If your doctor ever diagnoses you with chronic kidney disease, he/she will give you two options to choose from. The first option is to undergo dialysis for the rest of your life, while the other option is to undergo a kidney transplant. While you may prefer avoiding a major surgery, such as a transplant, dialysis is not the best solution for your condition.

Here are some reasons why you should consider kidney transplant surgery over dialysis if you are looking for better health for the long-term:

1. Increases your life expectancy: What you may not know is that people on dialysis treatment have a severely reduced life expectancy. For instance, if you are 30 years old when dialysis starts, the treatment will keep you alive at most for 15 more years. Therefore, you may not even survive until your fifties with dialysis treatment for your damaged kidneys.

However, if you transplant a healthy kidney your life expectancy increases by 30 to 40 years. Keep in mind that kidneys from living donors are better and will help you live longer.

2. Eliminates the need for undergoing dialysis: If you choose dialysis over transplant surgery, you will need to undergo the treatment on a daily basis. This is not only costly but also affects your quality of life. For instance, a patient on dialysis will need to make special arrangements if he/she wants to go on a vacation with family so that his treatment continues even during the trip.

With a kidney transplant surgery, once you recover from the operation, you can live a normal life, without the need for daily treatment.

3. Lower cost of treatment: While you may think kidney transplant surgery is the costlier option between it and dialysis, you would be wrong to assume so. In kidney transplantation surgery, you pay a hefty amount at the time of the operation. However, in the case of dialysis, you pay smaller sums over very long periods. When you add up these small sums over 10-15 years of dialysis, you will find that transplantation is the cheaper option.

If you are young and have a long life ahead of you, kidney transplantation should be the first and foremost choice of treatment for chronic kidney disease. You can undergo dialysis while you wait for a donor and then receive a healthy organ.

Why Kidney Transplant Should Be Preferred Over Dialysis?

Kidney stones can range from being the size of a grain to a pebble. These stones can be described as crystallized mineral deposits in the kidneys. Some kidney stones can be passed out of the body along with urine while others may require surgery. Symptoms of having a kidney stone vary from mild to severe. In the case of very small kidney stones, the patient may not experience any symptoms at all. The 5 most common kidney stone symptoms usually experienced are:

Pain: Pain in the lower abdomen and back is one of the most common symptoms of having a kidney stone. This may be felt just below the ribs, on the centre and sides of the abdomen, in the lower back and in the groin. The intensity of pain is not directly related to the size of the kidney stone. This pain can come and go and will vary in terms of intensity. In certain cases, the pain can be severe enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. This pain is usually a sign that the stone is moving.
Frequent Urination: People suffering from kidney stones may find themselves needing to go to the bathroom more often than normal. In some cases, patients may also wake up in the middle of the night with the urge to urinate. However, only a small amount of urine may be passed at a time. This is a sign that the kidney stone has moved into the lower urinary tract. Small stones may later be passed out of the body along with urine.
Bloody Urine: Urine should ideally be pale yellow. Patients suffering from kidney stones may notice that their urine is darker than normal and cloudy. There may also be blood in the urine. This is known as hematuria. The colour of blood in such cases can range from pink to brown. Cloudy urine is also considered a sign of a urinary infection. This is a sign that the urine also contains pus cells or pyuria.
Nausea: Vomiting and nausea are common symptoms of kidney stones. This is caused by the nerve connections shared by the kidneys and the gastrointestinal tract. The presence of kidney stones in the kidneys or urinary system can trigger an upset stomach. Some people also feel nauseous because of the pain caused by kidney stones.
Foul Smelling Urine: Under normal conditions, urine should not have a very strong smell. Urine that smells bad is a symptom of a urinary infection. Bacteria in the kidneys or urinary tract can be the cause of this smell. It may also be caused by the high concentration of urine. 

