Can you improve Ckd at stage 4

Regards

Graham

Hi,

I personally would not change anything unless you are told to do so be your neph and dietician, it can be dangerous.  I also wouldn't take any tablets without speaking to your neph as there are lots of things that make kidney function worse. I went very quickly from stage 3 to 5 and was told by my neph there is nothing you can do to make it go back up.  Your circumstances will be the same as there is a reason for the decline (diabeties).  As he is at 22% they will start asking about testing to go on the doner list, you go live on that around 20% GFR. You are in a situation where you are quick lucky believe it or not as people who need pancrias/kidney transplant are treated differently that those who just require a kidney.  It may be the case if you have a good team behind you, you can skip dialyisis.  My friends husband was on the list for 3 weeks before he had his first call, this didn't work out (it is to be expected) but then 2 weeks later he had his second call and job was a good one he has his transplant and is doing well.  Even though they knew my GFR was dropping they left me to the point I needed dialysis I only required a kidney.  I have been on dialysis since Nov 2014 and have only had one call.  Luckily for my I have a live doner and we have our transplant in 2 weeks I am only 39 and have a family.  I would not be scared by what is going to happen (you need to face facts its is going to happen and soon) I would research the different types of dialysis just in case it is needed so there is less shock if the time comes.  Go to the local unit so you can see haemo and speak to the patients I dp peritoneal so am happy to give advice if need be.  I dodn't fancy haemo too restrictive for me personally.  You need to think practically if there was a way to raise GFR then we wouldn't have so many people waiting on the list.  There are occasions when it can rise but that is in people who have acute illness and not chronic.  I have to be honest as I wwouldn't want to tell you he will wake up and be fixed all by himself as I doubt very much this will happen.  I do 8 hours of dialysis every night at home myself it os a pain in the bum at times but it doesn't hurt and it allows me to look after my kids, work full time and run my family business.  There are little restrictions and it is keeping me a live so once you get your head in the right place not so scary.  Good luck any questions just ask obviously I am not medically trained but sometimes first hand experience helps x

The first thing is to see a nephrologist. Do not take any pills or restrict the diet until you are told to do so by a good nephrologist. Everybody is different. He could staty at this stage for a very long time. He may need to follow a certain diet but everybody is different & it will depend on his labs. My CKD came about due to high blood pressure, well that's what they think although I've been on BP meds for years. Mine is not reversible but my nephrologist thinks mine is stable. Best of luck to you.

Hi Charlie,

Sorry to hear about your husband's health challenges.  I don't think it's a case of "reversing" the kidney damage, more like "limiting it" or, sometimes "halting it".  If someone's diet is particularly unhealthy, then it is possible that their GFR numbers could improve somewhat with a healthier diet - but again, it won't correct any damage already done.

With CKD I'm sure you know the basics already - avoid excessive protein and sodium.  With your husband at 22% he should also start avoiding foods with high potassium like oranges, bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, etc.  Why?  Because the kidneys lose their ability to efficiently process potassium and if a low-GFR person intakes a lot of potassium at once, the excess could lead to a heart attack.

At 22% I suggest he also start limiting his intake of phosphates - these are found in milk and milk products, as well as a host of other products (look for any ingredient beginning with "phos" and it's there).

My two cents.  Ultimately, he should speak to a dietician for additional advice.  And perhaps other people with CKD due to diabetes could weigh in on this.

Best wishes,

Charley, i went on a macrobiotic diet and ended up losing too much weight. Didn't do anything regarding kidneys. Felt I was fighting the battle of my life without knowing how ro fight it. When the results came in and I was declining I felt so bad. It would have been so much better if I accepted it as a chronic disease.

It won't improve. Try to stabilise it as long as possible. To me that means rest (no strenuous exercise), water, clean foods and work on a positive mindset.

As Helen says it's not life threatening if you are sensible.