New to this Community

[NiaStrong]

Hi All,

I am 21 years old and was recently diagnosed with acute renal disease- Stage 5. Unfortunately my nephrologist conducted a biopsy and concluded that the damages in my kidney are irreversible. I am still able to urinate and don’t have many symptoms, but was told that I need a kidney transplant in the near future.

I must take care of my kidney health as much as possible to either delay dialysis or not have it all in the meantime before my transplant.

I am currently taking a phosphate binder, Renvela (800 mg/3x a day) to help get rid of the toxins my kidney is unable to get rid of. However, I get many side effects with this medication (painful headaches, constipation, stomach irritability) Does anyone know if there is a healthier alternative instead of using a phosphate binder? Anyone using Bentonite clay or activated charcoal?

Has anyone tried other medicinal practicies rather than just western medecine? What are your experiences?

Any tips or knowledge you may have about how to better care for my kidney disease is greatly appreciated.

[Maddisson]

NiaStrong- are you on a transplant list? I wish I had done this sooner. You definitely want to have a living donor of at all possible. Spread the word, beginning today!

[Ladybug_05]

Hello! I am 20 years old and am currently on dialysis with stage 5 CKD. I use the phosphate binder phoslo (calcium acetate) and it works well with no side affects thus far.

I would recommend a vitamin B complex and to look up renal friendly foods on DeVita.com. What you consume can be your best friend, or your worst enemy with kidney disease of any kind. Clean eating is a great start, but be conscious of high phosphorus/potassium/sodium foods, as they are harder for the kidney to process. Calcium is also a good indicator of phosphorus levels, since they're in a 1:1 ratio in a lot of foods (processed and dairy). If you naturally lower the amount of these specific nutrients, your kidneys won't need to work as hard and a phosphate binder may not be needed at all. You also want to avoid NSAIDs, such as ibprofen, aleve, (basically anything besides tylenol).

I also drink baking soda (in apple juice) and drink craberry juice regularly. The baking soda acts as a base and helps to promote detoxifying bicarbonates. I also recommend dandelion tea, or a sav (ointment), which I've found really helpful with inflamation and helping my kidney detox as well. I also love ginger (tea, candied or in food), tumeric and parsley.

There's a lot of herbal teas which promote kidney health and can be easily accessed on the web (I'm not much of an herbal tea fan).

I've found that a blend of natural medicines and western medicines have benefitted me the best. I was born with one kidney with kidney disease and, through a lot of trials and errors, managed to postpone dialysis by an extra 6 years (I was predicted to need a transplant at 14) and my kidney is still sort of functioning despite in kidney failure. Depending on the situation, dialysis may not be able to be avoided and I hope that you are looking into your options. Uremia is a real concern with kidney failure, and can escalate very quickly (mine went from me feeling a little under the weather to hospitalized in two weeks). It's important to start implementing changes now, sticking to them and listening to your body signals to make sure that you catch symptoms early.

Good luck and I hope that this information is useful to you!

[NiaStrong in reply to Ladybug_05]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your advice with me. I truly appreciate it!

[KelliC_NKF]

Info on herbal supplements. kidney.org/atoz/content/her...