5 Symptoms Of Kidney Stones!

Kidney stones are caused when certain minerals of your urine are retained and are not fully released, causing them to amalgamate and form a stone. Passing a kidney stone is one of the most painful experiences you may face physically. Its magnanimity is often compared to childbirth, and those who are suffering from kidney stones dread having this experience. If you are not yet affected by kidney stones and do not want to, read further to know what type of diet you need to follow in order to prevent it.

1. Drink lots of water: On an average, a person must be drinking at least 3 liters of water every day. If you live in a more hot and humid climate, your water intake must be even more than that, so that on an average, 2.5 liters of urine is passed throughout the day, which decreases the chance of unnecessary retention of minerals from the urine and release them more easily from the body.

2. Continue eating foods rich in calcium: It is a common misconception that calcium accelerates the formation of kidney stones. Calcium is digested by the intestine, only excess calcium cannot be digested by the intestine and is sent to the kidney. Continue consuming calcium rich foods unless your doctor prescribes you against it. Make sure your diet includes enough dairy products such as milk, cheeses, etc., or other calcium rich foods, such as oats and broccoli.

3. Limit intake of oxalic acid: Oxalic acid is mostly found in foods obtained from plants. It restricts the absorption of calcium in the intestines and as a result, more calcium is passed into the kidneys; thus, forming calcium oxalate, or oxalate stones. Try to avoid foods, such as rhubarb, Swiss chard, nuts, tea, sweet potatoes, etc.;mainly leguminous plant products.

4. Decrease the ingestion of sodium salts, sugar and meat protein: Salts and sugars, mainly found in packaged foods are used to prevent them from expiring. They increase the release of calcium and oxalates into the blood, which thus increases the chance to develop kidney stones. Meat contains fibers which affect certain nutrients in the kidney, thus aggravating the formation of stones.

5. Increase the consumption of insoluble fibers: Insoluble fibers are those rough fibers which are not soluble in water during the process of digestion. They are found in rice, wheat, barley, etc., and are found to decrease calcium absorption in the kidney. They attach themselves to the calcium and oxalates, which enable them to be released as stool instead of urine.

Kidney Stones and Your Diet

Stones in the urinary system are referred as 'Renal Calculi'. These kidney stones are not exactly stones, but are actually hard deposits of minerals that can form anywhere within the urinary tract - kidney or the bladder. There are many conventional forms of treatment available to eradicate a stone, but Homeopathy medicines offer a much more simpler and efficient way in taking care of the kidney stones. Let us have a look at how effective these are.

Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are known to form when the urine becomes too concentrated. The primary reason for such condition could be dehydration. Kidney stones are extremely painful. Pain can be felt in the lower back or, the lower abdomen. There can be a heaviness in the urinary tract often followed by bleeding. It also changes the color of the urine to a pinkish brown. The patient may also experience nausea and vomiting.

What causes kidney stones?
As stated earlier, lack of water can be a major reason for the formation of stones. The chances of kidney stone reoccurring in a person multiplies several times if a person is not in the habit of drinking water. There are also a few food products that are high in salt that may help in the formation of stones. In conventional medications, there is no foolproof method to dissolve the stone and it often involves surgery. The operation has to be followed by months of post-operative recuperation that can be physically daunting for the patient. Also, there are chances that the stones can reoccur at any point in time. This is where homeopathy differs drastically from the conventional methods.

How does homeopathy help in renal calculi?
The biggest advantage of using homeopathy is that it treats the body as the whole. The physician would understand the patient first before imparting the treatment. The latter s lifestyle, his food habits and his stress factors are discussed in detail to get the complete picture of the type of medications to give. The other biggest advantage of using homeopathy is that there is no surgery involved. They treat the symptoms by naturally dissolving the stones, and the chances of reoccurrence are next to nil. There are several homeopathic medicines for different types of stones. There are even differing types of medicinal products for left side kidney stone, and right side one. A type of medicine - Canthari, is widely used for treating kidney stones with a burning sensation. The homeopathy physician would be in a better position to diagnose once the causes are identified. However, care should be taken that the medicines should be taken only in the prescribed format and as per the guidance of the physician.

