Treatment Options

Health & Wellness

Proper diet and nutrition and can play an important role in keeping you as healthy as possible.  Following a kidney-friendly diet in some cases can slow the progression of the disease.  Prior to any treatments, you will learn how to adjust your diet and you are encouraged to stay hydrated with water. 

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Your diet and water consumption usually change once you begin dialysis.  Each dialysis center has a renal dietician to help you and they monitor your levels to make sure you are doing well.  Always check with your medical team before making any drastic changes in your diet or water intake.

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Dialysis Treatments - You Have Options

There are two different types of dialysis treatments, hemo dialysis and peritoneal dialysis.  Dialysis treatment options usually aren’t necessary until a patients’ kidney function has reached Stage 5.  As you get closer to needing dialysis you will require a surgery to be properly prepared. The surgery is different depending on the type of dialysis you and your doctor choose. 

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Navigating Kidney Transplant

Depending on the patients’ overall health and age, kidney transplant is usually the preferred treatment option, however not all kidney patients are eligible for transplant.  You will learn a lot about the process by talking with others who have already had a transplant.

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It is very important to know that in some situations, kidney patients can get a transplant before they need dialysis. This is known as a “pre-emptive” transplant, and we have heard that some patients don’t know this is a possibility.  To accomplish this, you would need to find a living donor.

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Finding a Living Donor

With a waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor being 8-10 years in California, we encourage people to pursue finding a living donor.  Many kidney patients aren’t comfortable asking anyone to donate a kidney to them…we totally understand.  However, education on living donor outcomes and the life-changing experience it is for the donor might change your mind.   

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Chat with our group members on how they found their donor. We also are aware of several organizations that will help you depending on where you are registering for transplant.