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In 1995, Lisa Myers noticed a mysterious swelling in her feet and ankles. Little did she know that this symptom would mark the beginning of a challenging journey–one that led to a kidney disease diagnosis, ten years on dialysis, and two failed kidney transplants. 

Despite these difficulties, Lisa kept fighting and now encourages others to do the same. 

This is her story as a three-time kidney transplant recipient.

You may be surprised to learn just how common kidney disease is. In fact, one in seven American adults today is living with some level of kidney disease. What puts you at risk? Having high blood pressure, diabetes, a family history of kidney failure, and being over 60...

Kidney stones send half a million Americans to the emergency room every year, but there are ways to decrease your risk. To help you learn about symptoms, prevention tips and treatment, this month, the National Kidney Foundation answers the top 10 questions about kidney stones.

Check out our A to Z Guide for answers on many other kidney-related issues.

1. What is a kidney stone?

A kidney stone is a...

Goodpasture's Syndrome is an uncommon autoimmune disease that affects both the kidneys and the lungs. An autoimmune disease means that the immune system, which usually protects the body from infection, attacks healthy parts of the body by mistake.

The body's immune system produces antibodies, which are proteins that help fight infections. However, in Goodpasture's Syndrome the body makes antibodies that attack...

By Laura Byham-Gray, PhD, RD, CNSD

Keeping in good blood glucose control is important for lowering your risk for health complications. Glucose, often described as sugar, is made by the body, usually after eating, and serves as the fuel for every body cell. Diabetes mellitus, either type 1 or type 2, is the leading cause of kidney disease. When blood glucose levels stay high and uncontrolled over a period of time...

Station Volunteers 10-12 volunteers needed to assist with blood pressure, BMI and UA check

Consult Volunteers 4 provider (RN, MD, PA) volunteers needed to assist with reviewing test results Professional volunteers needed to assist with the Clinician Consult station. In this role the provider will review test results (BP, BMI, ACR UA), provide recommendations to improve kidney health, and direct participant to their doctor or clinic for...

In this episode of Hot Topics in Kidney Health, Dr. Katherine Tuttle, Executive Director for Research at Providence Health Care, and Jane DeMeis, kidney patient and advocate, discuss a promising new drug that was initially developed to help patients maintain blood sugar levels and are now being used as in the prevention and treatment of kidney disease.

Diabetes is a condition in which the body has trouble...

Mary Poppins once declared, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” In some cases sugar is used to mask unpleasant tastes, and yet it can be found on the ingredient lists of sweet and sour foods alike. Take one quick look at the food labels on common grocery items and it becomes rather obvious that Americans consume large quantities of sugar.

There are a quite a few different types of...

Many people don’t know it, but common childhood infections can cause kidney damage and kidney failure.  This is especially true for children.  Two childhood infections to be aware of are 1) strep infections caused by the Streptococcus bacteria, which leads to strep throat and impetigo (a skin infection), and 2) urinary tract infections.  These conditions need prompt attention and must be treated with antibiotics in order to...

By Linda M. Ulerich, RD

We all need protein in our diet every day. Protein is used to build muscle and fight infection and is made up of different amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. There are twenty different amino acids and nine of them are considered to be “essential” amino acids because the body can’t create them on its own. These must be obtained through dietary sources and protein in our diet can come from both...