Im new here. whats a good meal plan for stage 5 chronic kidney disease? diabetic with coronary heart problem.

[Jonesss]

im taking care of my dad whos 67 years old now. And im just starting to learn about his condition. itll be great help for me if you share your experiences with me.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador]

My CKD diet is prescribed by a Doctor and based on various blood work results. Suggest you contact your father's Doctor for a diet, or get appointment with a dietitian, for a diet that covers your father's conditions.

[Jonesss in reply to orangecity41]

thanks! how often do you get your blood works so you can monitor its levels?

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Jonesss]

Each situation can be different depending on level of CKD and other conditions. I am at CKD level 3, and Doctor put me on a 3 month blood work schedule.

[Hidden]

Welcome to the community. You've given very little information and I suspect it's because you have very little knowledge of CKD. My best suggestion for you and your Dad to go to the davita.com website and register for a free, 90-minute Kidney Smart class held in your area. It will be taught by a knowledgeable kidney professional and provide you with a wealth of information to get you started. If you don't live in the USA you won't be able to attend and then I'd recommend going to kidneyschool.org and watch the modules there on CKD. Who diagnosed your father as having CKD? Ask them for a referral to see a nephrologist and the class and/or modules will provide you with a lot of information on the questions you need to ask. One additional question for the nephrologist is to ask for a referral to see a Renal Dietitian. They will provide him with a kidney-friendly meal plan that will go a long way towards helping him slow the progression of CKD. Start collecting hard copies of his last years' worth of blood and urine labs. Bring those with you and let the RD develop the meal plan that will work best. For now, stop smoking, cut way back on drinking alcohol, no red meats, processed foods, and sodium.

The leading causes of CKD are Diabetes and High Blood Pressure. If he has either of those issues they should be brought under control in order to get the CKD under control and slow the progression. I was diagnosed thirty-two months ago with a single GFR of 32. I did all that I'm telling you and I've been able to raise my GFR average over that time to 51.

That's enough to get you started. Come back here often and you'll find a lot of folks who have been where you and your Dad are and will be more than willing to share their knowledge and stories. Best of luck.

[Jonesss in reply to Hidden]

thank you! this is a good start. thanks for sharing these resources. ill check them out.

[Sammi_n_Munk in reply to Jonesss]

Hello there, Jonesss! Welcome to the forum! I’m also nearing stage 5 CKD as well as being diabetic, with both heart and high blood pressure issues. If you follow all of the advice you’ve read here so far, you’ll do well.

Definitely have your father consult with a renal dietician, but in the meantime, a few guidelines to follow also, are:

1. Cut out any foods and / or beverages that are high in sodium, potassium, and phosphorus - eg. any processed foods, potatoes, nuts, whole grains, meats, coffee and dark sodas, etc. As Mr. Kidney suggested, go to DaVita.com. They have awesome advice and recipes for people in all stages of CKD.

2. Most CKD diets are low in protein because high amounts of protein are hard on the kidneys. Also, have your dad keep away from any anti-inflammatory drugs, even over-the-counter NSAIDS. These tend to also be rough on the kidneys. (Advil, Aleve, Motrin, these are not good. If he requires any medicine for pain, try Tylenol instead). Also, get advice from his specialist with regard to pain relief, as well.

3. Drinking water is always a good thing for CKD patients. Ask his doctor what the right amount is for him in a day. Flushing the kidneys is always a good thing.

4. If he’s able, try to get him to do a little daily exercising. Not too much, and I wouldn't have him doing any weight-lifting. This type of exercise can cause creatinine levels to go up. Again, ask his doctor what the right amount for him would be.

5. A proper amount of rest is also very important. The same is true for everyone actually. Lol.

As with any chronic illness, there are certain adjustments that need to be made just in order to slow down the progression of the disease as much as possible. It can be difficult at times, and frustrating, I know, but we’re always here when you need us, dear. Don’t forget that. Once again, welcome. I wish you and your father all the best. And please keep us posted on his progress. I will keep the both of you in my thoughts and prayers, dear. God bless. 🙏😊👍

[Jonesss in reply to Sammi_n_Munk]

thank you so much sammi, great to read all this info thats adding to my knowledge about this disease. im currently in search for a dietitian to help me come up with a good menu for dads daily intake. thanks!!!

[RonZone]

Hey, I'm turning 67 this Saturday and am at end stage (stage 5) renal failure as well and was asking the same questions you are asking. I met with the dialysis clinic nurse this month who is associated with my doctor and she said a dietitian will be supplied to me AFTER I begin dialysis. Well that doesn't help much in the meantime,. So I've had to do my own research in the meantime to find out what the heck I'm supposed to be eating. I meet with my doc March 19, so I'm hopefully at that time he will refer me to a PRE-DIALYSIS dietitian. In my research and from information provided by the wonderful people on this website, I also learned to cut out foods with sodium, potassium (goodbye peanut butter and banana sandwiches!) and phosphorus. It's impossible to find food labels that tell how much phosphorus is in a food product, so researched and found sites like this one:

aakp.org/product/download-a...

and this one:

kitchen.kidneyfund.org/gene...

and:

med.umich.edu/1libr/Nutriti...

and

myfooddata.com/articles/low...

So you see there are resources out there, but you have to look for them. From these I'm compiling my own list of just the things that are "ok" for me to eat on low protein, very low sodium, low potassium and low phosphorus until I get something from a dietitian that will do the same thing my own research is doing. I'm planning meals and snacks based on my research and my own list of ok food choices.

I hope this helps you get started. I also went through the kidney school.org and it has a ton of info, but again, I had to take notes to pull out the info that I needed that was specific to my situation and diet needs since there's a LOT of info on there, almost overwhelming for a newbie like me.

I was never told by the nephrologist that I have been seeing for my PKD for several years to change my diet. Maybe it won't help since my kidney damage is PKD and not from another cause. I'll find out on the 19th. I'm prepared to start dialysis sometime this summer, and there may be nothing I can do diet wise to slow this train wreck down. But it's worth a try I guess.

Tell your dad that I totally understand his situation. And to hang in there and go do what he needs to do for himself, even if it means some pretty drastic changes to his diet and attitude toward this stuff. He's lucky to have a child who cares about him enough to post on this site. That alone should make him want to stay positive and try to get as healthy as he can be, given his situation, not play the victim role but tackle this head on, as best he can. And cherish every moment he has with his kids and grandkids, friends and other relatives. Heck it helps me just to write this stuff! Maybe I'm talking to myself.

God Bless

[Jonesss in reply to RonZone]

hey ron thanks for these link. will take a look at it. that my major issue after my dad got diagnosed because nobody actually told us exactly what changes we need to make for his diet. i have to search for a dietitian myself and there arent much around our place. baiscally at this stage every single piece of food and liquid my dad takes have to be calculated. so thats why i think its really important for me to know the portions he needs. down to the detail of breakfast lunch dinner snacks. ill start reading the links you sent so i get an idea about this. altho my dad is already on dialysis for a weeks already. i guess that changes alot of things on his diet.

[RonZone in reply to Jonesss]

Yeah, from what I understand, once you are on dialysis, your diet definitely changes compared to pre-dialysis. The dialysis center should provide you with a renal dietitian versed on what your dad's diet should be depending on the type of dialysis he is using. I've read on these pages that PD dialysis diet is different from home Hemodialysis and in-center dialysis is different from the others, depending on the prescription for the solution used. One (not sure which) depletes protein and the patient struggles to eat enough protein (which pre-dialysis is one of the things we're encouraged to cut out). So ask your dialysis center if they provide a renal dietitian that you can talk to about specifics to your dad's dialysis prescription.