How much water?

[JAYCEE33]

Hovering between Stage 3a and 3b, how much water should I be drinking?

[Bassetmommer]

Hi Jaycee,

Each person is different. It all depends on what your doctor recommends because they know your whole medical picture. Sorry, not the answer you wanted but you could have a fluid retention issue or not....

[Hidden]

Hi,

I'm at the low end of stage 3 A and average around 1.5 liters of fluid per day. My body carries around 2 Kg in extra weight from fluid retention, typically. I tend to dehydrate through the summer months but other wise manage ok .

As long as my urine is clear or light straw in colour my kidneys are being flushed fine. When the urine changes to a darker shade I'm not flushing my kidneys sufficiently so take in more fluid.

Diet is the biggest influence to my kidney health. I try to eat as much vegetable and fruit as I can and this also gives me extra fluid intake.

Cheers

[JAYCEE33 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reply! How do you know that you are carrying 2Kg of fluids? I, like you, watch my urine colour, it's always a very light straw colour.

[Hidden in reply to JAYCEE33]

Hi,

With summer my belly disappears and I start dealing with constipation. I usually start seeing my belt again! Alternatively if I sweat it out with physical exertion the same thing happens. Unfortunately I cannot sustain physical exertion as the Arthritis kicks in 2/3 days later and I'm left sitting around waiting for the pain to dissipate before I can continue with more work. I'm my worst enemy as I can't resist working, I have to be moving about or the pain gets me.

I wear a Fitbit and weigh myself every morning, then record it all. The information is not of any real use but it gives me a yardstick to keep a check of myself.

[19Sahara in reply to JAYCEE33]

Hi! I weigh myself every morning and record the weight. This helps me when I’m up a couple of kg/lbs to look back at my goods from the day before. Keep in mind that carbs (the bread, rice, etc., nasty kind) need water so our bodies will hold onto fluid. By giving up wheat, sugars I was able to lose 29 pounds in 5 1/2 months!!

[SamLab]

I am just above stage 4 I drink up to 3 litres a day but don't have any issues around fluid retention also bear in mind that you also get some fluid from what you eat as well, my fluid level intake has been at this level for many years. My kidney disease was caused by chronic phylonephritis and I take 2 different blood pressure tablets, an antibiotic every day and a statin don't know what difference this makes in terms of recommended fluid intake. Your GP should be able to advise you. I've recently also been diagnosed with a 10mm kidney stone got CT scan in a couple of weeks not sure if that will change anything!

[Kamand]

Hi I am between stage 3a & 3b too & I only have one kidney due to continuously getting kidney stones & I have one now to be removed soon in my only kidney. My EGFR kidney function was only 26 & then went down to 24 & then 22. I read some articles & spoke to the lady who takes my blood who's daughter is worse than me with her kidney's & from all the information I collected they all had stopped eating meat & improved with there function so I have nothing to lose so I started to stop eating meat & milk but not fish & cheese etc. My EGFR kidney function went from 26 to 34 in a matter of 6-8 weeks & I am due for tests next week. I drink 2-3 litres of water a day & my Nephrologist has put me on bicarbonate of soda tablets which is meant to help kidneys & blood pressure tablets & statins. We are all different I know, so ask your Nephrologist before you try & you can only try things to see what works for you, I only have one kidney so my results are based on that not two kidneys & I had my other one removed 3 years ago & have tried many things to get to this point. I hope it goes well for you as it can be quite frightening when your function goes down from being healthy but you can only do your best & what works for you.

[HealthBuddyMelissa in reply to Kamand]

I take Sodium Bicarb as well prescribed when I first got sick to balance my metabolic acidosis. It worked like a charm and he still has me take it though I am not sure I need to.

[HealthBuddyMelissa]

My doctor told me I don't have to restrict fluids at this stage. However I dehydrate very easy esp when at work as I don't get time to drink enough and Summer is brutal. I always have a drink with me at all times. I was not given a limit as to how much I can drink but I drink if I am thirsty and by the way I feel. You will learn to recognize what your body needs. I don't retain water unless I have eaten a salty meal which is rare. My point is we are all different and how much water you need should go by your labs how you feel and discussions with your MD.

[RickHow]

I too bounce back and forth between state 3a and stage 3b. You ask the age old question about water intake. I will be the odd man out on my answer from the others already posted.

Drinking water is a good thing of course. But it does NOT change the health of your kidney. Doctors will recommend drinking water (usually the typical 64 to 100 ounces per day). But this is not just for the health of your kidney, it is for health in general. Now, if you do drink significant amounts of water, you WILL see some improvement in your eGFR. But this is not because your kidney is any healthier. It is a simple matter that you have flushed more fluid through you kidney, thereby eliminating more Creatinine from your body, and the less the Creatinine the better the egfr. But the kidney remains the same. It isn't any healthier. Another reason for the drink fluids recommendation is to remove toxins from your body. If you kidney function is lower than "normal" it can not remove toxins as efficiently. In my case I have only one kidney. It tries to do the work of 2, but can not. So water is recommended to flush more through the one kidney to try to equate to the workload of 2. Water is also recommended to prevent dehydration which causes problems in all areas, not just the kidney. Water is not the "cure" for CKD. You can artificially impact your readings. For example if you drink a lot of water for one or 2 days before your blood/urine testing, you will get a very good result. In our case a reading that we are level 3A. But do NOT drink such amounts of water, your results will fall into the level 3B. This is why you see fluctuation in your results, as you indicated. But the kidney? It's function, is level of "disease" (if you can even call it disease at level 3) is unchanged. Here is a link to a study about this very subject.

eurekalert.org/pub_releases...

[Uckle in reply to RickHow]

Male, 89 years old GFR 40. Just had my first visit to a Nephrologist. I asked him about water. He said I did not look dehydrated. That was all. I am never thirsty and only drink about 12 oz a day. Dont like water, Drink 3/4 cups of coffee a day. One or two shots of Scotch. I have read also that you r kidneys are working harder filtering all you drink.

Drinking 1/2 litres of water a day is a lot of work for CKD kidneys .

Steve

[RickHow in reply to Uckle]

Yep you are right. By the way, those cups of coffee count toward you daily fluid intake. It does not have to be just water.

[JAYCEE33 in reply to RickHow]

Thanks for the interesting reply! I suppose the same applies to creatinine results, if you eat less protein or change to plant protein, your results are going to improve but it won't make any difference to your basic kidney function?

[RickHow in reply to JAYCEE33]

Also (found on the web):

The more protein waste that needs to be removed, the harder the kidneys need to work to get rid of it. This can be stressful for your kidneys, causing them to wear out faster. For people with kidney disease who are not on dialysis, a diet lower in protein is recommended.

[JAYCEE33]

Thanks to everyone for the great replies, it's really good that we have a site like this where we can all help each other!