Stage 4

[Kacy22]

Hi all

I am scared. I have recently been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease, my dr seems overly keen to get me on dialysis. Im not so keen to rush into this life changing decision as i need to process my diagnoses. I have come across various articles where baking soda has been suggested to slow down kidney decline. I wanted to know if anyone else has tried and what the outcome was.

[MAS_Nurse]

Hello Kacy, welcome as I believe this is your first post on this community.

I am sorry and fully understand how scared you must be. Perhaps going back to your Doctor armed with questions you have now been able to think of as you process what they have told you. (you don't say if the Dr is your GP or specialist). Also taking someone with you that you trust as people tend not to remember everything that is said when someone is anxious and receiving disturbing news.

If you have all the relevant information it may help you to clarify this difficult decision and make sense of it all.

Good luck and do keep in touch.

MAS Nurse and Moderator.

[Jonquiljo]

Hi Kacy. It would help if we knew more information than "stage 4." There's a lot to all of this ... and the details count. I will say if you are on the "high" end of stage 4 - your Dr is rushing too fast to get you on dialysis. But then we don't know what the experience is like from your end.

[overnighthearingloss]

Do you have other health complications or has this come completely out of the blue. Is it the result of sudden trauma or deteriorating health?

I know this is not giving you any pointers at present but without a bit more information it's difficult to suggest how you may find improvements. That's not saying there are no options but that more detail is required to suggest best options.

[Marvin8]

Dialysis is where the money's at. Just ask your doc if he has a financial interest in the dialysis center he recommends to you.

[lowraind]

Who diagnosed you?

Have you seen a nephrologist?

Have you been given any other guidelines?

What are your numbers?

[RickHow]

You really need to provide more information than just "stage 4", as other have said. Stage 4 is a broad category. Just being stage 4 does not mean that you automatically need dialysis. Stage 4 is a egfr range of 15 to 29. Very generally speaking dialysis is not started until about the egfr of 15 or less. AND if you have lost 85 to 90 % of kidney function as shown in further testing. But each person and each condition is unique. You say he is keen to begin it. What does this mean? It seems to me, for me, if my doctor said to me based upon my egfr, function (and he shows it to me), that dialysis is required, I'd be running to the dialysis center. It is a shocking thing to be told, I am sure. but really there is not much to think about based upon the numbers (which you did not provide). Also, if you have some kind of doubts (which you seem to), get yourself a second opinion. You are reacting quite normally, in thinking that perhaps "this or that" (baking soda) will help. There are no such "cures" or ways to slow it down. If there were the medical community would be prescribing them to all of us with CKD. Dialysis it there for a reason. It brings the benefits you want to achieve with baking soda. I had a friend who was in your similar position. She was so concerned he doctor made a unique recommendation to her. He asked her to go to a "dialysis center" he would recommend. NOT to begin dialysis, but to see the place. See what it entails. To talk to other patients and nurses. The doctor felt that the fear of the unknown was making her even more concerned that just having dialysis. She went. She returned with a high level of satisfaction. The need for dialysis, to be on dialysis is nothing anyone wants. But she found that to go there (I believe it was 3 times a week) for just 3.5 to 4 hours those 3 days, was not as bad as she believed it would be. And her "side effects" (for her, each person is unique) were a general tiredness on those days and a need to moderate her blood pressure. But the side effects were addressed quickly by her doctors and those at the center. You need to come to grips with the recommendation. Get another opinion if your numbers do not convince you. Perhaps visit the place. Ask the million questions you probably have to your doctors and on here to see if anyone can answer them for you. Keep us informed.

[Soneram]

Sorry about this but I didn’t have the choice to actually think about it it was life threatening but I didn’t like the hymn dialysis and went on to pd dialysis first manually four times a day but now on each night for eight hours as I sleep and can have the day free

[toeragthecat21]

Hi what is your egfr reading