Running with Kidney Disease

Hi, Ive been looking around in here and cant find no threads with people who run with kidney disease. I have chronic kidney disease and i've just started running a month ago and im improving fast. I've also entered the Bupa Great North Run 2010 Looking forward to it. Is anyone else running with Kidney Disease? if so how does this affect you ?

Comments

  • I have chronic kidney disease Mark..  Plodding Hippo is on Fetch more than this site but is the expert.

    She told me I wouldn't notice any problems until it got worse than it is. I totter between Stage 2 and 3 and tbh I swear the tests are wrong because I do feel pretty well.

  • Hi, I seen on some sites that endurance raises can cause kidney problems which sent alarm bells ringing. Im on stage 1 My Renal function is normal just that over the last few years ive had quite a few relapses mainly because ive stopped my medication without doctors consent lol. I never really understood how dangerous this was as i didnt feel ill so i thought i was ok. Now im more aware the more damage i cause the worse im going to be in the future so i do my best now to look after them. Im glad to speak to someone else who runs with the same condition because theres nothing i can find on the internet with knowledge on running with kidney disease. Hopefully all stays well for us. My kidney disease is minimal change nephrotic syndrome whats yours and how did you come to find out you had it?

  • I try not to think about mine tbh because it just makes me anxious.

    I don't think I have a diagnosis!  I had a serious health issue resulting in surgery and a spell on ICU  and it came on following that. Not sure if it was due to a general inflammatory thing or the drugs that I was treated with.  I moved rapidly from Stage 1 to Stage 3 and was going to have a kidney biopsy but I also have thrombocytopenia which meant that was more risky so they decided to do further tests....it stabilised and the further tests suggested it wasn't Stage 3 so biopsy cancelled. I also took anticonvulsants (am I sounding like a Munchausen image) for epilepsy so they stopped those in case they were making it worse and I think I'm fairly stable but tbh I really have no idea because I developed headinsand syndrome following all of that!

    Anyway occasionally I'm ridiculously tired and a bit pale but the headinsand syndrome means I ignore all of that and assume it's anaemia but don't get tested for fear of what else they might find image

     My belief is that it is not affecting me. I think it's more the awareness of it ...that is affecting you. image

  • I know how you feel im 24 now but when i was 15 i was diagnosed with Chrohns Disease where i was really ill and lost a whole lot of weight tbh i thought i was on my death bed but i took my medication and recovered well and im still in remision now which has been 9 years so im lucky really i keep thinking they have miss diagnosed me. Then when i was 18 i was partying way to hard and one day i noticed that my stomach was swelling and that i hadnt been to the toilet for god knows how long. i wnet to hospital and the little urine i could pass was tested and was found to be packed with protein. I didnt know what this ment if it was bad or normal but they said it was bad and i had to stay in for ten days. I had a Kidney biopsy which confirmed i had minimal change nephrotic syndrome and ive been on medication since. Prednisolone, cyclosporine. My blood pressure also went up but since i have lost weight this has sorted itself out. Im anxious everytime i go for my checkups as the tablets i am on are dangerous so they have to monitor me making sure the dose im taking doesnt become toxic. This is one of the reasons why im trying to get myself into shape to try and prevent anything else popping up lol

  • Have you tried discussing your specific anxiety with them?

    I find it very hard to get information - it's either alarming or uninformative. I do think headinsand is a vital stategy now image

  • To be honest i wasnt worried about running with kidney disease until today when i seen something on the internet which made me think. Im gonna go through it with my doctor tomorrow to make sure im good to do so and im not to anxious about anything else now really im just anxious enough to stop me going out drinking and partying all the time with my mates which i think is a good thing.
  • Sounds a better strategy than mine tbh!
  • Hello there

    I don't have kidney disease, and know very little about it either, so sorry, and please excuse me for coming along here with no knowledge or advice whatsoever. image

    But reading this thread made me think of this guy who I accidentally stumbled upon when I was doing some IM-related Googling...

    He's set up a foundation in America to encourage people with renal failure to look after themselves/improve their health through exercise.   No branch in Europe at the moment, but it looks as if they're planning to roll out the foundation more widely than just the US/Canada.

    Probably not of much help to your situations, I know, but just made me think, that's all.

    Good luck with getting to grips with it all.

  • Hi guys, just wanted to pop on to add a bit to the 'running with kidney disease'  thread. 

    I was diagnosed with IgA Nephropaphy late last year, came completely out of the blue, was just trying to change an insurance thing for the mortgage and they kept finding blood (microscopic) and protein in the wee tests! image  Eventually (why does everything take so bloody long on the NHS!) had a kidney biopsy last October and was finally diagnosed with the IgA. 

     The reason I'm sharing this is because I had signed up for my first marathon last year and was in the middle of my training when I had the biopsy and was adamant it wouldn't keep me from running. I ran a 10K about 4 weeks after the biopsy and was absolutely fine.  Bit apprehensive (the nurses do like to scare you after a biopsy making out you can't do anything BUT my consultant was very relaxed about the running) but all was hunky dory image.  Kept up the training and have since run a half marathon and a full marathon this April. 

