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Chronic kidney disease
- Thread starter Jennywren
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Pumper_Sue
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Not sure what advice you need but my late father had CKD & for his last 18 months was on dialysis 3 days a week. We lost him last August.
The main thing is if you are worried or know someone who has been diagnosed is to have regular kidney tests and take advice there is a lot that can be done to protect your kidney function with medication & my dad had quite a restrictive diet.
He was banned from choclate/coffee/any starcy veg had to be boiled twice & many other bits & pieces.
Like me he had T2 diabetes.
But he wouldn't give up smoking the small cigars he loved. Smoking doesn't just damage your heart by narrowing your arteries it also has the same effect on the kidneys so if a smoker you need to give it up now to help protect the blood supply to your kidneys.
I asked his consultant once how I could avoid sitting where my dad was & he told me:
Keep Blood Pressure low (high blood pressure can increase your risk of kidney problems whether you have diabetes or not).
Then look after your BG levels.
No smoking/keep weight down etc, etc.
It was high blood pressure he said was the main risk of CKD. Per the guidlines once you are diagnosed with CKD & kidney function drops to 40% I think you should be referred to a specialist.
My dad saw the consultant but buried his head in the sand as to when to start dialysis; he left it until his kidney function was about 4% & as a result dialysis only worked so far. He may have still been with us if he had been a be more pro-active and accepted he need help sooner instead of pretending it wasn't happening.
If you want to PM me with anything you need to know if my novel above hasn't covered what you want please feel free. I would say the staff at the kidney department could not have been any better for my dad & he wasn't an easy patient; they were brilliant right up to the time we lost him.
Don't get me wrong apart from the last couple of months dialysis gave dad a good quality of life which he enjoyed, staying completly independant/driving etc.
Take care
Lynne
The main thing is if you are worried or know someone who has been diagnosed is to have regular kidney tests and take advice there is a lot that can be done to protect your kidney function with medication & my dad had quite a restrictive diet.
He was banned from choclate/coffee/any starcy veg had to be boiled twice & many other bits & pieces.
Like me he had T2 diabetes.
But he wouldn't give up smoking the small cigars he loved. Smoking doesn't just damage your heart by narrowing your arteries it also has the same effect on the kidneys so if a smoker you need to give it up now to help protect the blood supply to your kidneys.
I asked his consultant once how I could avoid sitting where my dad was & he told me:
Keep Blood Pressure low (high blood pressure can increase your risk of kidney problems whether you have diabetes or not).
Then look after your BG levels.
No smoking/keep weight down etc, etc.
It was high blood pressure he said was the main risk of CKD. Per the guidlines once you are diagnosed with CKD & kidney function drops to 40% I think you should be referred to a specialist.
My dad saw the consultant but buried his head in the sand as to when to start dialysis; he left it until his kidney function was about 4% & as a result dialysis only worked so far. He may have still been with us if he had been a be more pro-active and accepted he need help sooner instead of pretending it wasn't happening.
If you want to PM me with anything you need to know if my novel above hasn't covered what you want please feel free. I would say the staff at the kidney department could not have been any better for my dad & he wasn't an easy patient; they were brilliant right up to the time we lost him.
Don't get me wrong apart from the last couple of months dialysis gave dad a good quality of life which he enjoyed, staying completly independant/driving etc.
Take care
Lynne
Jennywren
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thanks ladies , I'm not a smoker or a drinker but when I was pregnant my kidneys started to leak protein and after my last son was advised to to get pregnant again , it seems now after 33 years of being a type 1 diabetic it has now turned into ckd , when I went to hospital on Monday the doctor said my creatinine levels had been fairly high the last few times although she didn't seem too concerned as my potassium levels are normal .im also very anaemic which can be related to ckd 
Pumper_Sue
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi Jenny sorry to hear about your worries and concerns.
Do remember though that anaemia can be caused by other things as well, so even if your creatinine levels have been fairly high the last few times it is well worth looking into things to see if you have another reason for the anaemia.
Do remember though that anaemia can be caused by other things as well, so even if your creatinine levels have been fairly high the last few times it is well worth looking into things to see if you have another reason for the anaemia.
Morning Jenny
Sorry to hear its yourself with CKD. Did your doctor suggest a treatment plan to stop any further deterioration?
If it hasn't been suggested ask to see the specialist Kidney Dieticion as diet can be crucial; we were amazed what foods contained salt & potassium.
Dad was quite pleased they said he couldn't have pasta; he wasn't keen but mum always thought it was healthy. He was also stopped from having Baked Beans.
Anyway it sounds as though you have been picked up with this early; we didn't know dad was having issues as he didn't tell us. Only that he had to have more regular blood tests. We thought it was his BS levels they were keeping an eye on.
I actually had to see my GP (same as dads) & mentioned as dad had an appointment booked we were getting concerned over him; & GP let on that he had a kidney problem & we both realised dad was burying head in the sand. I know he shouldn't have mentioned it to me but I then took dad to his appointment as he wasn't feeling too well & it all came out. Dad allowed the GP to discuss with me or mum & GP let me have his e-mail address so I could keep him informed as of course dad wasn't telling him much either!!
Treatments moved on and as I mentioned earlier in dads case; he let the damage go too far before he accepted perhaps the medical proffesson did know what they were doing, & agreed to dialysis probably 6 months later than when he should have.
Sorry to hear its yourself with CKD. Did your doctor suggest a treatment plan to stop any further deterioration?
If it hasn't been suggested ask to see the specialist Kidney Dieticion as diet can be crucial; we were amazed what foods contained salt & potassium.
Dad was quite pleased they said he couldn't have pasta; he wasn't keen but mum always thought it was healthy. He was also stopped from having Baked Beans.
Anyway it sounds as though you have been picked up with this early; we didn't know dad was having issues as he didn't tell us. Only that he had to have more regular blood tests. We thought it was his BS levels they were keeping an eye on.
I actually had to see my GP (same as dads) & mentioned as dad had an appointment booked we were getting concerned over him; & GP let on that he had a kidney problem & we both realised dad was burying head in the sand. I know he shouldn't have mentioned it to me but I then took dad to his appointment as he wasn't feeling too well & it all came out. Dad allowed the GP to discuss with me or mum & GP let me have his e-mail address so I could keep him informed as of course dad wasn't telling him much either!!
Treatments moved on and as I mentioned earlier in dads case; he let the damage go too far before he accepted perhaps the medical proffesson did know what they were doing, & agreed to dialysis probably 6 months later than when he should have.
Jennywren
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thanks again for replies , I have had investigations ( including several cameras in several places 😱 ) into the anaemia as it has been a problem for many years but they have never been able to find any reason for it Sue
Simplesl my dad too needed up on dialysis and like you I think they left it too long before it happened , my dad was type 1 diabetic and as well as dialysis he also needed a double below the knee amputation , but these are all things that worry me , where as normally I would take things in my stride because we've already been through it with dad I just can't seem to shake off the worry
Simplesl my dad too needed up on dialysis and like you I think they left it too long before it happened , my dad was type 1 diabetic and as well as dialysis he also needed a double below the knee amputation , but these are all things that worry me , where as normally I would take things in my stride because we've already been through it with dad I just can't seem to shake off the worry
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