Hi everyone. I have recently been diagnosed as having CKD stage 3
it came as a total shock because I don’t seem to fit any of the criteria for developing this.
Im 71 years old and up until now fit and healthy.
The hardest thing I am finding is not knowing the reason why it happened, makes it harder to deal with preventing further damage if you don’t know why it happened in the first place.
i have cut down on salt. Eat a basically Vegan diet with the odd bit of fish, and exercise regularly.
Feel like its a do it yourself job, sifting through the information that might be useful.
any tips on managing this gratefully received
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VeganNan
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the nkf davita site and this forum are a good place to start,but remember there is a lot of bs out there too.ive looked at johns hopkins and mayo clinic research as well.ive been 3b since 2019.
I too was diagnosed at older age (76) at CKD level 3b. My bloodwork showed sodium, potassium, phosphorus and protein out of range. I was put on a CKD diet. On the diet the progression has slowed.
Welcome. You have come to a good forum for support and shared information.
Couple of questions...what is you GFR? Stage 3 a is 45 to 59. If your GFR is up towards 60, then some of what is going on may be due to age. Our GFR declines naturally as we age. The thing to look for is a series of lab results that show a decline. If your GFR has been steady over the years and you have a dramatic decrease, then that's concerning. If you have seen a slow decline or none, then, I am not sure there is a main cause. Things to consider are medications you are on such as BP meds, cholesterol meds, and OTC pain meds. All of those can impact your kidneys.
You sound like you are eating a diet similar to a renal diet. That's great. Look at your consumption of caffeine products if any, and processed foods. Lowering salt is good. And make sure you are hydrated. If you have labs done and you are dehydrated, it will impact the results. That's why they do a series of labs.
thanks for replying. My gfr was done again yesterday and is 47. It all started in September and was 34 then , but seems to have levelled off now. I had bloods done yesterday because im having pain over my left kidney
I have reduced salt and very rarely eat processed foods or drink a lot of caffeine
Re CKD, I guess you do "fit" since you are 71 years old and kidney disease generally worsens with age. But there's plenty of natural things that you can do, as my 67y old mum illustrates after almost doubling her eGFR since a nephrectomy >5y ago. She's CKD3.
Once your left kidney pain has been resolved, you can start to improve your CKD. If, as youve indicated, you find DIY too daunting, you could contact a qualified Nutritional Therapist that specialises in CKD. Keep us posted and good luck.
thank you. I’m learning bit by bit what is good and what isn’t. On the rare occasions I need to take pain killers I take Paracetamol, have been told they are ok
Stage 3A maybe considered normal for a 70 year old, if your numbers don't continue to decline. I went to my doctor for a general check up right after the holiday. I had eaten a lot of foods I don't normally eat, such as smoked ham which is known to increase creatinine levels. My GFR was 55. I was told I had stage 3A kidney disease. After being told I had Stage 3 A kidney disease, my blood pressure was taken and it was high 150/90. Then I was told my CKD was due to high blood pressure. So, I was given BP meds. Losartan HCTZ. My GFR went from 55 to 44. I immediately went to a nephrologist with all my blood work and meds. Nephrologist told me "your doctor did this to you". You have acute kidney failure. You didn't have high blood pressure, and the medication caused you blood pressure to go so low it caused "acute kidney failure". It eventually went up to just above normal which is okay for my age. The original blood test was due to eating a high volume of meat right before taking the first test. There are a lot of things to consider, and sometimes doctors don't think out of the box, and say the first thing that comes to mind.
I have always been interested in food relating to health, and didn’t realise how much it affects the kidneys until recently. I am 95% plant based eating fish occasionally when the mood takes me, or my body tells me I need it. Our bodies are amazing if we listen to them
I know exactly what you mean. I looked for a reason to begin with and was annoyed because there wasn’t one. Its easier to deal with if there is a reason. Also to me its a big thing and the Doctors were so matter of fact about it. I have come to terms with it now and doing lots of reading . Thank you for your reply
Greetings, I've had CKD 3 for a few years now. Doctors say it's from taking anti-inflammatory medicine for many years to treat my arthritis.However, I have no symptoms othere than my Creatinine is elevated, which is one way they diagnose CKD.
My nephrologist says to stay away from anti inflammatory meds, drink plenty of water and get checked every few months.
Had a kidney/bladder ultra sound and everything was OK.
So, don't worry too much about the diagnosis, get checked
this was only found when I came back from holiday feeling really ill my GFR was 34% at that time, having been 98% a few months before. Its now back up to between 40-50%. It was the sudden drop that was worrying
Lists of things impact egfr. From simple not drinking water the day of the test to "real" ckd. Egfr is a one moment in time test. Ckd can't be diagnosed based on one test. So many people get very upset with typical age related changes or one off results. I'd love a egfr of 50 at age 71. I've been in the low 20s for three years and I'm 60.
My eGFR started dropping at 71. I had a pain in my kidney and finally got tested. Turns out one of my kidneys is smaller than the other (right kidney) and of course no one knows if I was born that way or if something caused it. I do have high blood pressure and had taken Losartan HCTZ for about three years (along with other hypertension medications since 2005.) I did some research and found out that for some people the HCTZ causes problems with kidney function. My doctor then changed my medication and my eGFR started rising a bit. I also take synthetic Vitamin D which is supposed to help my parathyroid which is out of whack because of kidney disease (?). There are a few things that I have learned from this experience: I had to stop denying I had hypertension (I did and do and I have to live with it); sometimes when things get out of whack it really is because of an ageing body (in other words it's not your fault); get yourself a DEXA scan if you haven't yet to make sure that you don't have osteoporosis (kidney problems have an effect on the calcium in your system); and eat as healthy and you can and hydrate when you need to but don't feel bad if it doesn't give you the immediate cure that you are hoping for.
think you hit the nail on the head with denial bit. I was in denial that I was getting old, My B/P had always been ok until this kidney issue, I am now taking Amlodipine 5mg daily which seems to keep it under control, I check my own B/P regularly because as someone mentioned in an earlier reply low blood pressure can also damage the kidneys. Diet plays such an important part and I eat as healthy as I can
Our bodies are amazing and we take them for granted until things start to go wrong
I am73 and found out recently after blood work that I have Stage 3a. This was also a horrible experience for me. I go to the Kidney Dr and I don’t feel that I get any help. Supposed to eat a Kidney friendly diet, no salt and drink 64 oz of water daily.
I did weigh 129, now I am down to 107, and look like a rack of bones. I need help with what to eat!
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