Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast | Living with Kidney Disease

What happens when a childhood kidney condition goes undiagnosed for years?   In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, host Dee Moore speaks with Noël, who was born with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), also known as kidney reflux. Although she experienced repeated urinary tract infections (UTIs) throughout childhood, her condition wasn’t diagnosed until she was seven years old. B...

How do you ask someone to donate a kidney?   For many people living with kidney failure, this can be one of the most difficult and emotional conversations they will ever face. Fear of rejection, concerns about damaging relationships, feelings of guilt and uncertainty about where to begin can prevent people from exploring living kidney donation as an option.   In this episode of Diary of a Kidney W...

In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, host Dee Moore is joined by Rebecca Griffiths, who shares her extraordinary journey through kidney failure, dialysis, kidney transplantation and transplant loss.   Rebecca’s story is one of resilience, determination and hope. After gaining approximately 25kg of fluid in a matter of days and requiring emergency treatment to drain fluid...

Welcome to another episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast. In this powerful Kidney Warrior Story episode, host Dee Moore is joined by Johanna, who shares her lifelong journey living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Diagnosed as a young child after years of unexplained symptoms, Johanna opens up about growing up with kidney disease, navigating dialysis, experiencing transplant loss, and und...

In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, Dee Moore speaks with Lynsey, living kidney donor and sister to Carla, whose story listeners heard in the previous episode.   This conversation explores the other side of kidney transplantation: the perspective of the person who makes the life-changing decision to donate.   Lynsey shares the emotional reality of watching her sister bec...

Carla shares how she was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure without warning, leading to dialysis and ultimately a kidney transplant. This episode explores missed signs, sudden diagnosis, and the reality of living through kidney failure.   In this episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, Dee Moore speaks with Carla — a kidney warrior and former mental health nurse — about her experience of...

What does the difference a year make? Less than a year ago, Cam was in hospital — so unwell that he didn’t want his children to see him. Now… he’s preparing to run a marathon and attempt a world record. In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, Cam shares his journey from a seemingly minor ear infection… to crashing into emergency dialysis with no warning, no preparation, and...

What is it like to be diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) at just 10 years old—and to know it runs through your family?   In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, Dee Moore speaks with Natasja about her lived experience of PKD, a hereditary kidney condition that has affected multiple generations of her family.   From her great-grandmother to her mother and beyond,...

Hi Kidney Warriors and friends,  Dee Moore here! I wanted to share a personal update with you. Alongside the recent podcast episodes on weight and GLP-1, I’ve also shared a vlog on YouTube where I talk more openly about my own experience and how this connects to my kidney transplant journey.   📺 The vlog is available to watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RAa5ipo8b6k   If you’re not already connec...

GLP-1 medications are being talked about everywhere right now — but what do they mean for people living with chronic kidney disease and dialysis?   In Part 2 of this two-part series, we focus on GLP-1 receptor agonists, how these medications work, and what kidney patients need to understand when considering weight loss treatments in the context of kidney transplant eligibility.   For many people l...

Can your BMI affect whether you are eligible for a kidney transplant?   For many people living with chronic kidney disease and dialysis, weight is not simply about health advice — it can directly influence access to transplant surgery.   In Part 1 of this two-part series, Dee Moore explores the realities of weight, BMI thresholds, and transplant eligibility.   Joined by Dr Adrian Brown, Associate...

What is it really like to grow up knowing kidney disease runs in your family?   In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, Dee is joined by Jamie from Texas, USA, who shares her lived experience of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) — a genetic kidney condition that affects generations.   Jamie opens up about: 🟩 Living with a hereditary kidney disease 🟩 The...

In this powerful Kidney Warrior Story, host Dee Moore is joined by Hakeem, who openly shares his lived experience of growing up with sickle cell disease (SC genotype) and later being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD).   From early health challenges to navigating kidney failure, dialysis, and the emotional impact of long-term illness, Hakeem reflects on the realities of living with multip...

