Mobility

[wifeofone]

My 67 year old husband has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 with a GFR of 20. He is barely mobile because of pain in his feet. Has anyone else experienced this? I read about those here who suffer with stage 4 and it seems they can work and walk for exercise. Any opinions?

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador]

I am a senior and diagnosed at level 3b CKD. I have peripheral neuropathy of feet, and neurologist told me might be connected to CKD. You might want to make an appointment with neurologist.

[Jayhawker]

I’ve had some issues with this too, even post transplant. Mine improves a lot the more I walk. I had to use a walker for quite some time. I’ve been transitioning to a quad cane over the past several weeks. The other thing that helps me a lot is doing short, light workouts on my recumbent elliptical machine, I try to do three 12-minute light workouts a day. I have much better sensation and less pain after these light workouts. I also have arthritis in my feet. Since I’ve been diagnosed with that I’ve added PT to my life. I found a PT group that comes to my home for PT sessions once a week. I do their exercises two times a day. These exercises may help some with neuropathy. The PT group is nation-wide in the USA, I think. It’s called iMovePT.

Jayhawker

[Miss-guineapig in reply to Jayhawker]

yes, I think you're exactly right Jay, keep moving is Key, even little by little. Wishing you well Orangecity x

[MinnadeParis in reply to Jayhawker]

Hi Jayhawker, I wish I move was located in the west. I just checked their locations. I do PT for neck and sciatica also have had the injections. The injections don’t work. And PT feels great and I do my exercises every day, but I still have chronic pain. I use CBD cream on all my sore points and that seems to work pretty well.

[CuriousCKD]

Hello! I am also stage 4 ckd, and I have a lot of problems with my feet and legs, due to neuropathy. Part of the problem has to do with lower back issues and bouts of sciatica. If I sit a particular way, the pressure on those nerves almost paralyzes me, and I have to try and walk it off. However, I am also T2 diabetic, and the neuropathy has migrated to my arms and legs. I am very unsteady on my feet, and if I stand too long, my legs become very numb and I have intense pain in my feet. I have found that I can walk about a mile with a walker, before the numbness sets in. Also, if I do leg exercises while sitting, like pumping my feet up and down, leg lifts, etc., it does help me move better. It keeps the circulation going. I am going to look into physical therapy for my feet, to see if It may help wake up those nerves. Exercise encourages stability and strength in my legs. Also I have lost around 50 pounds in the past 7-8 months, which has also helped me with pain. I wish you and your hubby well.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

The pain in the feet is probably not from CKD but neuropathy due to ...well lot's of things. You need to let the doctor know about it. There are medications to help like gabapentin. But everyone is correct: movement and more movement is the best thing. My husband has it bad and it is from his diabetes and venous insufficiency. He did PT for a while and really helped and then he started walking around the track inside. Really helped.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Bassetmommer]

I too take gabapentin.

[chicablue]

I am stage 5 and the only pain in my feet is from amputations not related to ckd.

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

Your husband needs to see his doctor regarding the pain in his feet. Gabapentin is a great drug for nerve pain. I was on it after my transplant due to abdominal nerve pain around my incision. Dr. can titrate the dosage so it doesn't effect his kidney function. He needs to get medical help. It's not good for him to just sit either. Is bad for his circulation, etc. Get an answer for his pain, and start moving!

[Chucka]

Dear wife of one,

This is just a thought. I see other replies focused on neuropathy. I have stage 4 ckd and experience pain in my feet due to high levels of uric acid, which sometimes flare into gout in my feet. Gout is a form of arthritis. If you haven’t already, maybe get your hubby checked for uric acid levels and gout. There are medications that can control it. Best of luck.

[Blackknight1989]

The last post is informative as all have been…I’ve been sub-20 eGFR or stage 4 since an AKI post CKD diagnosis in 1996…my underlying cause of CKD was HBP plus the US Army’s love for NSAIDS in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990’s. With the underperformance of my kidney function for the last 28/29 years the result commonly is peripheral neuropathy (tagged as idiopathic in my case as the cause is not known completely) but is not from T2D the (one) of the most common cause for PN…certainly gabapentin can help but I also suffered from early onset osteoarthritis (made worse I’m sure from jumping out of airplanes, my tour in the Middle East etc) and the OA has led to bilateral knee replacements (left knee 2003/right 2014) bilateral ankle arthrodesis 2008/2009 and left final replacement in 2014…with the COVID lockdowns and my classification as non-essential coupled with the high regulation of my financial planning business by both the SEC and FINRA I found myself at the beginning of 2020 unable to keep my small owned business open and also found my years of kidney disfunction catching up with me, now though I use a wheelchair about 80/90% of the time…we all “breakdown” differently…I still do what I can in the chair but at 58 (which isn’t old I certainly don’t believe I’m “old”) but it’s still been almost 29 years with reoccurring gout flares that leave damaged joints behind…I can and still do walk but if I’m doing the grocery run or going to any type of big box store I’ve got to “roll” not walk…doesn’t mean I’m about to expire just a part of my journey…my best to you and your husband!