CKD 3

[Catmommy]

Hi. I was diagnosed last August and it was shocking to me as I don't have high blood pressure or diabetes and am fairly healthy. It might be the prescription nsaids and/or prilosec or that I wasn't drinking any water due to overactive bladder. Anyway, I've been on the renal diet plus playing Pickleball 3x a week for fun and exercise and my egfr went from 47 to 52. I'm 67 and do not want to do dialysis. It is very scary to me.

[coaching]

Hi,

I was diagnosed with renal failure out of the blue. I was a very active child with a full extra curricular calendar. Did not have diabetes or hypertension. Starting dialysis was shocking and traumatising to say the least. Trust me you do not want to go on dialysis. Keep your renal diet as it is doing you good and drink plenty of water.

All the best

Oscarine

[worldnurse1 in reply to coaching]

I am totally trying to avoid dialysis and went directly on the transplant list per my Nephrologist's advice. He is an exception: most conventional MD's, when your kidney chemistry levels are off enough, parrot "Dialysis!, Dialysis!, Dialysis!". He says if you're still urinating dialysis is not mandated. Can you please tell me more about your experience with dialysis? Thank you!

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador]

I too was diagnosed at stage 3 about a year and a half ago. I am 75 male. I too was put on renal diet and do exercise (silver sneakers) . I did take NSAIDS (Mobic) for over a year, and also took Prilosec/Nexium for many years. However was told reason is organic. The diet is not easy but worth it to stay off dialysis as long as can. My GFR also improved by 5 points, however am experiencing other symptoms of CKD, such as anemia, fatigue etc.

[Catmommy in reply to orangecity41]

What does organic mean as a reason for ckd?

[Hidden]

Hi there, I was diagnosed in 2011 with Stage 3 CKD. I experienced anemia, tiredness, muscle aches & pains, low thyroid with my numbers going from GFR 60 to GFR 42. I too have an overactive bladder but had an interstim implanted medical device surgery in 2006 and it helped significantly. I'm typically a very active person (regularly exercise 90 minutes to 2-hours per day with bike riding, pickle ball, hiking and or swimming). I am 5'6", weigh 101 pounds, do not have diabetes or high blood pressure. I'm happily retired and newly married!

I took iron supplements to get over the anemia, met with a good nutritionist, and began taking a great probiotic with every meal (Renadyl - which I order through Amazon and was recommended by a kidney doctor), as well as 800 mg of magnesium oxide (again, recommended by my doctor).

I have to say I've never felt better! I've got my energy back and am doing all the activities I desire with no tiredness or muscle aches & pains.

I recently changed doctors (due to a move). My new primary care doctor put it this way: As we age our bodies start to change. Some people end up with bad knees or hips, others with failing eyesight, etc. For whatever reason, my body decided to have kidneys that are aging faster than I would like. BUT....I could remain in stage 3 or even early stage 4 for a very long time. So he suggested I relax and don't work about it. There is nothing I can do to change my disease status, other than continue with my probiotic & magnesium oxide and eat well. And, he reminded me that stage 3 doesn't mean I'll end up on dialysis or need a kidney transplant.

So....I'm enjoying life without worry and feeling great. I hope this was helpful to you.

[Redhotbeads]

Hi there. I'm kind of in your boat - I don't have high blood pressure or diabetes either. I'm 51 and my eGFR is 45. I see a nephrologist in 10 days so hope to get more answers then, but I have a family history and took NSAIDs for years, too. It's really scary to me, too. But exercise and the right diet helps ... I think we can prolong our function for a long time.

[Catmommy]

Agreed but unfortunately no doctors informed me until last year and it seems I've had a problem since 2012 but didn't know it. So I am on year 5 of ckd3. Scared of the future but I'm handling the present with diet and exercise and lots of water.

[lincoln53 NKF Peer Mentor NKF Ambassador]

I was diagnosed with CKD in 1990 when I was 37. Fortunately, my disease progressed very slowly, but it did progress until I needed to go on dialysis in 2005. I chose peritoneal dialysis. Dialysis allowed me to continue working and lead a relatively normal life. In 2009, I received a kidney transplant from a deceased donor. I agree with everybody that you should try to delay going on dialysis as long as possible. But I would add that going on dialysis does not mean that your life is over. It is true that the hemodialysis diet is restrictive. You need to be careful to avoid high-potassium and high-phosphorus foods. The peritoneal dialysis diet is less restrictive. But if you think that you may be facing end-stage kidney disease in the future, I would advise you to learn about your treatment options so that you can choose the treatment that best fits your lifestyle. If you stick to your diet and follow your treatment schedule, you can live a normal life and do most of the activities that you enjoy.

[Kaurageous]

Hello! I'm really happy to read how you've taken charge of your health and improved your egfr value. Would you mind sharing a little more about your renal diet?

[Catmommy]

I am a 4' 11" woman weighing 115 lbs. so my renal diet is based on that, I believe. Also my phosphorus and potassium numbers are good so I don't have to limit those for now. I'm allowed 4 ounces of meat, 3 servings each of dairy, veggies and fruit plus 5 servings of starch and 6 servings of fat per day. I keep my sodium to 1500 mg and my protein at 50 grams. A serving of dairy is 1/2 cup of milk or 1cup of almond milk or 1/2 cup ice cream. Serving size for veggies and fruit are 1/2 cup also. For starch, one slice of bread is a serving or 1 hamburger bun is 2 servings. A fat serving is 1 tsp butter. So a typical menu would be a smoothie for breakfast with 3 servings of fruit with 1 serving of a vegetable and 8oz almond milk. Lunch would be 2 oz. chicken with 1/2 cup veggie and 1 cup rice and 1 cup ice cream. Dinner 2 oz fish with 1 cup spaghetti and 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Snack would be popcorn or Graham crackers. Olive oil in the sauce plus light cream in my coffee and butter on my veggies make up my 6 fats. I drink 50 oz of water also. Hope this answers your question.

[Peachcobbler9]

Hi, I'm very scared too. I'm not diabetic and not on dialysis yet. Trying to make sense of all this. I'm trying to drastically change my diet and hopefully avoid dialysis altogether.

[mmckd]

Hi - I, too , was diagnosed with CKD Stage 3b in 2013 with no history of HBP, diabetes, NSAID overuse, etc. I was terrified. Since then, gradually, I have accepted it, and am grateful that I have the option of controlling my diet to allow me to feel I can do something about it. One thing was, my Nephrologist sent me to the Davita Kidney Smart class. It was early in my diagnosis and I cried through the entire class. But - it did teach me all the options for dialysis and made me realize that life as I knew it was not over!

Mainly, I have just changed my eating habits with the support of my family and a good dietician. No salt , low potassium and low protein are the main components of my meals. The hardest for me was low potassium because it means avoiding leafy greens, tomatoes, bananas, and all sorts of things I loved. In fact, there has been more than one shopping trip where I was crying as I read all the labels and had to eliminate them from my diet.

I'm new to the group as well and glad to have found this.