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Wellness - we present some wise choices to make, to achieve better health!

The majority of chronic diseases are preventable for most people, through healthy lifestyle choices, which includes both physical and mental wellness. The following are some recommended key health choices to help maintain better health, especially if you wish to avoid chonic kidney disease.

A regular health check is wise It is very important to visit your doctor at least once a year, to detect potential health problems early, so that they can be prevented, diagnosed and treated. See Talk to your doctor this site.

Become a non-smoker It is well known that smoking harms the body. Smoking causes a narrowing of the arteries, including the small vessels in the kidney filters. This reduces the kidneys’ ability to work properly. If you have diabetes and smoke, the risk of developing proteinuria is much higher. Smoking also increases blood pressure. For reasons that are not well understood, smoking appears to speed up the progression of diabetic kidney disease to kidney failure. To help you QUIT ring 137848 and ask for free Quit Pack or contact Smokenders Australia 1800 021 000.

Control your blood sugar levels Hyperglycaemia or high blood sugar (Diabetes) is a strong risk factor for kidney damage. It affects the small blood vessels in the kidneys, particularly those in the kidney filters. Controlling blood sugar levels can slow down the development of diabetic kidney disease. View Diabetes Channel online to learn more.

Control cholesterol levels Cholesterol is a type of fat or lipid. There are two types of cholesterol – low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or ‘good’ cholesterol. Triglycerides are a form of stored body fat. Some studies have shown that high cholesterol can increase the progression of diabetic kidney disease. It is important to control your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels with diet and medication if necessary.

Control proteinuria Any treatment that lowers levels of protein in the urine can help to reduce the rate of progression to kidney failure. Two important drugs used to treat proteinuria are angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). These drugs should be used even if blood pressure is in the desired range. Reduction in salt intake to ‘low normal’ can also help to reduce proteinuria.

Live a healthy lifestyle The risk of type 2 diabetes can be reduced by up to 60% by adopting a healthy and active lifestyle. Some of the risk factors for developing diabetic kidney disease relate everyday choices.

Maintain healthy blood pressure High blood pressure can cause kidney damage and kidney damage can cause higher blood pressure. Diabetes can also cause high blood pressure. High blood pressure can also lead to heart attacks, strokes and loss of vision if left untreated. You may have high blood pressure and feel perfectly well. In recent years, the use of an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) has proven effective treatment for high blood pressure. These drugs lower blood pressure by widening the arteries. They also help to protect kidney function. See Kidney Health and Blood Pressure and Your heart and CKD

Our key kidney health messages focus on the importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle and having a regular kidney and urinary health check, particularly for the 1 in 3 Australians who is ‘at increased risk’ of kidney disease. Are you at risk? Take our quiz today. If you are 'at risk', ask your GP for a kidney health check. Early detection and treatment can help prevent kidney failure and the need for dialysis or transplant treatment.

This information is provided in harmony with the Measure Up Campaign (Australian Government Initiative) for people who want to become healthier and are prepared to make positive lifestyle changes and to highlight significant evidence that being overweight or obese, not getting enough physical activity, smoking, harmful alcohol consumption and unhealthy eating - are major risk factors for many chronic diseases.

Wellness issues and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

People with CKD and those who care about and for them can have a range of emotional responses: shock, sadness, grief, fear, anger, frustration, feeling down, tense or alone, and sometimes many of these. Some losses may seem relatively trivial - like limiting social engagements or shifting housework to a partner - yet these can be important and may signal changes in relationships such as greater dependence. Many people also talk about a grieving for their previous health, abilities and their life before CKD. Mental health problems may develop because:

adapting to CKD is stressful - for the individual and family members
we may feel our body and general situation are out of control, and there is nothing that we can do
we feel lonely and isolated from family and friends
sometimes it can be difficult to talk about the illness with those close to us - we don't want to worry or upset them

For some, the emotional impact can feel overwhelming. It can leave us very anxious and depressed. It can stop us from doing the things we need to do in our daily lives, and from taking pleasure in things we usually enjoy.

Depression and anxiety are very common with CKD. They can appear in people affected and in those who care about them, through all stages of CKD - from diagnosis to dialysis, following transplantation and even in deciding not to start or to withdraw from dialysis. These feelings are normal and it is helpful to talk about them with people who care about us. While they are unsettling, it is important to remember that each of us has the ability to learn new coping skills and develop relationships with individuals who can provide support.

Statistics tell us that:

People living with chronic illness who have effective treatment for associated depression can improve control of their illness
34% of people with a chronic illness rate their quality of life as fair or poor and 61% experience depression
Symptoms of depression are often unrecognised or confused with symptoms of other illnesses
Mental illnesses are treatable and the vast majority recover well
Three million Australians will experience a major depressive illness during their lifetime
17% of Australians (more than 3.5 million) experience depression or anxiety each year

Depression and anxiety disorders are treatable and learning to understand them and how they are treated - especially things you can do to manage symptoms yourself - is a powerful way to start on the road to recovery. Recovery means that you will be among the many people living with CKD who have been through this experience and are leading productive and satisfying lives.

Why are mental health problems more common among people living with CKD? Depression and anxiety are medical conditions. As with many other conditions, some people are born with a genetic disposition to developing them. And certain things - for example, stress or other life events - can then trigger the onset of symptoms.

Adjusting to, and coping with all the changes that accompany CKD bring ongoing stress that can build up over time. Certain events are also particularly stressful, and you may be more likely to develop depression or anxiety at these times - such as at diagnosis, beginning treatment, after a transplant or when taking certain medications. People you have got to know during treatment may become very unwell or die. Coping with other medical problems such as skin cancers or high blood pressure, or dealing with relationship break-ups or job loss can also be stressful triggers. The presence of these stresses is probably the most common reason for poor mental health in people with kidney disease.

SANE Guide to Good Mental Health: For people affected by kidney disease

Kidney Health Australia and SANE Australia have joined together to address the issue of mental health and kidney disease - 50% of Australians with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are affected by depression. The first in a series on dealing with depression and anxiety when you have a chronic health condition. SANE’s new ‘Mind and Body’ Initiative aims to draw attention to the physical health needs of people with a mental illness . . and mental health needs of people with chronic physical health problems. Encouraging treatment of the whole person.

The SANE Guide to Good Mental Health: For people affected by kidney disease looks at mental health problems, treatment options and includes case studies of people who have experienced CKD first hand and how it impacted on their lives. CKD can affect every area of life. Relationships, work, spiritual beliefs and how we socialise with other people may all be affected. This includes our mental health. Many people have times where they struggle to cope, and may become anxious or depressed.

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