Hi everyone!I am here, on this forum for my husband's CKD/proteinuria (all unexplained- kidney biopsy was "normal" as well as his genetic test).
Anyway, his Nephrologist put him on low sodium November 30th. I went on it with him and haven't had a migraine since! So for those of you who are supporting loved ones, just something to think about. 👍😊
A couple years ago, my husband, who does the cooking, reduced the salt in most everything, and he developed severe nocturnal leg cramps. So he went back to salting his food and the cramps subsided.
Oh wow. I am sorry that that happened to him. Do you know how many mg of sodium he was in taking daily?
We do under 2000. Some days it's 650, 700 but most days is close to the 2000.
No, I dont know. This happened when I first had to seriously tend to my diet restrictions.
Make sure you keep your own sodium (and chloride) levels within the normal range. I lowered my sodium intake to be supportive to me hubby (with CKD). I wound up with visual issues, weird dreams, bradycardia, and more. Then I suddenly passed out in public with very low blood pressure. Sodium is a very important electrolyte for proper organ (including heart) function. I suspect some lose their lives without much thought - she died in her sleep type thing. My own doctor was exceptionally unhappy with me. It took a few months to get me back on track. The renal diet is only for those with kidney issues. It should be by prescription only. Please don't make your hubby's condition your own, and always keep an eye on your own labs - making sure all electrolytes stay within normal ranges.
We aren't at dangerously low sodium numbers. How many mg were you consuming daily when you encountered your issues? Are your eyes back to normal? Thats so scary!
The human body needs 500mg per day to function. I am well above that. Today, I had 1378mg of sodium.
Yes, I'm back to normal. At the time, we didn't "measure" the actual amount salt we were consuming, we simply substituted no-salt seasonings and marinades. The meals we regularly prepare (now and then) are largely fresh and homemade so there is little salt unless we add it. I now make sure that I use normal amounts of sodium in the foods that we both eat now as my hubby received a transplant. I routinely get a yearly physical and all numbers were fine until I hopped on the renal diet bandwagon as a healthy person and that's when the the wagon went upside down. While I'm in the normal range, I tend to be on the lower end of normal, probably because we have always had a decent diet. As for visual disturbances, it wasn't related to the eyes as much as the brain - sidewalks seemed to move, lights were extra shimmery, dreams were vivid, etc. All I know is that what goes into the body is one thing, absorption and handling is another. There's really no way to know how much or how well your body is processing sodium and chloride without checking your labs carefully. Also, I remind myself often that this community is for those with diagnosed kidney disease which I don't have - as my own doctor reminded me - and the renal diet is only for those in certain stages of progression. I had to learn that the hard way - and what a lesson it was. Grateful to be a normally functioning person.
How unbelievably scary that must’ve been for you Darlenia! I’m so glad things are better now. The strange thing for me is the part where you mentioned “the sidewalks seemed to move”. This actually also happened to me when I was in my 20s (long before my CKD issues began), and I was on a very strict, self-managed vegetarian diet where I was drinking crazy amounts of water per day in order to “flush my blood sugar out”, as I had then recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. But I had no idea that this was a sign of being in a health danger zone. How crazy. Thank you for sharing your story. It explains a lot! God bless. ❤️🙏
Imho, it's quite likely...drinking too much water (water toxicity) flushes out sodium also creating balance issues, visual disturbances (illusions) and, yup, even death. I have a great respect for all electrolytes now And my mom's old admonition, "Do everything in a normal, good way; that's crazy enough."
😂 Your mom is very wise!! Of course, I was warned back then, that I was not going about my health goals in a sensible way, but I neglected to heed that advice. But after that experience, I actually did lean back on the water consumption. I did get very dizzy back then, and I also remember seeing shadows of the street light poles as I passed them in the street. I was very worried about my eyesight then. I thought it was the diabetes causing that. My goodness! 🤷🏻♀️😂
Hi chicablue! I’ve had leg cramping in the night also. No fun, believe me! I’m sorry to hear your husband had that experience too. I’m no expert, but it sounds as though the fact that he had reduced his sodium, may have raised his potassium levels, and that may have been what caused the cramping. I’m told that dehydration can also do a similar thing. Potassium and sodium sort of counteract each other (when one of them is higher, the other is lower and vice versa). But once again, I’m no expert! Lol! Just a thought. I hope his leg cramping is better now. All my best to you both! Stay well! 😊👍🙏
I've been searching for the study that links higher salt intake to worse kidney outcomes, and haven't found one for eGFR above 30. I did this because I discovered that I like crackers and wondered if they would be harmful in the long run. The rest of my diet is low salt, and my eGFR hasn't gone down since I've been eating a few of these salty but otherwise healthy crackers every day. (My sodium and chloride are consistently a little too low in blood tests, even after the salty crackers)
Eat the crackers and keep watching your numbers. I take magnesium for the leg cramps and it works quite well.
Hey!! Awesome advice! I completely forgot that magnesium definitely assists well with muscle cramping! Thank you so much nonna70! 😊👍
That's interesting to know as I often get cramp at night - hopping around the room at 3am etc trying to ease it is no fun! I have just got some magnesium so hope it helps.
My yoga teacher would tell us to eat a banana if leg cramps develop (for the potassium).
That may be true also, in some cases, but sometimes higher potassium levels can actually contribute to muscle cramping as well. Please do be careful with that. This is especially true for those of us with CKD (unfortunately). Blessings. 😊🙏
Update: I guess I should have mentioned how much sodium I'm eating per day in my post. 2000 or less. The lowest I've ever been is 700 but that's super rare. It's usually around 1300 to 1800 per day, most days. Weekends is closer to the 2000 or slightly over. (I didn't realize that for the later stages of CKD, doctors recommend super low sodium. My husband is stage 2/3a. )
Are there any recipes out there that cater for low potassium and low carbohydrate diets?
Low Protein Diet 
Sodium Phosphate in frozen turkey.
How do you manage low phosphorus diet?
Sodium Bicarbonate
