Stage 3 Kidney Disease

[Momof3kidz]

Hi, I was diagnosed a few weeks ago with stage 3 kidney disease, thought to be caused by NSAIDs. I am not diabetic, and I do not have high blood pressure. I am 41 years old, I have 3 kids and a husband. When I was pregnant with my first child, I developed Pre-eclampsia. My Dr. Told me that was a sign that I was going to develop kidney disease when I got older.
I just had a renal ultrasound done last week, and that was normal. I used to smoke and drink a lot of Mt. Dew, but I have stopped both of those, and am drinking lots of water, along with juice and milk. My renal function is at 47% as of my last bloodwork a month ago. I am supposed to see the Dr. Every 4 to 5 months for repeat bloodwork. She didn't put me on any medication or anything, just said to increase fluids and change my diet. Has anyone else been in a situation similar to mine? She told me I have been developing this for over 6 years now. 6 years ago my GFR was 60%....but my doctors didn't catch it then.
This is very new and scary for me, my youngest child is 12. The Dr. Didn't give me any idea of what type of timeframe I am looking at, so I feel a little lost.
I appreciate any input, Thank you,
Amy

[kcramer]

Start taking care of yourself right now. The sooner you stop eating food with salt and start drinking water the better you will be and your GFR can even go up.. No pop either helps. It took over 15 years for my numbers to go down and dialysis was started from your number of GFR 47.

[GeoD7019]

Hi Momof3kidz. I am very much in the same boat as you with the exception that I have high blood pressure. I went to my family doctor back in April thinking I had the flu. Within the hour I was at the ER and I had all sorts of issues going on. It turned out I had a severe kidney infection that turned septic. While I was in the hospital trying to recover from the infection I heard for the first time “Kidney Disease”. I thought to myself "I don't have that. I pee just fine". Well, that wasn't the case. It end up I have stage 3 CKD with a GFR of 45%. As time went on and I started visiting many doctors I found out my kidneys had issues 13yrs ago!! And like you, nobody (doctors) told me! I popped a valve and went through the roof after hearing this. Good thing for the doctors I’m not a sue happy type of person. So I immediately started looking into kidney disease and how I can improve my situation. First, I changed my family doctor and opted to see a general practitioner that was also a Nephrologist in my area. I stopped drinking alcohol. I also make sure to avoid coffee (no biggie for me), caffeinated products, dairy products (except for cheese, I'm a cheese addict), high protein, potassium, phosphorous, sugary foods and drinks, NSAIDs, Excedrin (one of my biggest vices), and other kidney damaging medications. I also started to aggressively treat my high blood pressure which I believe is a by-product of the kidney disease.

Your doctor is on target. During Stage 3 there's not much they can do for us. The ball is in our court as my doctor said to me. We have to change our diet, exercise, avoid kidney damaging meds. My doctor said people in stage 3 can live a normal healthy life and stay in stage 3 for quite some time if they stick to some guidelines. But, there's really no rhyme or reason when it comes to kidney disease so at anytime your status can change. There has been some debate if Stage 3 patients suffer from fatigue. Some doctors say "no" and others say "yes". I'm going to say with my experience "yes" we do suffer from fatigue. Try to eat foods that will give you that little extra kick in the pants. I drink a mixture of two tablespoons of chia seeds with 8oz of 100% pure apple juice in the morning. Followed by 1/4 cup of dried Goji berries before lunch. Goji berries have extremely good medicinal properties for kidneys and immune system. In the past I didn't drink much caffeine and rarely drank soda so I stuck with my one cup of hot decaf tea with a spritz of lemon in the morning and then I drink water for the rest of the day. My last set of tests from my new doctor showed my function improved slightly so I must be doing something right! LOL! As Kcramer said in her post. Now is the time for change.

