Personal Action Plan
We're ready to wrap up this module on Alternative Treatments. While they won't cure your CKD or diabetes, we hope you have found information here that will help you to relax, bring more balance into your life, and feel more in control of your health. It's time to move on to your Personal Plan where we have summarized the points we have covered. You can use it as a reminder of what you've learned. We suggest you print this page and put it in a notebook so you can look back at it and ask your health care team questions.
My Treatment Plan
Alternative treatments include many types of healing that are not used in regular medicine in the U.S. I always need to check with my doctor before trying any new treatment. He or she knows my health status and can tell me if something might harm me. In general, treatments that may not be safe for me, as someone with kidney disease, are ones that I eat or drink, like:
- Some regular herbs (can cause bleeding or react with other drugs)
- Chinese herbs (may not be what they are supposed to be)
- Noni juice (very high in potassium)
- Pickle juice (very high in sodium)
- Folk remedies (ask your doctor before taking)
Treatments that should be okay for me affect only the outside of my body, like:
- Massage
- Acupuncture
- Meditation
- Craniosacral treatments
- Aromatherapy
- Yoga
Alternative treatments share some common themes:
- Holistic philosophy: They join the body, mind, spirit, and emotion.
- Preventive medicine: They strive to maintain health, rather than just to treat the symptoms.
- Aid self-healing: They support the body's natural ability to heal itself.
- Energy body: They believe an imbalance of energy or blockage causes disease.
These are some questions I can ask alternative practitioners:
- How long have you been in practice?
- Where did you get your training?
- Do you have a license or certification?
- Does the state require a license for this type of treatment?
- Have you treated people with kidney problems?
- What are the risks for this type of treatment?
- How much will treatment cost, and is a payment plan offered? (Some insurance plans cover some alternative treatments. Others offer discounts with "preferred providers".)
The treatments covered in this module fall into five major areas:
- Major medical – Whole philosophies of healing
- Plant-based – Use of herbs, flowers, and essential oils
- Massage and bodywork – Healing through touch
- Mind-body – The effects of our thoughts and beliefs on our health
- Energy and chakras – Balancing subtle energy fields
Here are some tips on how I can use guided imagery to improve my health and well-being:
- Play a music CD to relax.
- Keep my image in mind to replace a recurring worry or negative thought.
- Give an image to my pain or health problem, then change the image to release the pain.
- Write and record my own script to focus on an area I want to change.
- Buy guided imagery CDs that will take me through the process of relaxing my muscles and imagining myself in a calming place.
