Major kidney improvement

[labuchanan]

I just returned from my doctor and he is thrilled with the improvements in my blood work. My blood tests in November had cholesterol of 256, fasting glucose of 104, and GFR of 34. High cholesterol, high blood sugar and very low kidney function.

The new results are total cholesterol 179 with good ratios, fasting glucose 84, and GFR of 53. Good cholesterol, good glucose and much improved kidnery function. Blood pressure is around 120/75.

I have been eating 40-60 gms of ECC (Higher than PPLP, lower than Zone), minimum protein to maintain lbm, and monounsaturated fats or saturated fats.

I have weeded out medications and foods that can raise insulin and affect kidney function.

The doctor is still suggesting I see the nephrologist, but is no longer panicked about it. My plan is to weed out any remaining insulin producing/kidney impairing meds, and give my body a chance to establish a true picture of my kidney function before I go to see him.

I have just changed from Aleve to Acetaminophen. I am dropping the Flo-Vent to switch to Singulair. And most difficult of all, cutting back on my caffeine. And I'm continuing to take my Fish Oil Omega 3s.

[SherryJ]

Oh, LA!
WHOO-HOOO!!!

That's really a great set of improvements... keep goin'!!! :nod:

Congrats,
Sherry

[Mitra]

Well done :D. You must be thrilled with those results!

[gitfiddle]

Lora, that's just great! Keep up the good work!

[labuchanan]

All of your encouragement has truly brought tears to my eyes.

I am also using a program on my smartphone that saves records of everything I eat. I am using my measuring cups and digital diet scale to make sure I am doing what I think I am. Calorie wise, I am coming in at around 1500/day and am seeing a definite difference in the way my clothes fit and am starting to lose weight. I have gone from 198 at my highest and am now at 183.5. My goal is 140.

I have found I cannot play games with myself and tell myself "Oh, a 1/4 lb of pasta fits within my carb allowance" or "Just this once won't hurt". Unfortunately things like that are a sure walk down the primrose path for me. My carbs have been the healthy ones, like a small portion of oatmeal (1/4 cup uncooked Old Fashioned Oats, cooked) and Blueberries and Strawberries. My one sin is 1 tsp of Trader Joe's Organic sugar (4 gm carb) on my berries. And that is because I am not sure how splenda affects the kidneys. No artificial anything in my diet.

I hope all this info will help someone else who is prediabetic and dealing with kidney disease. (My GFR is now 53 and under 60 is considered stage 3 kidney disease)

My reasoning has been that diabetes, kidney disease and a host of other evils are affected by high insulin. And the fish oil healed my thyroid (I had radiation treatment to my adenoids when I was three) which was considered not curable. So why not my kidneys as well.

Thank you for the cheers and encouragement,
Lora

P.S. No salt, of course!

[bmoore8702]

Conventional wisdom says that damaged kidneys don't regenerate and that the best one can hope for is to prevent further degradation of function. Also, conventional wisdom says that people with kidney disease need a low protein diet. The fact that your GFR improved from 34 to 53 on a relatively high protein diet is quite remarkable. Please keep us posted of any further improvements.:)

[Mayflowers]

That's really fantastic on your numbers!! :) Just a word of caution though,
Acetaminophen or Tylenol, causes liver damage. I was taking it when I had my knee surgery after I got home, following directions and not even going over my prescribed dosage, sometimes less than it and when I went to get my blood work for the coumadin levels, it came back with very high liver enzymes and they told me to get off the percacet which as most know is a narcotic and tylenol immediately! :eek: They were worried, but after a week I was re tested and the enzymes went back to normal! Lucky for us our livers is an organ that can repair itself! I will never take Tylenol again. I occasionally take advil for headaches but advil is hard on the kidneys. I like MSM the best for pain. No known side effects.