Dear All,
Does anyone have a personal experience with pro- or prebiotics supplements and CKD? I saw several info online that it may help improve the health and energy level in general and ckd in particular. As expected, online info vary very much , you can’t count on it. I plan to ask my neph but I know that she does not like supplements kand will say get what you need from food. Thanks.
I've taken them but they never seemed to work for my gut issues. What I have learned since then is that you have to have the right one for it to work. And that means tests that generally insurance doesn't cover, and they are highly expensive. I don't see how they would benefit anyone who is taking them for CKD. JMHO
I asked my Neph that ...he said to save my money and spend it on fresh strawberries and blueberries...far more effective.
I do however, use one designed for Dental Health and it does seem to keep my mouth feeling fresh and clean as with Kidney Disease the toxic buildup can make your mouth feel unclean...It is called Pro-Biora Plus
It seems that 2-3 years ago on this blog, there was a discussion about the same topic of probiotics , and some mentioned the brand Renadyl. Also a post from DadVice TV here, who assured he was taking Renadyl and claimed it improved his kidney. I also read that Renadyl was recalled in 2021 because the bottle was lacking details about some ingredient and safety issues. I read the recall and the side effect of that ingredient, and my own thinking alone, it seems like a technicality. Of course I don’t know. I was planning to call the recall phone number and ask in the morning. I read on Amazon several reviews saying it helped their kidney and others saying it did not. It seems who took it were ckd patients but did not want to give up meat, so the probiotic helped their bodies to reduce the BUN. I don’t think that these reviews were recent. This is all I know so far, nothing concrete.
It's a catch 22...lol...but there is simply no replacement for eating healthy and following a Kidney Friendly Diet...instead of eating what we know is bad for us and hoping a pill cleans it up for us....although tempting... lol
No one wants to eat what they want and use a pill to do the magic. That was not my thought at all. But if something can help few points here and another can help few pints there, it will be good. We should be open minded and consider all roads that can help. Everyone here is on hard diet to stay healthy and exercise to help the kidney and the heart. What about helping the digestive system? It will help too one way or another.
I don't think that's accurate. There are hundreds of people who want to eat what ever and then use a "pill" to undo the damage. If there weren't there wouldn't be so many diet pills out there.
I am not talking about other people , I was talking about myself and those in this blog who are careful about what they eat and what the put in their body. So what is said is accurate! This blog is about ckd and what to do to keep it stable and what others here did and helped or not. So my posts are specific to this goal.
It was just my experience with it...wasnt that what you were asking for ?...I dont think ProBiotixs are a bad thing...they are just expensive and not as effective as spending the money on better foods...just my experience and opinion.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Yes consider all ideas then think how much is this advice going to cost me and what is the factual evidence to support some outrageous claims? I can provide one bit of factual advice I'm diagnosed Celiac had the camera into the tummy so when I was advised to follow anti-inflammatory diet I could have spit teeth. The Celiac was diagnosed when I was a teenager 30 years before RA so the idea that avoiding eating gluten the "inflammatory food" I thought was almost hysterically funny. In the early days of Celiac before it became fashionable, the NHS supplied bread and flour. No one in their right mind would have eaten that stuff so it was go without. So my advice is eat a normal well balanced diet and always talk to the Nephrologist. Of course weight is important as is cholesterol but that is very different from a diet that can help with CKD
Thank you medway-lady, totally agree to consider all options, think about, talk to neph, then use your brain and decide what to do for yourself. I followed the VLPD of Lee Hull but I did not take his supplement as it did not make sense to me to spend the rest of my life relying on supplement from anyone. In addition, there was that doubt of mixing business with advice, that did not settle well for me. My dietitian said increase the carb a little and also beans a little on top of VLPD to be able to have energy which I did. I feel better and not as hungry. I lost weight almost 45lbs, any doctor saw me was happy because loosing weight indirectly helps the kidney, meaning less effort on the kidney, heart, joints, etc. I was 174lb last year and 130lbs now, that was good! That was because the VLPD diet that is full of vegetables and few beans and rice. No meat and no dairy, but I use plant base milk like almond unsweetened. My BUN last month was reduce d to 23 , but creatinine and consequently eGFR are still fluctuating around 3.5 average and 15-19, respectively.
HI, After talking with my nephrologist, I started taking a probiotic. It wasn't to help with CKD, but there is a benefit. I am on a drug that causes constipation. I went through all sorts of things to try to remedy the issue and nothing worked. That was when the Neph said gut health is important, try a probiotic. So the end result, pun intended, was more regular bowel movements. This is important for CKD because the regulation of wastes in our body is crucial. The later stages of CKD really change things and having regular fluid and solid waste management is important. BUT, finding the right one is up to you. I take (Amazon) Physician's Choice, with fiber. But what works for me, might not for you. AND it took several months of taking the pill at a certain time for it to work. I did not spend a fortune because that is all hype. And mine is shelf safe so I do not have to worry about temperature. These things make a difference. And how much acid you have and what you take with it. For example, drinking hot liquid after taking it or having a full stomach all will stop a probiotic from working.
I have been taking Align for about six years now. I started taking it after reading about it but no doctor has ever told me to stop taking it so I presume they are all okay with it. I read an article yesterday about oral probiotics which I found quite interesting. Here it is: cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-75/issu...
My Gastroenterologist and nephrologist both recommend FloraJenn. Its at the pharmacy as it has to be refrigerated but available without a prescription. Of no real benefits for improving CKD health overall but good for the gut.
Interesting ! Thanks for sharing KidneyCoach. I sent email to my dietitian to see what she says. I will share when I hear back.
I specifically asked my nephrologist this question. he said probiotics are bacteria, and with advanced CKD, he said not to take on an already impaired system. those were his exact words. I was stage 4 back then. he had 40 years experience and retired since then. I miss him!
Real food also has prebiotics and probiotics properties. It help me maintain a good gut health. Overall balancing my diet is 20x more effective than allopurinol at keeping my inflammation in check. For me everything onions and kombucha. Eating whole grain such as wheat and steel cut oats also has some prebiotics benefits I believe. Adding more fermented food is something that I am looking to do in the near future.
One thing to be careful when making your own is to avoid overfermentation as its alcohol content may reach 3%. I've yet to find a kefir on the shelves with the same benefits for my gut health as the home-made one.
Thanks to all your responses. I received the response from my renal dietitian today that there is no significant statistics in studies that probiotics benefit ckd patients. Also Renadyl, although their manufacturer conducted a randomized study, the conclusion was that it might reduce urea in blood but not creatinine or eGFR. She recommended eating a little bit of yogurt, kifer, or kimshi instead of supplement but to be careful about included potassium. Hope this helps !
I have taken Renadyl for about 4 months no change in GFR. Seems to help with general gut issues and urea build up....was having gout issues but no more. Cleared it with my nephrologist he said wouldn't hurt me. Is expensive might try another probiotic.
How much fiber are you eating? 
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