22 yo with 50 GFR

[SamBam1]

Hi everyone, today I was told I immediately had to go to a nephrologist and discuss how to handle my GFR and avoid the next stages of CKD. I want to know how I can best handle this situation and what healthy living choices you recommend. I also want to know if there is anything I should avoid eating/drinking and if there are any warnings I should know about with stage 3. Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.

[MAS_Nurse]

Hello and welcome Sam to this very informative community. This must feel like a very anxious time for you and I am sure the members will respond with useful tips for you. The UK NHS site on Kidney conditions has completed information that you have had questions on, but nothing replaces your health professionals as they now your medical history and have full knowledge of your health. Perhaps asking to see a renal dietician could help you in your search for answers regarding a health lifestyle.

Good luck to you and let us know how you are getting on.

Are there any members who would like to respond to our new member please?

MAS Nurse & Moderator.

This website will give an overall view of CKD including causes, tests, treatments, outlook, healthy lifestyle and living with CKD.

nhs.uk/conditions/kidney-di...

[SamBam1 in reply to MAS_Nurse]

Thank you so much for the help!

[SamBam1 in reply to SamBam1]

Also, just wondering- in the future will this affect pregnancy?

[SamBam1 in reply to MAS_Nurse]

Also, I heard heavy tea drinking is correlated and i drink about 3-4 teas a day, is that possibly the cause?

[noisytulip15 in reply to SamBam1]

Hi Sam,

With any caffeinated beverage, drink two glasses of water to compensate. Water is your friend. Dehydration is not.

Also, start now with a plant based diet, particularly fruits and vegetables lower in potassium. Eat to your labs. No animal protein, no inflammatory gluten grains, dairy and sugar. Keep the non-gluten grains low to avoid phosphorus. Doing this and drinking lots of water can do amazing things and improve your labs.

Good luck!

[citronc3 in reply to noisytulip15]

Remember we need some Phosphates and salts as recommended in diet advice tailored for you

[Bassetmommer]

Hi Sam and welcome,

The first question is do you know what caused the GFR to go to 50? Did you have an injury or do you have a diagnosis. The reason I ask is because there are different things to do with different issues. For example, do you have diabetes or high blood pressure? Here is a list of general things to do with CKD.

Here is a simple plan to start:

1. Eat out infrequently. You have less control over your food choices.

2. No fast foods

3. No process foods such as frozen dinners or packaged products

3. Less meat the better, chicken and fish still have high potassium, eat sparingly

4. 1-2 cups of coffee and use real crème not non-dairy

5. Lots of water up to 2 liters unless told by the doctor to drink less or more

6. Incorporate more whole foods in your diet: vegetables and fruits

7. Little to no alcohol especially beer One glass of wine might be ok

8. Cook without salt. You will get used to it and then eating stuff with salt will taste bad

9. Do not take supplements, OTC drugs, or NSAIDs or other without checking with the doctor first.

10. Have any medications checked with the doctor to make sure they are kidney friendly.

Let us know if we can respond to any specific questions you may have.

[orangecity41 in reply to Bassetmommer]

Bassetmommer: Thanks for sharing very good information.

[Bet117 in reply to orangecity41]

Agreed! Well stated!

[SamBam1 in reply to Bassetmommer]

This is amazing. Really great information. I appreciate it. I was also wondering, do you know if acai is okay? I can't find anything online about it and I have it every morning for breakfast.

I also have no idea how I got it. I eat really healthy, don't drink much at all, never take advil and workout alot. I even have low blood pressure. What do you think could have caused it?

[Crinkster in reply to SamBam1]

Don't take any supplements (or unusual foods) without first asking your doctor (or better yet, a renal dietician). Two very serious kidney killers: 1. phosphorus. If you drink dark sodas, stop immediately. 2. NSAIDS or IBUPROFEN. Never take again. Never. If you have a sprained ankle or any inflammation, suck it up and wait it out. Ice and Tylenol. They are discovering all different things that cause it. They used to think it was only high BP or diabetes. In my case, it was the use of lithium for bipolar disorder.

