New with History of Kidney Disease, Could Use Some Help page

[pasoguava]

Hi All,

I'm veeery new and just getting my bearings, but very excited about finding a way for me to allow PB to become a new lifestyle for me. That being said, I have some specific concerns that maybe someone could help me address.

I donated a kidney in 2002 and therefore, obviously, have one. My one kidney has done a phenomenal job of picking up the workload that used to be covered by two. However, last year I had a real scare in which I discovered after a routine physical that my kidney's numbers were way off (GFR, Creatinine, BUN), putting me at Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Stage 5 indicates that dialysis is required and that you must seek a transplant. At the time, I was lifting weights and putting on a good deal of muscle mass. To fuel these gains, I was eating approximately 100 grams of protein a day, primarily acquired from protein shakes, nuts, and chicken or turkey.

I went immediately to one of the best nephrologists in New York City and he advised to make an extreme cut in the amount of protein I was ingesting. On his recommendation, I began to eat approximately two ounces of animal protein a day or around 28 grams. My numbers normalized almost immediately. I went from Stage 3 to having no trace of CKD. Since then, I've been afraid of introducing more protein in my diet for fear of increasing those numbers again.

Finally, to the point. . . I'd love to have some ammo to take to my nephrologist convincing him that there's a way for me to go Primal. Does anyone have any experience with anything similar to this or any thoughts about how a Primal diet could be adapted to a person with a history of kidney disease?

Any thoughts or input would be deeply appreciated. Thanks so much for reading this lengthy post and for any thoughts!

All the Best,

Pasoguava

Edit: I originally wrote 100 grams of protein when I intended to write 150.

[Pebbles67]

Welcome!

Are you tested periodically? Maybe you could slowly up your protein intake and watch the numbers. I would also make sure your other macros stay balanced. ie. Don't go very low carb. Hopefully someone with kidney issues will answer.

Finally, Bless You for donating a kidney. I have always felt that that takes a lot of bravery.

[pasoguava]

I sent an earlier reply, Pebbles, but it didn't seem to go through. Thanks so much for the reply and the welcome. It's a good idea re: the pace of increasing my protein intake. And you're right, ketosis is generally not an issue for most and can be very beneficial, but for those with kidney disease it's generally considered best to avoid it.

Thanks again for the reply and the kind words!

[Tribal Rob]

Hullooooo

If you just start by cutting out the grains, and replacing the calories with alternative carbs such as potatoes if yor not looking to lose fat, sweet potates, lots of veg and some fruit, than that's surly a change for the better without altering the amount of protien you are consuming. See how that goes and how you feel and how your doctor thinks you are doing then take if from there if you need to change anything.

Major respect for donating a kidey too

[Pamsc]

My son has 50% damage to one kidney, and I was told he should be careful about too much protein. Are your cholesterol numbers good? If so, you might get serious about a high fat diet. Perhaps you need to build muscle more slowly, so your body doesn't have to process as much protein at once.

[pasoguava]

Thanks to Tribal Rob and Pamsc for the replies. Yep, thankfully my cholesterol numbers are great. Pamsc, if your son is having any issues regarding his GFR, Creatinine, etc., I strongly recommend taking 100 mg of Ubiquinol (soluble form of CoQ10) twice a day and 50 mg of Pycnogenol three times a day. My nephrologist was astounded at the changes that came from incorporating those supplements into my diet.

Unfortunately, Tribal Rob, I see all of these amazing success stories and I get jealous! My diet is almost entirely vegetarian these days, no grains, no sugars, etc., but I've still developed some love handles and can't seem to put on muscle. I want to Grok out but that may not be in the cards, we'll see. Thanks again for the replies and the kind words!

[Lizzielou]

Hey Pasoguava

I'm an ex Haemodialysis nurse so I'll see if I can't share some of my wisdom with you.

I have seen examples of people who already have kidney disease (pre-dialysis) that suddenly present with extremely high Urea/Creat/GFR, and this is usally short term and usually fairly easy to figure out why. One of my patients was a kickboxer and his bloods were always rubbish after a fight, you would also see a rise in bloods when someone has the flu or has been doing lots of exercise. And like I said their results always improved given time. So it may be also due to your gym workouts at the time with the combination of diet that put extra strain on your kidney's.

Also, please take it from me that (anecdotaly) 90-95% of patients on Dialysis have gotten themselves there one way or another, and its usually because of poor lifestyle choices/self neglect. I'm not talking about the few that are just so unfortunate that it has happened regardless of these things, but the majority have done it to themselves. I would say that by improving your lifestyle to include an incredibly healthy diet of abundant fruit and vege, lowering your BMI and participating in regular exercise you are DRAMATICALLY lowering your chances of ending up on dialysis.

I would have to agree with Pebbles, just slowly start adding in protein and see what happens.

Good luck.

[pasoguava]

Huge thanks for the reply and input, Lizzielou. That was extremely helpful. My nephrologist did assume that my change in kidney function was an "episode" as opposed to potentially ongoing, but still wants to monitor me regularly. I'll try Pebbles' and your suggestion and see where that leads.

Thanks again and all the best!

If there are others with similar experiences or further input, I'd be very grateful for your thoughts and time. Thanks!

[pasoguava]

Sincere apologies for bumping my own thread. . . just trying to find anyone who might share a similar situation to my own. Have the book coming from Amazon but am curious to know if Primal may not be for me before I even get out of the gates.

Any thoughts or input from those with similar situations would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks so much and all the best!

[Grizz]

You also need to boost your immune system to optimal. This means taking a minimum of 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3
Vitamin D optimization thoughts - Jack Kruse
Epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency sweeping the world

AND iodine supplements minimum of 1mg a day.
http://tinyurl.com/iodine-references

An optimal immune system is the best you can do to protect organs & your health.
Grizz