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Talking About Your Condition With Your Loved Ones

When you’re first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), you may want to talk about it with your friends and loved ones. Whomever you choose, the decision is yours and yours alone. At first, the conversations may be a bit hard to get through. Eventually, as you figure out what you want to say, things will get easier.

There’s no standard way to talk about your CKD. The best approach is to simply be honest and direct. However, be aware that your loved ones may have feelings of sadness or fear just like you may have had.

What’s important to remember is that you have people to rely upon to be a source of comfort and give you peace of mind. So reach out for the support you need.

Include Family and Friends in Your Care

When you’re feeling low and needing emotional support, give friends and loved ones a chance to cheer you up — or simply listen to you.

Your need for physical help may range from simple tasks, like moving a heavy object, to more involved jobs, like grocery shopping.

Remember, your loved ones care about you and want to help. All you have to do is ask — you might even feel better after doing so.

You’re less likely to miss medical appointments if you ask for a ride when you need it. You might eat healthier if someone helps with the cooking or menu planning. And it may be easier to remember to take your medications with someone to remind you.

One of the areas that family can help with most is meals. For example, if your family wants to eat a high-sodium food like ham, tell them you can eat just a small portion (if your weight or sodium levels are at an acceptable level). Or, you may just choose to eat something different from the rest of your family. Letting them know what you can and can’t eat may make mealtime easier for everyone.

Loved ones may be able to help you with transportation to dialysis and doctor appointments, assist with household chores, or just be there as a shoulder to lean on during rough patches. Just be sure to let them know that you need their help.
 

Keeping the Family Meal

Having a limited diet can make you feel different and isolated from your family. You might even feel like your diet is a burden to your family. Often, you may end up having a different meal than everyone else. This might work on occasion, but you don’t have to make a habit of giving up meals with your family.

In fact, sharing meals can be a good way to come together, especially if life has changed things for you and your family. You can even cook your meals together. It can be fun for everyone.

Keep in mind that having meals together as a family is less about eating and more about spending time with one another.

While you might draw comfort from family meals, kids get even more out of them. Research has shown that kids in families that spend quality time together, such as mealtime, have healthier eating habits.