Loss of appetite

[shrnk]

Anyone experience appetite loss with CKD? This sort of come out of the blue....

[Hidden]

Hi

What exactly came out of the blue, the loss of appetite or the CKD? If it's the loss of appetite, that can be expected because it can be a symptom of early CKD. If it was the CKD diagnosis relax, as there is a lot you can do to slow the progression.

Regarding the loss of appetite, you can switch to smaller meals several times a day and avoid drinking water or any other approved beverage during the meal to avoid feeling stuffed.

If the diagnosis of CKD was what came out of the blue, then who made the diagnosis? If it was a nephrologist, then ask for a referral to meet with a Renal Dietitian. The RD will help you develop a kidney-friendly meal plan designed expecially for you based on your previous lab results. If you'd like to learn more about CKD you can go to davita.com and register for a virtual Kidney Smart class and gets lots of information and resources to help you on your journey. If your PCP or other physician made the diagnosis then ask for a referral to see a nephrologist.

You've found a great community to seek advice and support so come back here often with questions and/or comments.

Take care.

[shrnk in reply to Hidden]

Hi

Sorry about that. Should have been more clear. I have stage 3b CKD. And the loss of appetite is what just appeared. I have some other stressors I’m dealing with in life but usually eating is not a problem. Not even getting hungry or getting irritated when I don’t eat is not a problem. Will definitely keep an eye on it.

Thanks for the reply

[Hidden in reply to shrnk]

No apologies needed. That's why I replied to both options. I was diagnosed just over three years ago with CKD and my GFR was at 32. I did my research and became proactive and since then have moved my GFR to a high of 65, but my average has been a 53 in those intervening years. I had one week of not wanting to eat back last fall. I had an ultrasound done and discovered I had gallstones. On October 7th I had my gallbladder removed. On my kidney-friendly meal plan I eat limited portions of seafood and poultry. When I checked on the fat content of some of the fish I was eating I discovered that some of them had a higher content of fat and that was causing gallbladder issues and was why I was not having a good appetite. After the surgery, I spent a few days on liquid meals and then smaller meals several times a day for about a week. The important thing for me was to delete certain fish I was eating for other fish that were better, especially after the surgery. The only other time I had issues with appetite loss was early on after I met with the RD and until I was able to adjust more control on portions and eliminated the issue.

Hope you find out what will work for you. Best of luck.

[HealthBuddyMelissa]

For me, I only had a loss of appetite when my kidney first completely failed and I had extreme nausea. It has normalized after stabilizing the kidneys and homeostasis returned. Try eating six smaller meals instead of three bigger ones.

[Love100cats]

I too had loss of appetite and nausea for months. Because I have kidney,thyroid,hea3rt and pancreas problems I wasn't sure of the reason but think it is kidneys and that's my most recent discovery. Im a lover of veg and salad but they just wouldn't go down and I'm not a great meat eater. The only thing I ate daily was cereal and toast. Not a good diet but I couldn't do anything about it. It has eased now so I am eating OK but mainly delivered meals as I'm not well enough to cook. Im mainly vegetarian with a little fish and chicken but still struggling with any protein though I do eat beans and and lentils. If I eat more than a tea plate of food im seriously unwell with breathlessness, nausea and stomach swelling so I eat very small meals and only 3 a day. So am I losing tons of weight? No! My thyroid sees to that! I do have tablets from my g.p. for nausea but only to be taken when its bad. I find Nairns stem ginger biscuits a help and unsweetened tonic water. I hope this helps. Im stage 4 kidney failure and 2/3 heart failure.

[Jayhawker]

I experienced nausea when my renal function suddenly plummeted from stage 3b into stage V. I’ve experienced it occasionally since if my renal data decreases back into stage V (eGFR of 10 or lower). Typically my eGFR comes in between 14-15 now. Like others have said, holding it stable with that much eGFR keeps the nausea at bay.

I eat smaller meals. I, too, eat very little meat at this point. A renal dietician told me about a renal and diabetic friendly drink called vidafuel. I drink two servings of that a day now. I have that with two salads. I also have steel cut oatmeal with liquid egg whites to increase the protein for breakfast daily.

If I’m unable to deal with fresh salad greens I eat 3-4 servings of frozen vegetables heated in the microwave. I spread all this out into small meals throughout the day.

Jayhawker