In December 2022 I was prescribed antibiotics. I didn't want to take these because of concern for my kidneys, and even told my doctor. The result was I had a pretty bad stomach reaction, which turned into something like an IBS flareup. I'm not sure, because there are still a few tests to take.
I had a blood test in early January and it showed my GFR at 53 and Kreatin at 128. Usuallyboth of these numbers are a bit better. My average GFR for the last 3 years has been about 55. Sometimes it was 60, and once when I really worked hard on controlling diet it got up to 62 GFR. Such a controlled diet was hard for me, so I would allow myself to have a few things that added some joy to it, but I would get a few points less on GFR.
On March 23, I went back for another blood and urine tests. I had changed my diet in the preceding weeks. Usually, it is corn pasta,white rice, chicken, turkey, and apples, egg whites, a few slices of cucumbers Some slices of sourdough bread. In the past I had had more potatoes in it (pre-soaked and boiled). Cheerios, and Bran cereal, and soy and almond milk. Apple juice. Some hot dogs, pork.
The changes I made were (because of the IBS) less apples, no apple juice, no cheerios. No small chocolate chip cookies. I added tomatoes, quite a lot but I don't think excessive, alot of white rice, and potatoes. I allowed myself some chocolate cakes. Usually before a test I try not to eat deserts and hot dogs and oven baked french fries, but this time I only stopped eating these last three things about one day before the test. I also had tried to relax all during March. I was much less worried. I exercised.
The results of the tests were very surprising. For the first time ever, in the last three years since I had CKD, my GFR was way abobe 62. It was 69. And the Kreatin was in the normal range! In January it was 128 (normal here according to the result paper is 59-104). Now, it was 103.
All in all, the two big changes I made were adding tomatoes. I usually never eat them. Little or no bread. I removed cheerios. I ate almost none of the little chocolate chip cookies. And I tried to relax. But most things I kept the same and even ate some things that really aren't good for me.
Is it possible that the tests gave a false reading?
Written by
Joe100
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Anything that you normally eat and drink on your kidney diet and then stop just before the blood test is not going to give you an accurate reading. For years I was drinking a lot of water before my blood test as I was told it would make it easier for the technician to get my blood. Then I learned it was affecting my bun rate making it look better than it actually was!! So labs are not always right when it comes to what actually kidney condition is. Get another one done if you can without changing anything before you have the test.
I was surprised to read that eating tomato helped your CKD, I have been avoiding tomatoes because of its high potassium content. I am kind of confused.
Me, too. I am careful with both potatoes and tomatoes. I don't eat bananas or drink milk. Potatoes I had been eating before but only after soaking and boiling them. But now I added tomatoes. I cut out sugar cookies. And I added a joghurt sauce (not lots, but some to add flavour), like the kind used for gyros or salads, and I added it to my usual bowl of corn pasta, mixed with white rice, mashed potatoes, and tomatoes, and about 40 or 50 grams of chicken or turkey. And I was even not being too careful with baked pre-fried French fries with baked hot dogs (1 pork, and two chicken or turkey franks) with about a spoon of mustard. I was having this baked hot dogs meal about once a week. I even had little desert rolls, not twinkies, but these little cakes from a company that uses natural ingredients.
Three years ago, I was told that I was very lucky that I had survived what the doctor described as my kidneys failing. The GFR had fallen to 38 and I was falling asleep everywhere. He theorised that maybe it was from a virus (this was before Covid). Another doctor recommended an immediate salad type diet. 40 grams of chicken or turkey or fish for two or three meals a day, corn pasta, some egg white an apple now and then, apple juice, etc. Very controlled, with no processed foods such as most cereals, controlled on the salt and other things that can be hard on the kidneys, etc. And in two months my GFR came up to 60. I tried more careful dieting, like perhaps getting rid of the bread. The best I could get up to was 62 GFR. This kind of food control was so difficult that my meals were beginning to become really tasteless. So, I followed the same diet, but I allowed some hot dogs now and then, and some cookies as a desert after meals. My GFR went down to an average of 55, usually ranging between 55-58.
So this recent test in March was a surprise. I'm happy with it. I'm thinking of confirming it. It could be that my shock from the events of 3 years ago, led me to be too careful. Maybe relaxing and eating tomatoes, or something, allowed my kidneys to get some important nutrients that they hadn't been getting for a long time. As the first kidney specialist I went to 3 years ago said, "Kidneys are a mysterious thing".
i always eat based on my labs. for a couple of years my potassium level was very low and i was was on a potassium supplement and was able to eat w/ out being too mindful of foods containing potassium. my recent labs showed my potassium in the high normal range so the neph took me off of the supplements and i am now watching my potassium intake. i try to stay away from sweets and limit carbs anyway so glucose has never been a problem for me. phosphorus has always been in the normal range. i am currently in 3b. i was in 3a but lost some egfr points and my creatinine increased after a bout with covid. don't know if it was the covid or the renal dose of paxlovid.very tricky disease.
Remember the "e" in eGFR. Its good that you're more relaxed. My eGFR jumps around in a range a little lower than yours, I quit trying to figure out why. I quit taking a single test too seriously.
I believe the scientists who say that kidneys don't heal and I'm grateful not to have worse damage.
That said, higher eGFRs make me happy too. Yay. A little bit of foods that make you feel good, wonderful, but sweetened food can be addictive and confusing to the body. After 2 years without sugar, I feel good and don't want it, but I like sweet grapes and a salty, spicy cracker.
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