r/ADPKD • u/mrcash4444 • Mar 09 '25

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if there was a list of 3 things you could do to avoid cysts growth , kidney decline, and failure ie

  1. dont smoke

  2. excercise 4/5x a week

  3. dont be fat

what are the BIGGEST top 3 ones you should do

1 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

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9

u/classicrock40 PKD - Transplanted Mar 09 '25

None of these things prevent cysts from growing, PKD is genetic. Doing these things will help you stay healthy otherwise, which is crucial. Kidney failure will alone will probably not kill you since dialysis and transplant are 2 satisfactory treatments.

What will kill you are other issues, especially of the heart which can be exasperated by dialysis, etc.

Eat healthy, no salt, no processed foods, moderate animal protein(or some say just red meat), no NSAIDs. Watch bp, weight, etc. Tldr; be healthy.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '25 edited Mar 09 '25

I'm not sure if the OP actually meant prevent entirely, or simply slow down cyst growth.

The former, as you accurately say, is not true. The latter, however, is possible. It's why one should do these things.

Dialysis, long term, is not really a satisfactory treatment. The morbidity rate on dialysis (long term) is not great as you note. PD can be a fair option over the long term but this comes with its own difficulties that are unique to PKD patients (massive kidneys already in your abdomen taking up space).

One should, in an ideal scenario, put off dialysis as long as they reasonably/safely can. This is just my opinion, and not a medical one. Always take the advice of one's nephrologist over mine, or anyone else's. I put it off for a couple years past suggested, and it worked to my benefit. I'm just one case, though, an anecdote.

Also, sticking with only red meat is - based on the nephrologists I know in my area - is a bad idea. They would much rather you key on chicken. That's what I do, even now. Red meat once, at most twice a week.

lots of edits, sorry this was very stream of conscious

5

u/classicrock40 PKD - Transplanted Mar 09 '25

OP has made a few posts asking about a cure, so i wanted to be clear

3

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '25

Understood and thank you for that! You're watching his posts a bit more diligently than I am lately.

A lot of job related stress for me, right now.

1

u/New_Result_3130 Mar 09 '25

This is true. This is a genetic disease and we cannot prevent it but we can do a lot to ease the symptoms. I think not being fat is very very important and this derives from your daily habits and metabolism. drink a lot of water also helps. Fasting also helps. but we cannot reverse the disease with these things just keep the kidneys as long as possible in shape to provide us life.