high micro albumin levels

[Prscu24]

Diagnosed with stage 3a in 2021 now at 3b. Micro albumin at 5.9 grams saw dietician and brought it down to 2.9 grams. Last week 7/14/2024 went to nephrologist appointment and blood work was ok but spilling so much protein it wasn’t able to be measured. Nephrologist took me off metphormin (500mg daily) and is starting me on ozempic per New England journal of medicine study. Wants to wait a month and test levels again before doing biopsies. What tips would help me with my lowering my protein levels. Gfr is 47. Much appreciated!!

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

I have two things to suggest. Ozempic is great. Give your body time to get used to it. My A1c was at one point quite high. It has been at 5 for the last year, below 5.5 for going on three years. I am coming off my Lantus.

Look at the protein you are consuming. It is everywhere. Bread, pasta, things you would not believe. Get on a food tracker and give yourself a limit. I went as low a 30 mg daily. Kept off of dialysis for 6 years because of it. I use MyFitnessPal. It is free. Make sure you look up protein in everything you eat until you get to learn what is high and what is not. For example...eggs.... loaded with great protein. Yokes have about 16.4 per 100grams where as whites have only 10.8. So when I make eggs, I scramble on whole egg with two egg whites. Alos less calories.

[Prscu24 in reply to Bassetmommer]

that’s awesome Im glad for you. Yes my A1C is down to 5.6 from dieting. I’m using the fat secret app to track everything including exercise. I’m consuming 1500 calories a day and around 80 grams of protein and 35 grams of carbs. I see a dietitian and my carbs all come from whole grains, vegetables and nuts. I’ll try cutting back on my protein. Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it!

[jodaer]

I've not been on Ozempic but I am on Jardiance and it's lowered my protein levels a lot. You might try that if the Ozempic doesn't work. I would push for the biopsy in case it's something else.

[Prscu24 in reply to jodaer]

Thanks for the advice. I can’t take jardiance or any of that type of medicine unfortunately. Be well 👍

[userotc]

First of all, I believe you are stage 3a , not b with egfr 47 eg kidneyfund.org/all-about-ki...

My mum is also 3a with high albuminuria and proteinuria. Latest results today indicate we may be winning the battle with both of these 🤞🤞as theyve dropped significantly for the first time in ages albeit with a small drop in egfr to 45. So she's back at "A2 – moderately increased urine protein levels (between 3-30mg/mmol)" kidneyresearchuk.org/kidney...

She's had no drugs in the 14y at CKD3a so we attribute the above urine improvements to recent changes in her NT protocol. We're now planning to focus even more on glucose/carb reduction with that being one of the main ckd causes (her BP is good) - within the protocol. No protein intake changes etc. 🤞

PS Note sustainable, healthy weight loss is not just about calories, its more scientific.

[lowraind]

I would look for information regarding low protein diets for people with ckd from:

--Cleveland Clinic

--Johns Hopkins

--Mayo Clinic

[Prscu24 in reply to lowraind]

yes I agree 💯 diet is everything. Im currently seeing a diabetic nutritionist and lost over 80 lbs over a two year period. I still need to lose more and have an appointment with her next week. I’m going to ask her about lowering my protein even more. I appreciate your response like I stated in my bio Im spilling way too much protein still. So im hoping to avoid the biopsies through diet and weight loss. The ozempic helps with both weight loss, sugar and protecting against further damage as found in the study.

[Darlenia]

You're seeing a nutritionist that specializes in diabetes! Wonderful! I'm sure you're aware that high glucose thickens and hardens vessels throughout the body including those kidney filters, permanently damaging them. When the filtration system breaks down, proteins which are supposed to stay inside the body, leak out - it's a red flag. Protein is necessary for the proper functioning and maintenance of all cells in one's body - lack of protein can create low iron, metabolism issues, muscle weakness, and other issues. (You'll hear about some of these issues in this community.) So be careful about removing too much protein. Most diabetics, besides removing sugars and carbs, are told to enjoy protein in moderation - to eat the white meats (fins and feathers) while avoiding red meats, etc. It's truly a balancing act. I'm sure your doctors are monitoring your labs carefully so nothing goes off the rails. When at a crossroads as to what to eat, the diabetes diet generally takes precedence. Glucose, after all, is the driver of kidney decline for diabetics. I watched my hubby's lose his kidneys to this disease, but he managed to get off all insulin while on dialysis and now has a transplant. We continue to follow the above diet and things are going very well at this point in our life. For those interested in knowing more about diabetic kidney disease (DKD) this is a good site: niddk.nih.gov/health-inform...

[Prscu24 in reply to Darlenia]

Thank you so much for the information and advice. I’m going to see my dietitian this week so Im going to run some of what I’ve learned from here and other online forums to come up with a better plan for cutting down on my spilling protein. I was doing pretty good going from over 5000 mg of micro albumin to around 2700. I got sidetracked from covid in April and Im now back on track with the diet I was on. I was thinking why bother if a virus is going to kill me anyway. I had a bad attitude about everything. I just started the ozempic this week and I’m feeling great compared to being on metphormin so things are looking up! 👍 Again thanks for your support 🙂