83 years old with CKD

[queridalady]

Hi everyone, I'm writing on behalf of my mum who has had CKD for 7 years and eGFR has stayed steady at 49 until her last annual test in August where it had dropped to 41. Her GP didn't even want to talk to her about it so we spoke to a private GP. He encouraged mum to drink more water. At that point she only drank one cup full of water and 2/3 cups of tea per day. Her diet was pretty good apart from.a few sweet treats. He said that she could improve her eGFR if she drank more water and followed the recommended diet on the CKD websites. So mum started drinking more water and eating small portions. She's hardly eaten any meat and lost a fair bit of weight that she didn't really need to lose. Last week we sent her blood off to medichecks for testing as GP will only test annualy. Her eGFR has dropped again to 39 and we are all really quite worried. Now when she eats anything other than lettuce pretty much, she says she feels very nauseous next day. Any suggestions on diet etc that my mum can do to help her feel better? How bad is her eGFR? And any ideas why her kidney function has dropped suddenly? Mum takes thyroxin, High BP meds but is not on statins although cholesterol isn't perfect. Thank you for any advice you can give.

[userotc]

It seems to me that the kidney advice from the private doctor is far better than from her GP. I believe water is key so my mum (CKD3) now drinks ~8 or more glasses/day and more herbal teas, less English tea. The CKD websites should be helpful and I think daVita is often recommended on here. I've also noted from a kidney organisation a meat upper limit of 1g per kg of weight.

The gfr fall from 41 to 39 may not be significant and not yet reflect significant, recent changes eg water. For my mum, we've seen some short term ups and downs but we and her nephrologist are cautiously relaxed about her longer term trend. But we continue to monitor regularly.

Hopefully you'll receive replies from those more experienced with CKD on here.

[queridalady in reply to userotc]

Thank you userotc for your really helpful reply. I appreciate it 👍😁

[Amrellessy66 in reply to queridalady]

I’d argue and even consider emergency especially taking into consideration her age and the sudden issues. Try a smoothly with blueberries as a means of nuitrition and hydration. Good lyck

[Amrellessy66]

This is serious and taking into consideration if I were you I high tail it to a nephrologist, don’t forget to take all latest blood works with you .Good luck & God speed.🙏🙏🙏

[queridalady in reply to Amrellessy66]

Thank you. Will be going to see go after the holidays. Currently though they don't even want to see people and you are not allowed to take anyone with you. I will.be arguing to go in with mum though. X

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

When in CKD you have to look at the overall trends. You should track her labs in a graph. Depending on her hydration, her activity and what she eats her eGFR will have it's ups and downs...that's why you look at the overall trend.Has your Mom seen a nephrologist? She should be seen by one and get his opinion and follow his instructions.

We are not medical experts on this site, but can only speak from our own experiences.

Best of luck to you and your Mom.

[apopnj01]

kidney-international.org/ar... - check this out - not exact but you get an understanding about the averages

[Sammi_n_Munk]

Hi queridalady! I can certainly understand your worry. Does your mom take any anti-inflammatory meds, either prescribed or over-the-counter? Because these types of pain relievers are terrible for the kidneys. If she does take anything such as Motrin, Advil, Aleve or Aspirin, she should switch to Tylenol instead, unless she has allergies to it or any issues with her liver. Or if she is on any prescribed anti-inflammatories, perhaps she should speak to her doctor about having these changed.

You’ll definitely find good diet advice on the DaVita.com website, as well as some good recipes to go with it. And her doctor is right about the water. If she / he has recommended this for her, then as difficult as she may find it to do, she really should try to drink more. Many people in this forum have attested to the consumption of more water per day as an eGFR raiser. GFR does fluctuate anyway, but water is certainly our friend. Dehydration is one of the worst things you could do to your kidneys.

As far as diet goes, the best things to steer away from are: chocolate, beans, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, any whole grains including whole wheat bread, oats, barley, etc., any processed foods, red meats, and any high potassium, high phosphorus, and high sodium fruits and vegetables as well.

Her diet should consist mostly of low-potassium, low-phosphorus and low-sodium fruits and veggies such as cabbage, zucchini, red bell peppers, lettuces, cucumbers, cauliflower, grapes, peaches, apples, any berries are fine, and cherries (once again see DaVita.com).

The protein in her diet should come from eggs or egg whites, chicken, and fish. Some people say that lean pork is also fine. Cheese is also not too bad, but dairy tends to be a little high in potassium, so she should be careful about the quantity she consumes. It is said that our protein intake should only be the size of the palm of our hand and just as thick. And further, some say no bigger than the size of a deck of cards. But cheese should be a significantly smaller size than even that (about 30 grams or so).

If she is able to, about 30 - 40 minutes of walking daily is always good for kidney patients. And, there are other websites you can visit aside from DaVita that will be able to offer some helpful advice, like kidneyschool.org, and the NKF.

I hope you and your mom will find this useful. Please keep us posted as to how she comes along. I wish you both all my best dear. God bless. 😊👍🙏✌️

[Darlenia]

I'm

So sorry to hear about you and your mum. I would simply like to add my voice to the others on this thread that your mother's stomach issue may well be contributing to her lab reports. As we age, not only do our kidneys, bones, heart, etc. also age, so does our intestinal tract. The stomach lining, for example, begins to thin and can lead to gastritis which produces nausea, pain, and more. So then people lose interest in eating and drinking. The good news is that there are treatments (and diets) that can help in these situations. If you can help your mum with her intestinal issues, I suspect her labs were improve. Sending positive thoughts your way.

[RoxanneKidney]

If I were your mom, I would make a list of good rhat she likes and make her feel good the next day and stick with that.