The DaVita site is a great place to start. Surf through the site and look at the recipes, read the forum discussions, and watch the videos on the site. I also saw DaVita holds kidney classes to educate you and your love ones about the disease. You can check to see if there’s a class near you (it's free). If you can maintain your stage 3 status then you are in pretty good shape and there’s hope on the horizon for us. Kcramer pointed out to me this past summer there’s an artificial kidney in development. I looked into it after hearing this news and it is projected to be in use within the next 7-10yrs. That will be huge for all kidney disease patients! The developers believe the artificial kidney will minimize and/or end the need of dialysis. And, the artificial kidney will not require the use of anti rejection drugs like a transplant requires. So hang in there and put your best foot forth. Hope is on the way. I wish you the best of luck and don’t be afraid.

[krgaffney]

I, too, was diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney disease 6 months ago after a routine blood test and no symptoms of kidney problems with a GFR of 47%. I was shocked and dismayed and after researching my past lab reports, discovered that my GFR had been in the high 50's and low 60's for over 7 years with no indication from medical drs. of any problems. During those years I was taking 80 mg of Zocor for high cholesterol which I believe contributed to the kidney disease. Two years ago I was taken off the Zocor for muscle pain and given high dosage of NSAID for inflammation and I believe that pushed me over the edge to the GFR of 47. I currently take only high blood pressure meds and the occasional Tylenol for arthritis pain. Am now under the care of a nephrologist with 6 month check ups to monitor my numbers. Am on a low sodium, low cholesterol diet but have become proactive and am limiting phosphorus and potassium as well (was a huge potato and tomato sauce lover). I am hopeful that the diet changes will enable me to maintain the function that I have currently and even raise it somewhat. Am still symptom free and fatigue does not seem to be an issue; however, I do try to exercise at a local gym 3 days a week to maintain my general health and arthritic joints. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.

[GeoD7019]

Yeah, and you know what really stinks!? Not that I'm a sue happy type of person, but if I wanted to take all these doctors to court for not telling me about my kidney situation, I can't because the statute of limitations has passed! Even though it was only 8 months ago that I found out about this the initial diagnoses was over 13yrs ago! It took me a while to come to terms with this and that's when I decided to change doctors and hopefully find one that has my back (or should I say "kidneys"). Sometimes in life you gotta swallow a couple of turds.

[cervantes]

What is Renal Diet ??

[dizzydi30]

I was also diagnosed in Feb of this year (2013) mine's put down to long term high blood pressure, scans etc ruled other issues out.

However, February my eGFR was 55 that was when I was diagnosed with stage 3 ckd and since then its been coming down but the last few months steady, my recent results a few days ago was the same as the ones in Oct this year at 43gfr, CR of 117, all other labs still in normal range.

I am now getting used to eating differently, no salt, no cola's, coffee's etc, replaced by filtered water, non caffeine nettle tea twice a day, one unsweetened cranberry juice, sometimes fresh lemon is added to my water, I do however drink the usual brew of 2 cups a day decaff.

No red meats, but will still eat fresh chicken and fish but in small portions, my food is a mixture of fresh leached veg, white pasta, white rice dishes, apples, grapes, strawberries.

However, my Nephrolgist said as the main labs are still in normal range there is no need to change anything, apart from stopping on the sale, banana's, tomatoes, coffee, soda's etc, but I said I changed my diet by my own choice which is why I feel those labs are in normal range, so then was told to cary on what I'm doing.

Oh I no longer eat chocolate, or cakes.

cervantes, check out the recipes on this site, these are classed the same as renal dieting, always make sure with your Dr, as well and ask if your able to see a dietician, as we are al different, and we will usually go by our labs what to eat, and if we need to uptake or undertake anything etc. x

[luvlife7]

I can so relate to all of your posts. I had gone for a panel of lab tests and it included kidney tests and I received my results in the mail with no notes or explanations attached except for what the computer flags and prints and it said my GFR was 47 and I was at stage 3 (moderate). Several months later I went to a doctor's appointment for something unrelated but brought the page with me to ask the doctor about it and she told me stage 3 was nothing to worry about, no big deal so I am clueless as to which to believe (the lab results or her). I am 45 years old and my mother is in stage 4 kidney disney and I don't want to follow in her footsteps. I kind of think it's not "nothing" but then I don't want to worry about it if that doctor knows what she's talking about. Maybe there's more to it than just the numbers and lab results. I just don't know. Is there any way you can reverse it? (diet, exercise, losing weight?)

