Coping with Kidney Disease : A 12-Step Treatment Program to Help You Avoid Dialysis

Rating:
Summary: Halting polycystic kidney disease or delaying dialysis
Review:
Coping with Kidney Disease is a really useful, well-written and organized helpful book when you are approaching dialysis or transplant. It is written for the layperson, however it is still very technical. Precise directions are given as to how one can go about arresting the downward progression of kidney disease once protein appears in the urine. Limiting protein to 22 grams each day and supplementing with essential amino acids accomplishes this. I have seen this working with one extremely well motivated individual. If it will also work before nephrotic syndrome develops, remains to be seen. The book corrects any acidosis instantly, by using sodium bicarbonate pills. With PKD, sodium bicarbonate oftentimes causes kidney stones to develop. If your doc will go along with using sodium citrate, this might be a better alternative alkalizer. There are several unique observations made by Dr. Walser - nausea and vomiting associations with anemia - leg cramps and itching when the body is too acid. He corrects anemia early so it does not lead to LVH left ventricular hypertrophy. I would add when taking iron tablets also take rose hips vitamin C for increased absorption. He clearly explains certain practices that make individuals worse with PKD as opposed to diabetic kidney disease. He goes over which medications including many OTC's which precipitate a decline in kidney functioning. Very interesting reading and it so far it seems to be working.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible hope
Review: I have met many of the people who are featured as case histories in this book and their story is fantastic. Many have delayed dialysis from 5-12 years. They all had to struggle with their personal physician and with their local nephrologists, many of whom do not believe that people will change their diet to avoid dialysis. Dr. Walser maintained a lonely struggle in this country to get others nephrologists to push a strategy that had a 2.5% death rate (unrelated to the diet) vs. a 24% per year death rate for patients on dialysis.

This book presents a cheaper and far superior lifestyle as opposed to the costs of dialysis and ultimately transplantation (for those who are not too old). The real question, which Dr. Walser does not address in this book, is why aren't other physicians, especially primary care physicians, recommending this approach as a first line response for the ever increasing number of Americans with kidney disease? The strategy really does work.