Coping with Kidney Disease: A 12-Step Treatment Program to Help You Avoid Dialysis Paperback – April 12, 2004

Mackenzie Walser wrote this book twenty years ago to raise awareness about chronic kidney disease and since I suffer from this I'm grateful for all the books that help me figure out what to do to stay alive longer. So far my GFR has gone from 42 to 68 and now I'm at 61 so back in stage 2 after being in stage 3 for many years. I've defeated the odds and continue to learn from doctors and patients who care about this life threatening disease.This book is like an inside look into how to at least stall having to undergo dialysis on a regular basis. It promotes a low-protein diet like most do these days so compare notes with more current books about diet as the ones I'm reading now promote much more fruits and vegetables. This one has a handy chart of the phosphorus content of common foods and has a recipe for low-protein bread.Other highlights of this book include a chapter on salt and water problems, blood pressure regulation and how to treat acidosis. Some chapters have information on patients who have followed certain diets to avoid dialysis.Some of the more current books I can also recommend include:Reverse Chronic Kidney Disease by Dr. Yaw Ababio BoatengAll of Lee Hull's books especially the Stopping Kidney Disease Food GuideSave Your Kidneys by Dr. Edgar LermaThe Complete Guide to Supplements for Kidney Health by Robert GalarowiczStaying Healthy with Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease by Dori SchatellConsult with your doctor before taking kidney supplements. I am taking Snap Kidney Health Support although it does seem to have a little diuretic result so I don't take it if I have to leave the house the next day.With kidney disease knowledge is power and I've read as much as I can over the years to improve my GFR and get better instead of worse. I should technically be dead by now since years ago my GFR was at 42 and I was headed towards dialysis. By eating more fruits and vegetables and eating a fairly low protein diet I'm surviving. I cook the pumpkin chili from Lee Hull's food guide cookbook quite often and am trying other recipes specifically for kidney patients.Please consult with your nephrologist or doctor before taking advice in any of these books or recommendations. There are so many variables and things to consider. What works for one person might not work for another. I find the more I read, the longer I'm able to survive with chronic kidney disease. All these books I read give hope and help me understand my doctor's recommendations as well.~The Rebecca Review

... just because info was published a few years back doesnt mean it isnt incredibly useful!Not only does this give very detailed explanations of the kidneys and causes of diseases/ injury.. but it gives useful things you can do to help ... things your doctors dont bother with like simple baking soda ( which we had read about and suggested..even providing links to info on it... to which the doctors said Absolutely NO!!..then proceded to put it in iv the very next day!!??! )Later after finding who ordered it..we found it was the hospitalist who then wrote the rx for it ( but u can buy pills on Amazon).. You really have to fight to get some docs to listen!Anyway even though the diet plans and some of the foods might not work for you..they are exampled.. my suggestion is to make up your own.. in a nutshell Less protein ( especially animal)..even if you dont count every gram at first you could at least leave half in your plate..only have it certain days or meals etc...and take complete essential aminos in pill form ( now foods on amazon are reasonably priced)..We bought this for a family member who was guaged at 12% .. he did have a huge prostate that they just did surgery on. .which no doubt exacerbated his kidneys which were damage from side effect of med years ago..He also has found that the d3 his docs pushed was too much ( @first we werent sure of this effect but googled it and did find d3 increases creatinine..also in this book it says " too much and your kidneys will suffer the consequence s)So needles to say they wanted dialysis ( as they did last year during pneumonia)He doesn't want it possibly ever but hed like to wait at very least a year to get this d out of him ( he fully understands what waiting could mean)..Being that the pressure of the prostate and loss of blood from it as well the d and being acidic had to make things worse.. we are hopeful that having the surgery..adding baking soda and following tips in this book as well as other natural things ( like celery seed for b.p...blackstrap molasses for iron/ calcium..has potassium but since natural and balanced superfood body should handle it well... ylang ylang e.oil etc)could all help bring him back to a better level where he could stay as long as possible!SO IF YOUR ON THE FENCE..SERIOUSLY ITS 12 BUX!I EVEN BOUGHT TWO USED COPIES FOR A DOLLAR PLUS 3.95 SHIPP SO HE COULD HAVE ONE AND WE COULD TOOMONEY WELL SPENT FOR MORE INFO THAN ANY DOC HAS GIVEN US !!!GOOD LUCK TO ALL AND THANKYOU TO LAST REVIEWER WHO WAS A PATIENT! I BET IT WAS REALLY SOMETHIN TO HAVE A DOC LIKE THAT!! :-)

I suffer from chronic high-blood pressure. The disease, despite my low-sodium diet and five medications, progressed to the point where my kidney began to fail. When I finally saw a kidney specialist, he told me to lose weight. The next one told me to control my blood-pressure. Well, it's tough to follow a low-sodium diet, and it progressed to Stage 3. Finally, reading this book, and following the program, I was actually able to bring my creatine levels back to normal. It's difficult to follow, but if you go off track, you get really sick. It's also expensive because you must buy amino acids (I used amino bites, which cost $140 a month) and/or Cambrooke "low protein" foods (if you need a break from fruits and vegetables). I now follow a low-sodium and low-protein diet, and I'm okay. But if I go astray, even a little bit, I get really sick. This book is invaluable because, even as austere as the diet is to follow, it's preferable to going on dialysis. I just wish HMO's and insurance companies would promote this alternative to dialysis. In this age of rising healthcare costs, you'd think they'd see the benefits of promoting this approach. In practice, my nephrologist, at a vegetarian university based program, was skeptical, and surprised when my test scores came in with improvement. You'd think these guys would be up on this research, as it's decades old.