Newly Diagnosed with Kidney Damage

[Marilyn]

Hello Friends - I have been recently diganosed with "signs of early kidney damage". :cry: (Albuminurea) It's only a few months since I was diagnosed with diabetes, then hypertension and now this.

I have multiple health problems - including recent breast cancer - honestly at the moment it all seems too much to cope with. :shock: I am trying to stay positive - to take my medications, do daily BSLs and exercise (!?) :roll:

Feel on a bit of an emotional roller coaster with all of this - it's hard to stay stable. Trying to practice the one day at a time philosphy.

Anyway just thought I'd try and connect up - I do worry about my kidneys and fear the progression of kidney disease - 2 of my first cousins died of kidney failure.

Trying to stay hopeful. All the best
Marilyn.

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

Hi Marilyn,
You are dealing with a lot so I'm glad that you reached out for support and encouragement. Hopefully you'll find others who are dealing with similar issues to help you.

Having worked as a social worker in dialysis and transplant programs for 18 years before working with Life Options, I have seen people that coped well and those that didn't cope as well with kidney disease. Life Options did a study and found that those that have done well long-term with kidney disease:
-- Do their best to keep a positive attitude;
-- Learn all they can about their illness and what they can do to manage it;
-- Take an active role in treatment and decisions about their care.

You probably want to learn more about how people with diabetes can protect their kidneys. You can read about kidneys and how they work in Module 2 of Kidney School (www.kidneyschool.org). Other sources of information on diabetes and kidney disease include the National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org), the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org), the National Diabetes Education Program (www.ndep.nih.gov), and the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/kdd/index.htm).

Some things you can do to help your kidneys include:
-- Keep your blood sugar under control. Shoot for an A1c of 6.5% or less.
-- Keep your blood pressure under control. If your blood pressure drug is not an ACE inhibitor or ARB, you might want to know that these are recommended for people with diabetes and early kidney disease to protect the kidneys.
-- Stop smoking, if you smoke. In addition to causing lung damage, smoking has been found to harm kidney function.
-- Exercise regularly to help control blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, and build fitness.
-- Limit use of pain medicines. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines are hard on kidneys.
-- Ask your doctor for copies of your lab tests so you can track them over time. Ask what you can do when any lab value is too high or too low.
-- Ask if there are any classes you can attend to help you learn more how to protect your kidney function.

It's impossible to control everything that happens to us, but is it possible to control how we react to it. By reaching out, you're well on your way to doing all you can to take good care of yourself.

[Marilyn]

Thanks Beth for sharing your words of wisdom and experience. I have checked out a few of those sites and they are all very useful. It is helpful to me to learn as much as I can.

My BSLs seem to be going OK - have come down alot since I started on the new medication (diabex) and a second BP med. I really am feeling heaps better. And starting to get used to a bit more exercise.

The risks of not looking after myself this way are pretty scary but I think I'm getting on the right track.

Thanks for your support. It makes a difference
Marilyn