Avoiding End Stage Renal Disease

End stage renal disease is the final stages of chronic kidney disease. At this stage, in order to continue living and functioning, transplant or dialysis is required. No one wants to reach this stage and hear the words that their kidneys have finally failed. It is a life threatening and uncomfortable condition to live with, not to mention everything that needs to be done at this point to keep you alive.

The good news is that end stage renal disease can be avoided. It will take work, perseverance, and the willingness to be stricter on yourself than you ever thought possible, but it is possible. You cannot restore the lost function of your kidneys but you can slow, or even stop, the progression of kidney disease. The answer is easy, but the follow through can be quite difficult.

Strict Dietary Changes

The most important key to slowing the progression of your chronic kidney disease and avoiding end stage renal disease is your diet. Keep in mind that every single bit of food or drink that you swallow eventually is filtered through your kidneys. As you lose function, it is harder and harder for your kidneys to keep up with their primary job of filtering out excess waste, fluid, and toxins.

A strict, healthy, kidney safe diet takes the pressure off of your kidneys and allows them to function at their best capacity without additional strain. If your kidneys do not have to work as hard to filter out all of the excess waste and other bad stuff, they are better able to perform the multiple other functions they are meant to perform.

Diet alone makes the biggest difference when treating chronic kidney disease. It is strict dietary changes that are the answer to avoiding end stage renal disease. This will require a lot of willpower and knowledge of what foods are considered kidney safe, but it is your best chance.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Along with strict dietary changes, healthy lifestyle choices will help you to maintain the best remaining function of your kidneys. This means getting regular exercise as your doctor recommends and permits. This also means cutting out alcohol and not smoking.

Treatment Follow Through

It isn't enough to treat your condition with diet and lifestyle changes. You will also need to see your doctors regularly to follow up with how your treatments are going. You may need medications and possibly even counseling. Keep in mind that living with a chronic illness such as kidney disease isn't easy for anyone, and you should take all the help you can get to avoid kidney failure.

Avoiding end stage renal disease will take more will power than you may even realize you have, but it can be done. You can avoid ever needing dialysis or transplant. The most important key is a strict diet, followed by a healthy lifestyle and medical intervention. You can slow or even stop the progression of your chronic kidney disease and avoid end stage renal disease with this information. For more information, click here.

Also published on Medium.