[Maggie1958]

Hi, I was diagnosed a few weeks ago with stage 3 kidney disease, thought to be caused by NSAIDs. I am not diabetic, and I do not have high blood pressure. I am 41 years old, I have 3 kids and a husband. When I was pregnant with my first child, I developed Pre-eclampsia. My Dr. Told me that was a sign that I was going to develop kidney disease when I got older.
I just had a renal ultrasound done last week, and that was normal. I used to smoke and drink a lot of Mt. Dew, but I have stopped both of those, and am drinking lots of water, along with juice and milk. My renal function is at 47% as of my last bloodwork a month ago. I am supposed to see the Dr. Every 4 to 5 months for repeat bloodwork. She didn't put me on any medication or anything, just said to increase fluids and change my diet. Has anyone else been in a situation similar to mine? She told me I have been developing this for over 6 years now. 6 years ago my GFR was 60%....but my doctors didn't catch it then.
This is very new and scary for me, my youngest child is 12. The Dr. Didn't give me any idea of what type of timeframe I am looking at, so I feel a little lost.
I appreciate any input, Thank you,
Amy

Hi Amy,

I'm in the same GFR 47 category as yourself. Celebrex (NSAID) caused the damage to my kidneys. Unfortunately like many others who have replied to your post, my physician did not mention this to me. I've had ongoing kidney damage since 2001 and found out about the damage 3 years ago from a mean breast surgeon. My primary physician sent me to a nephrologist...at this stage drs don't do much but monitor. More than likely you will see a nutritionist in order to give you some guidance on a kidney friendly diet.

My GFR has not changed for 3 years.

Seems you're heading in the right direction cutting out soda and not smoking.

I hope this helps you since were at the same stage of kidney disease: I have found out that eating less meat helps a great deal, my serving of meat usually consists of a palm sized piece of meat generally chicken or fish. I cut out beef and pork...I found these meats too hard to digest. I do have greek yogurt for protein or peanut butter...I need the protein for my exercise routine otherwise I feel ill.

The DaVita website has a great deal of information that will help you deal with possible future symptoms, dietary suggestions and much much more.

Take care,
Maggie

[Serphronia]

I have just been diagnosed, Stage 3. Scared to death, so doing all I can to educate myself about CKD and diet. I have many questions but learning more everyday. Anyone know if bottled Realemon juice is acceptable by renal dieticians to add to water, etc? I am aware it has sulfite preservatives in it. That's why I am asking. Thanks for any info.

[RDSara]

Welcome to the DaVita forums Serphronia. You will find lots of support and answers here.

Realemon juice is acceptable for a kidney diet. The product label does not list potassium content, but a generic bottled lemon juice in the DaVita Diet Helper database lists 15 mg potassium, 0 mg phosphorus and 0 mg sodium for 1 tablespoon. If you haven't discovered Diet Helper yet, it is DaVita's free online kidney diet meal planner and tracker and is a great resource for diet and nutrition information. www.davita.com/diethelper

[Serphronia]

Thanks very much, Sara! Yes, I am studying the Diet Helper. Wonderful resource!

[Maygirl]

I was just diagnosed borderline between stage 2 and 3 CKD. I wake up some mornings with flank pain and queasiness . Is this typical or is this unrelated? Also, my creatinine clearance was 61.4, have microscopic blood in urine, ultrasound was normal and so was a all blood work. Can anyone offer any feedback?

[dac0214]

At stage 2-3, this is unlikely to be caused by your kidney issues.

[RickyTroy]

You should not take the risk and consult your dietician.