How do I manage my Chronic Kidney Disease?

If you're suffering from chronic kidney disease management is a necessary way of life. From this point forward, it is essential to manage your diet, your fluids, and even the amount of exercise you get in an effort to sustain your health and maintain your independence to the greatest degree possible. These are a few important chronic kidney disease management steps you must follow in order to sustain the best possible quality of life.

Create Routines

You need to come up with an easy to follow routine for rationing your daily amount of liquids, taking your daily required medications, eating a proper, healthy diet, and getting an adequate amount of fitness for optimal health — even if it's simply taking a stroll to the mailbox each day. Establishing routines is a critical part of your chronic kidney disease management plan. The more you commit to practicing these routines, the less cumbersome they will become.

Avoid Dry Mouth

One of the worst aspects of rationing beverages is dry mouth. That's why it's so important to space your beverages apart in a manner that doesn't leave too much time between drinks. Keep this in mind as you adjust your chronic kidney disease management routine.

These are a few small things you can do to help combat dry mouth without significant consequences to your health and maintain your chronic kidney disease management efforts.

• Suck on ice chips
• Reduce sodium intake (salty foods make you thirsty)
• Skip social drinking (save your beverage intake for times when you're thirsty instead)
• Chew sugarless gum
• Brush your teeth frequently throughout the day
• Avoid foods that make your mouth feel dry (consider fresh fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries instead of crackers or breads)

These are small changes but they significantly impact your level of discomfort due to dry mouth throughout the day.

Focus on Foods You Can Have

There are a lot of limits to consider when adapting to your chronic kidney disease management routine. It's easy to hyper focus on all the things you can't have anymore. However, that's a negative way of thinking that often leads to depression, feelings of deprivation, and binging on things that aren't good for you.

Instead, adopt a more positive attitude about all the great foods you can have like fresh fruit and vegetables, egg whites, fish, and more. Keep your house well stocked with these foods as you develop your chronic kidney disease management plan and you'll find it more and more difficult to feel deprived.

Accommodate Other Dietary Needs

While it's great to get on board with your chronic kidney disease management diet, it's also important to accommodate other dietary needs you have. For instance, if you have diabetes or other health conditions with special dietary needs, you can't ignore them in an effort to focus on managing your kidney disease needs. You must find a balance between both needs or identify the more critical of the needs.

The key to successful chronic kidney disease management is creating a plan you can follow through with day after day. This isn't a temporary diet but a long-lasting lifestyle change that must be sustainable.

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