    Currently not on any medication but my last kidney check up shows that kidney function has worsened since last time and I'm still waiting to see what they decide to do next, however, I still feel fine!! image

    And yes, still running - albeit a little less at the moment, but that's only because I haven't got back into a proper routine since the marathon - and intend to keep running.

    Kinky Pig - love the headinsand syndrome image  Am often guilty of that one too!!

    Mark 1986 - I would say definitely go for it with the running.  The thing I keep reading about the kidney stuff is maintaining a healthy blood pressure to keep the kidneys in order and in my opinion surely exercise is the way to go with that? image  

  • Brighton - Well i agree with the blood pressure thing. I had high blood pressure but when i lost about 5 pounds it came right back down to normal and has been there since which im really happy about. I intend to keep running because if there is anyway i can slow down the progression of my kidney disease then im going to do it. At first i didnt really think it was too bad because i didnt feel unwel even with my dip stick test off the scale i felt fine but little did i know about the damage that was going on inside. Now im more aware how serious kidney disease is and im going to try and keep it under wraps as long as i can.

    I get really anxious everytime i go to the hospital for checkups as i think my blood tests are going to show decreased kidney function. Think we just gotta try our best to lead a healthy lifestyle or we will pay in the future.

    How often did you train a week for your half marathon? ive been running 6 weeks now and only do 3 days a week im going to switch to four when i feel my legs are up to it image
  • Mark - you're doing great to be running 3 times a week already, well done you image  Regularly I never got more than 3 runs a week in for any of the races I did last year! image Hope the legs are keeping good for you. image

    I can understand you feeling anxious about the hospital checkups, tbh I think I was a bit blase about this whole kidney thing, especially after the consultant told me that IgA can rumble on for years without getting worse and even sometimes disappear altogether apparently. I assumed because I feel fine that I'd be one of those statistics so it was a bit of a shocker to be told the kidney function had worsened - wasn't prepared for that at all!!  image 

    Am still waiting to hear if they are going to do anything at the moment, had to see a young Dr. at that appt (an hour and a half delay on appt. times and then had to see the inexperienced one!)  and she wanted to check with the main man, so took more bloods, made a provisional appt for Sept. and said she'd write to let me know the results of chat with big Doc and bloods. Guess what...still waiting! Ah well, hopefully no news is good news.image

    Hope you're still enjoying the running, really must get back into that properly!!

  • I'm new ish to Running World, but was doing an online search re the effect on running on the kidney's and came across this thread. I've just left a hospital appointment. I'm hoping to be a living kidney donor, but have just been told recent research has shown my remaining healthy kidney may deteriorate over time and that I could be worsening this by distance running. I'm running 7 marathons this year and although I could cope with not running one again, I'd find it really hard not to distance run at all. I really want to donate. Just wondering how everyone here is getting on with distance running? If you're all managing it with the issues I don't have then surely a cheeky half a couple of times a year will be fine image !

  • Pleased to have found this thread as just like some of the contributors to this thread I could not find anything elsewhere on this subject.

    At the age of 65 I have been diagnosed with CKD which is a pain but being more positive I suppose it could be something far worse.

    So given that what I would like to ask everyone is if you too have CKD do you still manage to maintain some sort of running programme but perhaps marathons are no longer on your list of runs.

    I also cycle and have always kept myself fit so I am loathe to become a couch potato but if I have to do that to lower my creatinine readings to a safe level then I will have no other choice but to do that.

    If you can offer me any advice or have other information that will help me I would appreciate it.

  • Hi there. I'm 30 and have chronic glomerular kidney disease. I was diagnosed when I was 16 and have been taking blood pressure meds (losarten and enalapril) for the past 12 years which help to my kidneys filter better. The goals is keep the protein in my urine low. Running or physical activities can increase the protein in the urine which can cause further damage. I'm maxed out on my meds and eventually will have to switch to more toxic meds once my kidneys deteriorate further.

    I've been a runner for 5 years now and I have run multiple half marathons. I started to train for a marathon but actually didn't give myself enough time to train properly. Also my nephrologist recommends sticking to the half marathon distance. I have quite a few ultra running friends and wanted to join that group, but for now, I'll just stick to making my mile time faster and getting a PR in the half.

    I hope I can continue to run. It's been advised to me to eat less protein and drink plenty of water (these are givens in kidney disease patients.)
  • Hi,  I am a living donor and I got diagnosed with kidney disease in March 2016. I have been having trouble continuing to run even though I love it and doctors don't have a yes or no answer. They just say to run to my limit but I can run forever it feels like on a good day,  it's the recovery that gets me.  I've had to be hospitalized twice after long runs because of dehydration and low kidney function.  I never had this issue prior to my donation but I am a stage 3 as well.   Any new runners with similar experiences,  there still isn't much out there on this topic. 
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