[RickHow in reply to Crinkster]

Just some information. I too was told about avoiding ibuprofen. And I switched to Tylenol. I recently had spine surgery and naturally even weeks after the surgery I get back pain. I even had radiation on the spine. Both the radiation oncologist and the surgeon told me to take ibuprofen. I told them this is "not allowed" with CKD. They said this is true, but only for long term or heavy usage. Taking occasionally, or even over a short period of time daily, will not cause harm. But I still avoid it as much as possible. I take Tylenol. However, heavy or long term usage of that will cause liver damage.

[noisytulip15 in reply to SamBam1]

Açaí is a major source of potassium. Drop it in favor of berries, pineapple or cherries, all much more kidney-friendly.

[Bet117 in reply to SamBam1]

Hi Sam,

Welcome! This is a great community!

Hang in there and speak to your nephrologist for their opinion. He/ she may prescribe a series of tests to identify the cause. I have low to low normal blood pressure myself, yet I was found to have a kidney disorder three years ago.

Your doctors will also be better able to answer your questions, make suggestions and created a plan for you.

Your GFR may fluctuate, hydration and other factors my influence this.

Ask what your creatinine, albumin, electrolyte levels such as sodium, potassium and phosphate levels are as well as if and how much protein you are spilling. Labs are very important. Print them out and review any questions that you may have at your appointment.

Bassetmommer is 100% correct, right now start by making changes to your diet, particularly sodium, as kidneys do not filter it well and also eliminate red and processed meats like cold cuts, bacon, sausage, hot dogs etc.

Eggs or egg whites are better choices.

The kidney friendly vegetables such as lettuce, cucumbers, onion, peppers, cauliflower and cabbage are great places to start.

Fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, apples and pineapple are also great.

Stay positive and reach out to let us know how you are doing. You are among friends!

[SHIRE27 in reply to Bassetmommer]

Most of all don't worry. I have a gfr of 50 and use Punarnava, herbal remedy from Himalaya drugs for urinary wellness. This is the only thing I use along with what explained above.

[orangecity41]

I am 78 years old and was diagnosed 3+ years ago with GFR 54. My Doctor put me on a diet appropriate for me. My diet has been modified based on results of bloodwork. With diet and appropriate exercise the progression has slowed. Your Doctor should give you appropriate dietary information. Ask your Doctor what the plan of treatment is for your situation.

[Bet117 in reply to orangecity41]

agreed!

[SamBam1]

Thank you so much! I'll definitely contact a dietitian.

[RickHow in reply to SamBam1]

You will get lots of advice here on what to avoid and what to consume. And it is all good advice in general but you have to be careful. You really need to do what is right for you based upon your own blood and urine testing. For example, some might advise you avoid potassium foods. However, your body still needs some potassium. And your blood tests will reveal to you if your potassium levels are low, normal or high. So each decision on what to eat or not should be based upon your own results. I for example was very low in calcium. So I was advised more dairy products. Others might be advised less. There are surely some generalities to be followed. 2 liters or more of fluids daily. Exercise. Avoid too much high protein foods (such as beef), but that does not mean you have to totally eliminate them. Here again, your blood tests and urine tests will show how your protein levels are. So certainly pay attention to all the various advice you get here, but talk to your kidney doctor and any dietician about what is or is not right for you.

[itzmich in reply to SamBam1]

Yes it's good to talk to a dietian and have your questions written down to ask. My nephrologist only gave me guidelines the dietian will give more details. Try not to worry and do the best you can.

[Bee28]

Hi SamBam1

I have CKD3 I recently went on a plant based diet, my GFR went from 45 to 50. Waiting for my next check to see if this continues. The diet is also giving me more energy.

