When you suspect or have confirmation of your diagnosis of CKD, it is essential to be registered with a nephrologist, who will explain you the cause of your kidney disease and he will guide you on your diet and treatment from now on. The sooner you go to a nephrologist, the better the chances of slowing down the disease.

CKD may progress with gradual and permanent loss of renal function to the need for renal function replacement therapy (dialysis or kidney transplantation) or death. The risk of death is very high when complications of the disease occur and only one in five patients with CKD reaches the terminal stage of the disease and has the chance to benefit from renal function replacement therapy. Most deaths are due to cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it should be mentioned that therapeutic interventions of the medical team (nephrologist, cardiologist, diabetologist, family doctor), can limit the progression of CKD, can prevent or reduce the occurrence of complications and reduce the risk of cardiovascular or exacerbation of the disease.

Moreover, in the advanced stages of CKD (stages 4 and 5), the related complications can only be treated by the nephrologist. Untreated complications resulting from decreased kidney function affect your entire body and accelerate the progression of the disease to the need for dialysis or transplant.

In some cases, to preserve the function of your kidneys, it is necessary to adapt the treatment schemes and the medication doses prescribed by other doctors, who treat you for other diseases, thing that can be done only by the nephrologist.

However, when kidney disease is very advanced and complications can no longer be treated, your condition can worsen significantly in the absence of replacement of kidney function by dialysis or kidney transplantation.

The medical team of the outpatient nephrology will provide you with all the necessary support for medical and psychological preparation for these therapies, without which survival is not possible and will support you to make an informed choice, supporting you in your decision.

Some people delay dialysis very much, endangering their lives.