Homeopathy is safe
Of all the important functionalities of homeopathy, the biggest is undoubtedly that it does not cause any side effects and are very effective. Since it treats the condition and symptoms from within, the chances of getting a stone in the urinary tracts are minuscule when using homeopathy medicine.

Kidney Stones - How Homeopathy Treatment Can Help You?

Kidney stones and homeopathy

What do kidney stones generally mean? - An overview

Formation of solid masses in the kidney due to excessive accumulation of uric acid, calcium, vitamins and minerals lead to chronic pain and excretory problems. Kidney Stones, also known as Renal Calculi is a condition usually brought about by inadequate hydration and consumption of food high in calcium, but in most cases it a hereditary condition. The most commonly opted for treatment is surgery to remove the stone/s.

Do you suffer from kidney stone formations on periodical basis?

Do you often go through chronic abdominal pain due to the formation of crystalline calciferous masses in your kidney? If you do, surgical procedures are neither the answer, nor a plausible option for you. Besides being risky, surgery clearly isn't effective in bringing about an end to the condition on a permanent basis. Homeopathic remedies, on the other hand, are not only safe, they offer as little of side effects as possible. Homeopathic treatments of kidney stones are also proved to have been effective in most cases.

What are the most common homeopathic alternatives to suppress kidney stone formation?

Berberis Vulgaris is the most reputed homeopathic drug when it comes to diluting the stone in the kidney and also in reducing the chronic pain that is often associated with stones. It is also said to improve chances of mitigating periodic bouts of kidney stone formations. Berberis Vulgaris is effective for various kinds of kidney and renal stones. In addition to this drug, Sarsaparilla, Hydrangea, and Benzoic Acid also prove effective in the long run. Sustained practice of such Homeopathic remedies along with increased intake of fluids and adequate exercise go a long way to ensure cessation of kidney stone formation.

Kidney Stones and Homeopathy

The kidneys are responsible for the elimination of waste from the body. The blood is filtered in the kidneys and all toxic wastes are filtered out and excreted through urine. When this filtration does not happen effectively, a lot of waste can be found in the blood, which affects normal body function.

Kidneys may lose their functioning either due to age, injury, or disease conditions. Whatever the reason, when kidney function is hampered, the body suffers. If there was an injury or congenital problem, it could be unilateral and the non-affected kidney could still do the function. However, if it is infection or old age, normally both kidneys are affected and then replacement should be looked for externally. This is where a kidney transplant comes into the picture.

What is it?

It is a surgery where a healthy, functioning kidney is placed into the body. The donor could be

Living: These donors have to be related or unrelated. Related is often termed someone, who is a family member and is willing to donate one kidney (one kidney is sufficient for normal, healthy individuals) to the diseased person.
Cadaver: If a person is willing to donate kidneys post death, these are used for transplant, within a specified time.
Identifying the right donor and recipient:

Blood type and tissue type should be matched; a good tissue type match improves the chances of success
Overall health of the donor to ensure there is no heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
The recipient also should be healthy
What to expect during surgery?

Once a donor is identified, in living donors, the surgery to remove the kidney and to transplant it are done simultaneously
The surgery usually takes about 3 to 4 hours
Antibiotics are given prior to the surgery to prevent infection
The blood vessels and ureter are connected back to the kidney after the transplant
Hospital stay can range from 5 days to 2 weeks, depending on the overall health of the patient and the anticipated risk of rejection.
Most transplanted kidneys work effectively almost immediately. A kidney stored from a cadaver may take a little longer compared to a fresh kidney from a living donor
People who have had transplants are put on immunosuppressants on a chronic basis to reduce chances of rejection. The new kidney will always be recognised by the body as a foreign body, and so this is essential.
Kidney transplant success rates are quite high, and more and more people are opting for transplants as opposed to dialysis.

Kidney Transplant - What To Expect From It?

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