Treatment for stage 3 CKD

[bowler]

I have stage 3 CKD and my GFR hovers around 40, I also have one kidney smaller than the other, with some benign cysts. I take medication for hypertention, and was prescribed a water tablet to take with my other blood pressure medication.

I assume that there is no other treatment, unless my GFR gets to stage 4 or 5 ?

[elmwood]

Hi,

May I ask how the benign cysts were diagnosed- kidney biopsy? ......

I too have stage 3, eGFR between 42-50, with normal sized kidneys, BP normal, +Proteinuria, Artovastatin taken to help with lowering my Cholesterol. I too have assumed that this is it until we sadly get to the next stage.

HOWEVER I am determined to try and prevent me getting there too quickly with a change in diet........Despite not been given any advice about beneficial changes to either my diet or lifestyle . So having trawled the net, I am now armed with the top 15 kidney superfoods which I will endeavour to increase. It seems its a case of watch and wait. I have found this site, (link) to be of great help and comfort......knowledge is most definitely power.

yourkidneys.com/kidney-educ...

All the best

[bowler in reply to elmwood]

Thank you for your reply and link. I will go in it after I have sent this reply to you.

I was given a kidney echocardiogram several weeks ago, that's when they found I had cysts, and one kidney smaller than the other.

I do I hope I dont get to the next stage, but I do wonder, as I get quite a lot of urine infections. I am also borderline B12 deficient, [ anemia ]

which I understand is another thing you can get with CKD.

Oh! and I have a dodgy heart valve, and GCA

Isn't life grand ?

all the best

[elmwood]

It sure is......& Im 49. I am not sure about urine infections, hsving recently being diagnosed myself and ploughing through the info with regards to my own symptms including aneamic- iron deficient. have just received my second iron infusion therapy, which seems to have helped a little. I now only sleep 10 hours a night & have 2 hours afternoon siesta!! I am not sure what GCA is, but lets hope you heart valve isn't under too great a pressure because of the kidneys?.

You know, all this came to light in mid June. My bloods showed abnormal paraproteins and plasma cells, which in turn meant I had to have all the relevant tests, scans & bone marrow biopsy etc to exclude Myeloma- cancer of the bone marrow.Thankfully I am in the pre-malignant stage, with MGUS, which may or may not develop into full blown myeloma, again watch and wait. So to be honest, when I was given the diagnosis of CKD, I was relieved as for me Myeloma was a death sentence, a relentless disease with no cure and a very poor life expectancy. I feel I have got more time, and try not to think about all that stage 4 and 5 entails.

Life is supposed not to throw anything at us that we cannot deal with, but in my experience it enjoys throwing these testing curve balls...... x.

[bowler in reply to elmwood]

Hi

I thought I had problems, Sorry about your ailments, and you being at a young age. I'm almost 69 so expect "stuff" to start breaking down.

I was started on B12 injections, but had a bad reaction to them, so I am just taking tablets.

My GCA Is Giant Cell Arteritis, it will be easier for you to look it up rather than me tell you the symptoms.

regards

[phillen]

my hubby is 58 was in stage 3 for about 10 years or so before going to 4 then 5 & on dialysis within a year! so things can stay steady for quite a long time if your lucky they say keeping BP low protects the kidneys healthy diet & excersize also keeping your weight good he also has a leaking aortic valve which he is about to have replaced don't do anything too drastic with your diet as long as its healthy with plenty of fruit & veg the kidneys finely balance the electrolites in your body phosphates pottasium calcium etc so beware what you cut down on (unless advised to) as these are all needed from food to keep your bones & other organs healthy without knowing what you have too much of or too little in your body its difficult to decide what to cut down on!

[Calley]

I was told in the spring of this year that I have Stage 3 CKD, caused by long term use of Naproxen, the medical term is Analgesic Nephritis. I have arthritis of the spine and am now not supposed to take any pain killers at all. I am coping with my back pain with the aid of a tens machine, I wish this had been recommended before I was prescribed Naproxen.

I was, prior to being diagnosed getting a lot of symptoms that by themselves were miserable, although not too bad, but collectively were starting to worry me. I know that clinicians generally say that there are no symptoms at stage 3, but there clearly are, and I think the symptoms are felt when the kidneys are trying to process kidney 'unfriendly' food. Even my back feels better now as some of the pain that I assumed was coming from my spine (and spreading round to my rib cage), I now realise was kidney pain, not arthritis extending its reach, is much better.

This site has been useful for me as now that I know which foods are kidney friendly, I am sticking to a kidney happy diet, and all the other relatively minor health problems I was getting have disappeared.

I have learned for myself what a difference a diet that keeps my kidneys happy makes to my general feeling of well being, so with a tens machine and the right food, I am getting on with life.

If you need drugs to keep your body functioning then of course you must take them, but I think just by cutting unnecessary chemicals, certain types of pain relief, food containing excess acid, alcohol, etc., out of your diet, you might find that you do feel a little better. If you feel unwell every little improvement is a bonus and a spur to make further changes in your lifestyle.

I think at Stage 3, there is no real need to worry about a downhill path, I look on it as an early warning, and I think that I do have some control now that I know. If I do end up with a much lower GFR, then it was meant to be, despite me doing all I can to prevent it, but until that time comes, I am assuming it won't happen as long as I am careful.

This site is brilliant and I am so glad I found it.

[bennybo in reply to Calley]

hi,calley , I have ckd3 and only running on 1 kid. I was looking around sites like this one for answers

I need to find the good foods and what are the bad ones to try and help me feel abit better ,I belive there are symtoms and effects with this condition ,cause it make s you feel tierd etc .

is there any chance you coul maybe send a good list and a bad list to my email for me I would be greatful my email is [e-mail] thanks

[Calley]

Hello Bennybo, as others on this site have said in the past, this is one of the best sites for advice on kidney friendly food : davita.com/kidney-disease/d...

I hope this helps you, it certainly helped me.

[bennybo]

thank you for the advice ,