DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 75-year-old woman with stage 3 kidney failure. How many stages are there? what symptoms occur in higher stages? what can I do to slow the progression?
DEAR T.S.: Chronic kidney disease has five stages. Staging is based on measuring how well or how poorly the kidneys filter blood to cleanse it of waste materials.
Since high blood pressure is both a cause and a consequence of kidney malfunction, close monitoring of blood pressure is one way to slow the decline of kidney function. Sometimes, patients’ kidney downturn stabilizes, and that could be what’s happening to you.
Your doctor will tell you — based on lab tests, which are more reliable than symptoms — if you need a special diet.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have heard that diabetes definitely can affect a person’s personality. will you explain and elaborate on this concept?
DEAR M.K.: I’m not so sure I can, and I’m not so sure I agree with it. I know many, many people who have diabetes and whose personality hasn’t changed one iota after being diagnosed with it.
Chronic illnesses can affect the way people look at life and react to life’s problems and joys. I can’t, however, describe any particular personality changes that happen to people with diabetes. Where did you get this information? will you let me know?
Write to Dr. Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475