An Introduction to the Kidneys and Chronic Kidney Disease

I. Introduction

The goal of the "People Like Us, Online" series is to tell you about kidney failure and its treatments and to help you make the best treatment choices. Also included in the series are the following titles:

As you read part of the series, you'll be introduced to some medical terms that may be new to you. To learn the meanings of these new words, see the "Words You Need to Know"section. Whenever you see a word in bold type like this, you can find its meaning there.

Two terms you'll see used frequently are chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. Chronic kidney disease is slow, progressive loss of kidney function caused by diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, glomerulonephritis, polycystic kidney disease and others. Sometimes, chronic kidney disease may lead to complete kidney failure, which occurs when 85 to 90 percent or more of kidney function has been lost, and dialysis or a kidney transplant is required to maintain life.

It is our hope that you'll use this series as a springboard for discussions with your doctor and other members of your health care team and with your family. The better informed patients and their families are, the better the outlook for successful long-term treatment and quality of life for patients.

In this introductory part of the series, you'll learn about:

If you have been recently diagnosed with chronic kidney disease or kidney failure, you may be feeling scared, angry, confused - and not ready or unwilling to learn more about what's happening to your body. If so, you're not alone. Every year, thousands of people find out that their kidneys are failing, and experience similar feelings. Here's what two patients, Jackie and Chris, say about how they felt when they learned they had kidney failure:

"When I first found out my kidneys were failing, I was scared - oh, was I scared. And I don't think I asked many questions. I'm not sure I wanted to know what it was all about."
-- Jackie

"I was battling between depression and anger, and just plain hatred - of myself, my doctors, and my stupid kidneys. I was just angry, for the most part. Then I was really sad."
--Chris

These reactions are both normal and rational. You have a serious medical condition, and the path ahead of you will be filled with physical, mental, and emotional challenges that you may not feel ready to face. But the outcome needn't be as bleak as you're probably imagining.

As hundreds of thousands of kidney patients have already discovered, there is life after kidney failure. You can still look forward to doing whatever it is you love to do most, or dream of doing in the future, whether it be working, going to school, raising children, traveling, staying physically active, or pursuing your hobbies. The key is to find the courage to ask those scary questions - so you can take control of your condition before it takes control of you.

The more you understand about how your kidneys work and what your body needs in order to stay fit and healthy, the more successful your treatment program will be. You'll feel more confident when making choices about your treatment; you'll feel more committed to taking your medications as prescribed, following your special diet plan, and keeping up with regular check-ups; and, most important, you'll feel better on a day-to-day basis.

Learn all you can about your disease and treatment

Learn all you can about your disease and treatment.

Kidney failure is not an easy diagnosis to live with, but plenty of people, including your health care team and other specialists, are ready to help you develop your treatment plan and guide you through the toughest spots. Ultimately, however, you are the one who matters most when it comes to determining how you'll live your life with kidney failure. Your attitude will make all the difference. As Tom, another kidney patient, has learned:

"Everybody deals with kidney failure differently, but it seems like the people who know more about it are more in control of it, and are able to work better with their health care team. The people who are really afraid of it and aren't willing to learn about it are the ones who have the hardest time with dialysis and transplantation and all that kind of stuff."

Mrs. Jasperson, the mother of a kidney patient, agrees:

"You can't know too much about your condition, about your medicine, in general, about drugs, about diet, about the machine, about the whole situation. The more you know, the more your backup team can help you."

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