressure
Weight
Urine production

It is important to remember that any liquid that you drink (even soup, gravy, yoghurt, custard and jelly) including those taken with medications, counts as fluid.¹⁰

Here are a few tips to control fluid intake:¹⁰

Use a small cup.
Spread your drinks throughout the day.
Take small sips rather than big gulps.
Freeze a drink in a plastic bottle and sip it as it defrosts.
Suck on ice cubes as they last longer than water.
Chew sugar free gum or suck on sugar free mints.
Rinse your mouth with mouthwash.
Choose cold rather than hot drinks to better quench your thirst.

If you feel very thirsty, consider the following:¹⁰

Check your blood sugar control (if you have diabetes), as high blood glucose (sugars) can make you feel thirsty.
Salt can make you feel thirsty which may make it hard to keep to your fluid allowance. Replace salt with fresh or dried herbs to dishes, or marinating meat and fish to give them more flavour.

How much of my daily life will be impacted by Kidney Failure, and what will the different stages be?

Outlook of Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease is known as a “disease multiplier” as it often occurs with a number of other conditions and may even cause new medical problems.¹¹

Hyperkalaemia:

Hyperkalaemia is characterised by too much potassium in the blood. As kidney function declines, the kidneys are less able to remove excess potassium. A diet high in potassium may contribute to the elevated levels, as well as some medication. Elevated potassium (especially at higher levels) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events and death.²

Anaemia:

Anaemia happens when there aren’t enough red blood cells. As kidney function declines, anaemia develops because the body does not properly signal that it should produce enough red blood cells. Anaemia in CKD can be associated with hospitalisation and higher risk of death.²

Bone disease:

Bone disease happens when there is too much phosphorus in the blood. When kidney function declines, phosphorus is less able to be removed properly, causing the body to pull calcium from your bones. Elevated phosphorus has been associated with an increased risk of death in CKD patients undergoing dialysis.²

Heart disease:

Heart disease (heart attack, heart failure, stroke, arrhythmias, peripheral vascular disease) can develop when damaged kidneys fail to help the body regulate blood pressure.¹²

Patients with stage 5 CKD have been estimated to have 3,4x higher risk of CV events than persons with normal kidney function.¹³