Medical Therapy for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Medical therapy for chronic kidney disease (CKD) involves finding the cause of your CKD, understanding your symptoms, and developing a treatment plan to improve your quality of life. Treatments may include lifestyle changes and medications.

The goals of medical therapy for CKD include:

• Slowing the progression of CKD.
• Avoiding or delaying dialysis.
• Maintaining your quality of life.

What Is Medical Therapy for CKD? 

Medical therapy for chronic kidney disease (CKD) involves finding the cause of your CKD, understanding your symptoms, and developing a treatment plan to improve your quality of life. Treatments may include lifestyle changes and medications.

What Conditions Do We Treat? 

UPMC nephrology experts provide medical therapy for people with:

• Acute kidney injury.
• Chronic kidney disease.
• End-stage kidney failure.

Who’s Eligible for Medical Therapy for CKD?

If you’ve been diagnosed with a condition that could lead to kidney failure, such as CKD, acute kidney injury, or another kidney disorder, you may be eligible for medical therapy.

What Medical Therapy Services Do We Offer for CKD? 

 UPMC providers offer comprehensive medical therapy services for people with CKD, including:

Diagnosis and treatment planning

Our experts will determine the cause of your CKD, understand your symptoms, and develop a treatment plan to slow the progression of disease, avoid or delay dialysis, and maintain your quality of life.

Lifestyle changes

Lifestyle changes may help slow the progression of CKD. Your CKD care team will provide detailed guidance on how to change your diet and lifestyle.

Your doctor may recommend:

• Improving your diet and exercise routines to help you achieve a healthier weight, reduce your blood pressure, and lower your blood sugar. A low-sodium diet is essential.
• Quitting smoking, limiting alcohol use, and reducing stress.
• Restricting certain nutrients in your diet, such as protein, phosphorus, or potassium. Your kidneys may not filter excess amounts of these nutrients from your blood, and they can build up to dangerous levels in your body without proper filtering.

Your doctor may refer you to other medical specialists, such as a registered dietitian or a cardiologist, to help you manage your condition.

Medications

You might need medicine if you have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or albumin in your urine.

Your doctor may prescribe medications such as:

• Blood pressure drugs to reduce your risk of kidney failure.
• Diabetes drugs to lower your blood sugar.
• Diuretics to regulate fluid levels in your body.

Our experts in supportive care can also prescribe medicine to ease other painful symptoms.

Managing other health conditions

CKD can increase your risk of developing other health conditions. Our experts will help you manage conditions including:

• Anemia — Kidney disease decreases the hormone that tells your body to make new blood cells, which can lead to anemia. Severe anemia can make you very tired.
• Bone health — Kidney disease disrupts calcium and phosphate levels and causes hormone problems that make bones strong.
• High potassium — Kidney disease decreases your ability to get rid of excess potassium, which can be dangerous for your heart if the levels in your blood become too high.
• Hypertension and swelling — Kidney disease decreases your ability to get rid of excess salt water from your body.

What Can I Expect? 

If your primary care provider refers you to a kidney doctor (nephrologist), make sure you know why. Often, blood work or urine test results will cause your primary care doctor to be concerned about how well your kidneys are working.

During your first appointment at the UPMC, your doctor will:

• Ask questions about your symptoms, diet, and care goals.
• Perform additional tests to look for a reversible cause of your kidney disease.
• Provide education about kidney disease.

After we know more about your condition, we will work with you to develop a treatment plan that meets your care needs, goals, and preferences. Your doctor will answer any questions you have about your condition or your care.

Why Choose UPMC for Medical Therapy for CKD? 

When you choose UPMC for medical therapy for CKD, you will receive:

• Access to world-class nephrology expertise — Our world-renowned experts treat the full spectrum of kidney diseases using the latest diagnostic and treatment techniques.
• A full range of treatment options — We'll work with you to develop a treatment plan that slows the progression of your disease as much as possible and improves your quality of life.
• Multidisciplinary care — We partner with special dialysis clinics, experts in supportive care, and kidney transplant surgeons to ensure you receive complete care. 

By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-04-24 by Cary Shiwarski, MD, PhD.