Hello, and welcome back to week 10 of the AKF Kidney Classes. I can’t believe we are on week 10 already. Please, if you have not read the other posts, from the beginning, please go back and read them. You will find them in the archives under the CKD category. My name is Melissa and I am a Health Coach and a volunteer AKF Kidney Coach. Since covid, I have not attempted to do these in person, and it was approved for me to share the slides and information here on my blog, just like I would if it was in person. By doing a slide each week it gives more time for people to read and ask questions. These posts will always be here, for years even. Please leave me comments, or ask me questions and I will answer, except spam I will not answer spam. I also have CKD and my kidney journey has brought me back to hovering right at stage 2. I am passionate about helping people to learn how to keep their kidneys healthy both before and after they have CKD. I love it when I find an AKF video on the topic I will be discussing. Their webinars are kind of boring, I will admit, but they are chock full of good information. If you have kidney disease, cares for someone with kidney disease, or want to prevent kidney disease these classes are for you. Each week I share another slide in the class series, there are 39 I think altogether, I give my perspective as someone who has CKD, and then I share my medical experience as a nurse. The slides belong to the AKF and please do not copy or share them outside of sharing this blog post.
March is National Kidney Month be sure and support the American Kidney Fund as a leading organization in the support of people with kidney disease.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease by 40%. Learning to either prevent Diabetes or keep your blood sugar under good control once you have Diabetes is vital to keeping your kidneys healthy. Please read the slide below, and then watch the webinar. I do not have Diabetes, but it runs in my family, so I am always alert to trying to keep it at bay. I am tested at least twice a year to be sure my blood sugar levels are normal. I take care of lots of patients with Diabetes and while it is a very hard disease to live with it is very manageable. When you have blood sugar spikes and your body does not produce enough insulin, or you are insulin resistant, the tiny nephrons in your kidneys become clogged and damaged and the nephron can die. This leads to the kidneys not being able to filter the waste out of your blood and a backup of waste occurs because these tiny nephrons are filters. As the waste backs up and can not be removed from your body you will have all kinds of unpleasant symptoms and complications.
Living Life With CKD 