Diagnosis and Treatment Options

A diagnosis of chronic kidney disease can be scary and stressful. Educating yourself about treatment options and resources will empower you to shape your healthcare outcome.

Living with Chronic Kidney Disease

Watch how our two patients managed their diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease

Kevin's story

Monica's story - Part 1

Monica's story - Part 2

Here are 3 important steps to managing life around CKD:

Photo of a woman attending an outdoor yoga class

Step 1. Manage Your Health

A diagnosis of CKD doesn’t mean that you have kidney failure. Know your stage of kidney disease. In the early stages, there are many things that you can do to help slow disease progression. See Self-care for Kidney Health to learn more.

Your lab test values are a guide to how slowly or quickly your kidney disease is progressing. Keep close watch on your results. The Kidney Health Checklist for a Doctor’s Visit is a helpful tool for tracking your labs and keeping a list of questions. Follow up regularly with your healthcare team so that they can monitor for early problems and complications.

Photo of a patient receiving dialysis treatment

Step 2. Learn About Treatment Options

If your kidneys fail, you will need treatment to replace the work your own kidneys can no longer do. Treatment options include dialysis and kidney transplantation. What works for some people may not work for you. Everyone’s journey with kidney disease is different. Take the time to learn the positives and negatives for each option so that you can make decisions based on your needs.

Photo of a smiling man on an examination table, speaking with his doctor.

Step 3. Be Your Own Advocate

Be your own advocate. Get involved in developing your treatment plan—don’t just leave it to your healthcare team to make all the decisions for you. Managing your kidney disease requires coordination among doctors, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, and psychologists. Stay in close contact with your healthcare team.

Ask questions. Make sure you understand your treatment options. Make your wishes known. Learn about strategies and resources that will empower you to shape your own health outcome.

Dialysis Treatment Options

Kidney Transplantation

Kidney Donation

Be Empowered

You have the power to help shape your outcome with kidney disease through awareness, education, and active participation in selecting your treatment options. Here are some strategies that will empower you:

Prepare questions ahead of time for appointments with your healthcare team. Make notes during appointments. Take a trusted caregiver or advocate with you.

Make a list of questions before each visit. Use the Kidney Health Checklist for a Healthcare Provider’s Visit as a resource. Ask others for their input. It’s hard to think of everything you need to ask when you’re under stress.

Work at communicating your questions, thoughts, and feelings to your healthcare team. Bring up the difficult questions that you would rather not talk about.

Take notes during appointments so that you can remember the discussion later.

Take a trusted caregiver or advocate with you. Talk about the appointment after it’s over. Update your notes with anything you’ve left out. Write down follow-up steps and any questions you have.

Be active in your own care.

Don’t expect your providers to make all the decisions for you. Learn about options. Make your wishes known.

Once you are referred for a kidney transplant evaluation, get all the testing done as quickly as possible. Stay in close contact with the transplant team.

If you are told that you don’t qualify for a transplant, ask why. Find out if you might be eligible at some future time. Go to a different transplant center. Sometimes selection criteria, such as body mass index (BMI), differ from center to center.

Make a plan. Focus on what needs to be done rather than on what may happen in the future.

Practice self-care.

Spend 10 minutes a day practicing mindfulness and meditation.

Write in a journal.

Ask for support.

Ask for the support you need. Here are some no cost resources from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Get Support webpage:

Call 855.NKF.CARES (855.653.2273) or email [email protected]

Talk to someone who has experienced CKD; call 855.NKF.PEERS (855.653.7337)

Ask questions, get answers, and share experiences in these safe online communities: NKF Kidney Disease Community, NKF Dialysis Community, NKF Transplant Community, NKF Kidney Donor Community, NKF Parents of Children with Kidney Disease.