By: Cheryl M. Luis
When coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started, many of our loved ones died due to kidney failure. My husband is one of them. He is in stage 5 CKD after being infected with COVID-19. Eventually, he died because of toxins build up and feeling lethargic or feel sleepy.
The kidney is one of the vital organs of our body. Kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. It also removes acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintains a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals—such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium—in your blood.
If your kidney decreases its function it can lead to a buildup of toxins and impurities in the blood. This can cause people to feel tired, weak and can make it hard to concentrate. Another complication of kidney disease is anemia, which can cause weakness and fatigue.
There are five classification stages for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Kidney disease can get worse in time. In the early stages (Stages 1–3), your kidneys are still able to filter waste out of your blood. In the later stages (Stages 4–5), your kidneys must work harder to filter your blood and may stop working altogether.
Stage 1 – 2 CKD
This means you have mild kidney damage and an eGFR of 90 or greater for Stage 1 and eGFR between 60 and 89 for Stage 2. It means your kidneys are healthy and working well, but you have other signs of kidney damage. Signs of kidney damage could be protein in your urine (pee) or physical damage to your kidneys. Here are some ways to help slow down the damage to your kidneys in Stage 1 kidney disease: control your blood sugar if you have diabetes, control your blood pressure, eat a healthy diet, do not smoke or use tobacco, be active 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, stay at a healthy weight, ask your doctor if there are medicines you can take to help protect your kidneys and make an appointment to see a nephrologist (kidney doctor) even if you already have a general doctor.
Stage 3 CKD
Your eGFR is between 30 and 59. An eGFR between 30 and 59 means that there is some damage to your kidneys and they are not working as well as they should.
Stage 3 is separated into two stages:
Stage 3a means you have an eGFR between 45 and 59
Stage 3b means you have an eGFR between 30 and 44
Many people with Stage 3 kidney disease do not have any symptoms. But if there are symptoms, there may be swelling in your hands and feet, back pain, urinating (peeing) more or less than normal.
At this stage, you are also more likely to have health complications as waste builds up in your body and your kidneys are not working well, such as high blood pressure, anemia (a low number of red blood cells), and bone disease.
Stage 4 CKD
Stage 4 CKD means you have an eGFR between 15 and 29. An eGFR between 15 and 30 means your kidneys are moderately or severely damaged and are not working as they should. Stage 4 kidney disease should be taken very seriously – it is the last stage before kidney failure.
At Stage 4 kidney disease, many people have symptoms such as: swelling in your hands and feet, back pain, urinating (peeing) more or less than normal, at Stage 4, you will likely also have health complications as waste builds up in your body and your kidneys are not working well, such as high blood pressure, anemia (a low number of red blood cells, bone disease.
To keep kidney disease from getting worse at this stage, your doctor will recommend that you:
Have regular appointments with a nephrologist (kidney doctor), who will make a treatment plan that is right for you and tell you how often you will need to have your kidneys checked
Meet with a dietitian, who will help you follow a healthy diet
Take special blood pressure medicines like ACE inhibitors and ARBs if your doctor says you should. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, sometimes these medicines can help keep kidney disease from getting worse.
At Stage 4 kidney disease, this is the time to start talking with your nephrologist about how to prepare for kidney failure. Once your kidneys have failed, you will need to start dialysis or have a kidney transplant to live.
Stage 5 CKD
Stage 5 CKD means you have an eGFR of less than 15. It means the kidneys are getting very close to failure or have completely failed. If your kidneys fail, waste builds up in your blood, which makes you very sick.
Some of the symptoms of kidney failure are: itching, muscle cramps, feeling sick and throwing up, not feeling hungry, swelling in your hands and feet, back pain, urinating (peeing) more or less than normal, trouble breathing, trouble sleeping.
Once your kidneys have failed, you will need to start dialysis or have a kidney transplant to live.
Dialysis helps clean your blood when your kidneys have failed. There are several things to think about, such as the type of dialysis, how to plan your treatments and how they will affect your daily life
Kidney Transplant. A kidney transplant is surgery to give you a healthy kidney from someone else’s body. If you can find a living kidney donor, you may not need to start dialysis at all. It is possible to have a transplant when your kidneys are getting close to failure.
Cheryl M. Luis is the wife of George N. True II. Like her husband, she advocates health and lifestyle writing and vows to continue “Health Frontiers” as her husband’s legacy./PN