New Year, New You: Why Gut Health Matters for Kidney Patients   What does New Year, New You look like when you’re living with kidney disease?   In this episode, we explore gut health and why it matters for kidney patients, including the relationship between the gut microbiome and chronic kidney disease (CKD), inflammation, diet and wellbeing.   Kidney dietitian Tadala shares practical and realisti...

Choice. Knowledge. Resilience. Hope.   As we step into 2026, this special highlights episode brings together some of the most powerful, informative, and encouraging moments from Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast in 2025.   This episode is designed to empower, inform, and uplift — whether you’re living with kidney disease, supporting someone who is, or working within kidney care.   Across seven car...

Welcome to a special Christmas Day bonus episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, created in partnership with Kidney Care UK. In this episode, Dee is joined by returning guest Moe (Episode 144) to share heartfelt messages sent in by listeners, kidney patients, past guests, and Kidney Care UK staff.   These messages are filled with hope, encouragement, gratitude, and resilience — for anyone li...

This Christmas Day, Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast is releasing a very special bonus episode — and you’re invited to be part of it.   “A Very Kidney Warrior Christmas: Heartfelt Messages of Hope, Encouragement, and Gratitude”    In this short trailer, Dee shares details of the upcoming Christmas Day episode, where she and co-host Moe will be reading out messages sent in by the kidney community....

Christmas can be beautiful… and heavy—especially when you’re living with kidney disease. In this special seasonal episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast (in partnership with Kidney Care UK), host Dee Moore is joined by two renal counsellors, Sarah and Paula, to talk honestly about the emotional realities of the holiday season and how kidney patients (and loved ones) can navigate it with more...

What happens when menopause meets chronic kidney disease? How do you know if it’s your hormones, your kidneys or your medication talking? And what options are actually on the table if you’re living with CKD, on dialysis or post-transplant?   In this special listener-led edition of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast (in partnership with Kidney Care UK), host Dee Moore is joined again by menopause sp...

A special filmed edition of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast is coming on Monday 1st December!   In this listener-led conversation, menopause specialist Dr Vikram returns to answer the questions sent in by the Kidney Warrior community about menopause and chronic kidney disease (CKD).   This new edition continues the important discussion from Episode 142: Breaking the Silence: Menopause and CKD....

In this powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, Dee sits down with Louise, a kidney warrior whose journey with IgA nephropathy spans over 30 years – from diagnosis in her early 20s, to pregnancy complications and heartbreaking baby loss, to finally receiving her life-changing kidney transplant, lovingly named “Katie the Kidney.”   Louise shares how her kidney disease was first disco...

In this powerful Kidney Warrior Story, host Dee sits down with Tony to unpack a decade-spanning journey through chronic kidney disease (CKD)—from a shock Stage 4 diagnosis of IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) to Stage 5 kidney failure, peritoneal dialysis (PD) with brutal drain pain, a transition to haemodialysis (HD), line infection and coma, the courage to self-needle with a fistula, and ultimately the lif...

African food is filled with memory, flavour, culture and community — and Kidney Warriors deserve to enjoy the dishes they love with confidence. In this Black History Month special, brought to you in partnership with Kidney Care UK, Dee is joined by renal dietitians Timi and Tadala, contributors to the Kidney Kitchen African & Caribbean Recipes magazine.   Together, they share practical tips fo...

This Black History Month, Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast shares an inspiring story of strength, resilience, and hope.   When what began as a routine illness led to a life-changing diagnosis, Moe’s world was turned upside down. In this powerful episode, he opens up about his journey through chronic kidney disease, the sudden medical crisis that tested his limits, and the discovery that changed e...

This powerful episode of Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast reunites host Dee with Lucy, a Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation (SNOD), for a frank, myth-busting conversation about deceased organ donation in the UK. Four years after their first chat, Lucy returns to unpack what’s changed since England moved to an opt-out system (May 2020), why families still have the final say, and how your conversat...