My online medical chart tells me I have kidney failure stage 3a

[No Vested Interest]

Neither my general practitioner nor my cardiologist have mentioned this to me, though laboratory testing seems to verify.
I am a senior - mid-80's.

Heart failure as well. - This I already knew, though I also found out initially by reading my online chart.
Want to keep going in some manner to support emotionally my disabled daughter who is in a long-term care facility.

[XanaDUer2]

1. I'm so sorry

That must have been a shock.

[alwaysinasnit]

2. ...

[JohnSJ]

3. With proper diet and blood pressure control, one has a good to prevent kidney failure

from progressing.

You might want to consult with a nephrologist on your situation

[No Vested Interest]

4. Have been taking BP meds for years; may have to revise diet somewhat.

Read that colas are bad for kidneys - that's a tough one, as I love my daily diet coke.
Also bananas, avocados and oranges are not good - too much potassium. - That surprised me, as I always thought they were good for you.
I knew salt was not good - I never add salt to anything but do get whatever is in prepared food.
Dairy is problematic, so I can switch to almond or rice milk.
Apparently cheese is also not good - oh my. - the choices are narrowing.
Grapes, apples, blueberries are good, and cranberries.
Sausage meats,- no; no bacon. Oh my.
Whole wheat bread no preferred.

Many items I thought were good for people are no longer right for me....

[Warpy]

5. Kidney failure comes in 5 stages

stage 5 being dialysis, transplant, or death.

I've been hanging out with stage 3 failure for almost 20 years now. Many people don't progress to the later stages without an underlying health condition like high blood pressure, autoimmune disease, diabetes, and a few others.

If you're stage 3 in your mid 80s, it's probably not that big a cause for concern, although it seems that your doctors are keeping on top of things.

[No Vested Interest]

6. Thanks, Warpy - that's reassuring.

Likely the heart failure will get me before the kidney problem, but I'm aiming to hang around a while still.
I think I'm as much amazed that my drs. don't come out and speak directly to me re these conditions.
They're considered fine practitioners but do drs. hate to give bad news to patients?
Do they think I can't take the news?
That's what really boggles my mind, as much as the diagnoses themselves.

[vanlassie]

7. My dad was in stage 4 for 25 years before he died at 93.

[Karadeniz]

8. Hang in there, kiddo! I'm shocked your doctors didn't alert you, but it's not too late to tweak your

diet. I don't know about human meds, but my cat Carny collapsed at age. 4 mos... kidney failure. He was born with malfunctioning kidneys and it took 4 mos for the failure to announce itself. He immediately went on meds, which he gets daily and has done so for 10 years now. So, there are steps that can apparently be taken, if Carny can serve as an example. Best of luck!!!!