[Crinkster in reply to Bee28]

Hey, Sam:

As much as I hope it continues to hover around 50, be prepared for it to settle into a baseline RANGE. It could be for you something like 40-50 or 45-55. Right now, I've fallen out of my baseline, which for years has been 31-41. I'm currently at 26 and have a standing weekly order for a BMP to monitor it because my nephrologist (and I) are deeply concerned. I see her tomorrow and am going to ask if I'm a candidate for a transplant. I'm 64 and if I have to get on a list, I want to do it before it really nosedives (May 2018 I was hospitalized at an eGFR of 15). After dealing with this for over a decade, I try to control my emotions as I bounce around. Bottom line: Numbers may hop up and hop down but they will never recover. damage is damage. The best you can do is whatever is recommended to you by your doc and dietician to maintain your baseline RANGE for as long as possible.

best of luck

[Martineella]

Hi Sam!! I have stage 2 ckd which is recognised as low kidney function , my gfr rangesfrom 47-67 depending on my immune system and medications such as antibiotics. Stage 3 is not Until your gfr drops below 30, when it does that’s when you start having symptoms such as tiredness nausea etc. is there any reason why your kidney function dropped? Trauma or any occurring UTIs? I have a low kidney function due to an atrophied kidney (smaller kidney). I tend to have a low salt diet and eat less red meats as kidneys process protien and have a pint of water after every two drinks on a night out try not to go above 4-5 drinks , I highly recommend to stop yourself from being dehydrated and regular excersise. I also avoid any medication that slows down kidney function like ibuprofen. Hope this helps !!

[lowraind in reply to Martineella]

When your gfr drops below 30, you are in stage 4. Stage 3 is 59-30.

[CatOnACloud in reply to Martineella]

Keep in mind different people have different timing and incidence of symptoms. And definitely stage 3 has different numbers than 30 as thats what I’ve got. For me it’s 45-55. All so confusing at times

[lowraind]

SamBam1,

I also did a quick check and found this: Are they allowed on a Renal Diet?

"As it is only the freeze dried form that is available in Ireland, they are not suitable for those on a renal diet due to being very high in potassium. In fact the potassium content of 100g of these dried berries is equivalent to or higher than that of a banana." (found in IrishKidneyDiet.ie/Superfoods and the Renal Diet/)/

This might also be helpful to you:

healthline.com/nutrition/fo...

[CatOnACloud in reply to lowraind]

Your post may be in the wrong thread? If you’re talking about the acai berries question... hope I haven't misunderstood

[CatOnACloud in reply to lowraind]

Ooopsies, it’s me. Sorry! I was reading this thread for so long I thought it was a separate one lol. Dang iphone is too small

[lowraind in reply to CatOnACloud]

Yes, somewhere in that long string SamBam1 asked about the acai berries.

[Jonquiljo]

Sambam: Lots of replies here, but your #1 priority should be to get to a nephrologist. There may be lots of causes as to what is lowering your GFR - and quick intervention by a specialist is required.

Personally, if it were me - I wouldn’t do anything to excess and just get to a specialist ASAP who knows what they are talking about and can get to the heart of the matter. Everything else is secondary until you can get a good diagnosis with further data to understand your lowered GFR. There may be one or more specific causes - or it may be nothing.

[DarbyWills]

Sam if you can, limit the salt, excess sugars, the Coca Cola, the Pepsi and Fanta. Take the renal diet your nephrologist and or renal dietician suggests seriously and you will live a carefree existence. You probably have no symptoms now I am sure but listen and do as you are told go see the specialist as once you hit late stage 4 and 5 kidney disease you will have symptoms and it will have needlessly progressed. You will do great though! You are lucky your care team has recognized this and has sent you for follow-up care. all the best!

[SamBam1]

Thank you so much for all of your responses! I am going to get kidneys checked next week and I'll give you the update. I took all of your responses and adjusted my diet to it. I also saw a dietician and took his advice too. I'll keep you updated! Thanks!