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Kidney disease is not the end —it is the start of a different way to live

I've lived through chronic kidney disease, six years of hemodialysis and a kidney transplant. Here you'll find real-world experience on diet, exercise, mental wellbeing and the road itself — so you can walk it steadier and stronger.

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15 Practical Fitness Tips for Kidney Patients: Using RPE for Intensity, Progressive Overload, Protein Without Harming Your Kidneys, SARC-F Sarcopenia Self-Test, Warm-up & Breathing, Hydration and the Potassium in Sports Drinks
Strength & Fitness 12 min read

15 Practical Fitness Tips for Kidney Patients: Using RPE for Intensity, Progressive Overload, Protein Without Harming Your Kidneys, SARC-F Sarcopenia Self-Test, Warm-up & Breathing, Hydration and the Potassium in Sports Drinks

Once you know you *should* exercise, the real sticking points are how, how much, and what to eat. This article answers the 15 questions kidney patients ask most: the RPE scale, how much weight to add each week, protein targets for non-dialysis CKD / dialysis / transplant, what to eat after training, the 5-question SARC-F test, warm-up and cool-down, breathing, the potassium content of sports drinks, and which symptoms mean stop. Every tip cites its evidence.

FitnessExercise evidenceSarcopeniaPotassium
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How Diabetic Kidney Patients Should Train: When to Check Glucose, When Not to Train, the Science of Post-Meal Walking, Protecting Feet and Eyes, and Adjustments for Insulin and SGLT2 Users
Strength & Fitness 12 min read

How Diabetic Kidney Patients Should Train: When to Check Glucose, When Not to Train, the Science of Post-Meal Walking, Protecting Feet and Eyes, and Adjustments for Insulin and SGLT2 Users

People with diabetes and kidney disease gain the most from exercise (glucose, blood pressure and albuminuria all improve) but must manage three special problems: hypoglycaemia, foot injury and retinopathy. Based on ADA 2025 and KDIGO 2022, this article explains how to read glucose before, during and after exercise, why post-meal walking works, when not to train, how insulin and each glucose-lowering drug class interact with exercise, and gives a sample week.

FitnessDiabetesExercise evidence
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How Dialysis Patients Should Train: A 12-Week Program for Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis — Intradialytic Exercise, Fistula Protection, Abdominal Pressure, Potassium and Fluids
Strength & Fitness 14 min read

How Dialysis Patients Should Train: A 12-Week Program for Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis — Intradialytic Exercise, Fistula Protection, Abdominal Pressure, Potassium and Fluids

Dialysis patients need training the most and are told to "take it easy" the most. Based on Cochrane 2022, KDOQI and renal rehabilitation guidelines, this article gives separate 12-week plans for HD and PD: when to train (on dialysis / non-dialysis days), what to train (aerobic + strength + balance), how to handle the fistula arm, which movements PD patients must avoid, how to manage potassium and dehydration, and eight exercises you can do in the dialysis chair.

FitnessTraining on dialysisSarcopeniaHemodialysis
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Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD): Inheritance, Predicting How Fast It Progresses, the Science Behind Tolvaptan and 3 Litres of Water a Day, Family Screening, and Whether to Remove the Kidneys Before Transplant
Chronic Kidney Disease 12 min read

Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD): Inheritance, Predicting How Fast It Progresses, the Science Behind Tolvaptan and 3 Litres of Water a Day, Family Screening, and Whether to Remove the Kidneys Before Transplant

ADPKD is the most common inherited kidney disease — about 1 in 1,000 people carry the gene and it accounts for 5–10% of the world's dialysis population. PKD1 vs PKD2, how the Mayo imaging class predicts the age of kidney failure, tolvaptan (the only approved disease-slowing drug), the evidence for water and salt, brain aneurysm screening, whether children should be tested, and how huge kidneys are handled on dialysis and at transplant.

Polycystic kidneyCauses of CKDGeneticHypertension
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Lupus and the Kidney: The Six Classes of Lupus Nephritis, the 2024 Treatment Shift (belimumab, voclosporin, obinutuzumab), and When Dialysis or Transplant Comes In
Chronic Kidney Disease 12 min read

Lupus and the Kidney: The Six Classes of Lupus Nephritis, the 2024 Treatment Shift (belimumab, voclosporin, obinutuzumab), and When Dialysis or Transplant Comes In

About 40–60% of people with systemic lupus erythematosus develop lupus nephritis, a leading cause of kidney failure in young women. Why a biopsy is essential, what the six classes mean, the move to low-dose steroids and triple therapy, and what is different for lupus patients on dialysis or waiting for a transplant.

Lupus (SLE)Causes of CKDAutoimmuneGlomerulonephritis
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Dining Out and Travel Food Guide: How to Look Up Ingredients, Ask Restaurants and Order — Dialysis and Transplant Patients Addressed Separately
Diet & Nutrition 14 min read

Dining Out and Travel Food Guide: How to Look Up Ingredients, Ask Restaurants and Order — Dialysis and Transplant Patients Addressed Separately

More than "what not to eat": nutrient databases by country (USDA, Open Food Facts, Taiwan/Japan/Korea), a hazards-and-safe-picks table for seven cuisines, trilingual restaurant phrase cards, dialysis-day planning, and food safety and grapefruit-family identification for transplant recipients. Dialysis and transplant populations are kept separate throughout.

PotassiumPhosphorusKidney transplantTravel dialysis
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