Patient's question:
My father is 61 years old this year and has been suffering from kidney disease for 3 years. Initially, his creatinine level was slightly over 300, and now it is slightly over 1000. He has already undergone one dialysis session. I would like to ask, what should he pay attention to in terms of diet in the future?Doctor's answer:
Hello!! Regardless of the factors or causes that lead to kidney disease, if it progresses to the late stage, it becomes uremia. Uremia is a syndrome of multi-organ failure, and single treatments often yield poor results. When blood creatinine rises to over 1,000 to 2,000, the patient exhibits many clinical symptoms, and when complications are severe, it is best to undergo hemodialysis several times first to lower creatinine and urea nitrogen levels. This helps reduce the accumulation of toxins in the body, leading to various complications. As long as blood creatinine drops below 600 and daily urine output exceeds 700, based on my experience, switching to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can allow kidney function to recover step by step. Western medicine can be used to treat complications appropriately, with TCM as the primary approach.In Western medicine, the only options for uremia are hemodialysis or kidney transplantation, as there are no other treatments. Under normal circumstances, hemodialysis removes toxins from the blood, but it also eliminates proteins in the body, creating a vicious cycle. Most patients develop ascites, which recurs repeatedly, leading to repeated drainage. Initially, the patient may feel fine, but over time, their physical condition weakens significantly, and some may develop dialysis-related syndrome. Eventually, the Western medical team may inform the family to prepare for a kidney transplant. However, this situation can be completely avoided. Long-term hemodialysis has already taken over the kidneys' function, rendering them useless. This is a mistake. Even if kidney function is severely damaged, it does not mean it is completely lost. The kidneys still retain some function, which can be restored through TCM. The metabolic capacity of kidney function is particularly strong, and most of the time, the kidneys are in a "resting" state, with only a small portion actively "working." If one kidney has only 50% function, it can still maintain normal physiological function.
The most important aspect of treating kidney disease is preventing infections in the body. Any inflammation will cause various indicators to rise, which is a prerequisite for whether a kidney disease patient can be cured!! Another key point is to focus the primary medication on treating kidney disease. Once kidney disease improves, other complications will also follow suit—this is the principle of "solving the main problem first, and the secondary problems will resolve themselves." Based on my experience, treating uremia involves anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-glomerular degeneration and fibrosis, counteracting glomerular proliferation and exudation, promoting fibrinolysis, reducing platelet aggregation, increasing glomerular filtration rate, improving the permeability of glomerular capillaries, enhancing renal blood flow, and ultimately allowing damaged kidney function to repair. Mild to moderate damage can be fully restored, while severe damage can be improved to mild to moderate levels. In some cases, kidneys that have partially atrophied may show some degree of enlargement, making them capable of replacing hemodialysis. TCM strengthens the patient's own disease-fighting ability, significantly reducing the risk of bacterial and viral infections, which aids in faster recovery!!
In terms of diet, a simple and light meal plan is sufficient. You absolutely must not supplement, as your body's toxins have not been fully eliminated. Supplementing would only add more toxins.