Stage 3 Kidney Disease and Diet: What can I eat?

@rosemarya Appreciate your response. I do have trouble drinking a lot of water and am trying to improve. Reading all these wonderful replies from folks about diet has made me a bit uneasy, I admit!!

@rosemarya, that is kind of what I meant about going around for the past 2 months between insurance/pharmacy and departments at Mayo. In September when the Dr. sent the prescription he also gave me a print out of his office visit summary and a request for preapproval / prior authorization for the med. In early October the pharmacy contacted me and wanted to know if I wanted to fill the prescription and pay it out of pocket or ask the Dr. for a prescription for one of the alternatives. I inquired about my Dr.’s request for preapproval / prior authorization and was told that they had already processed it and denied it. I was told I needed to have the Dr. send an “appeal”. I set out to work on that and started with the transplant center since I was seen by the Dr. in the transplant department (he also works in endocrinology) and I had his card with contact info from the transplant department. I haven’t tried contacting the social worker, but I did contact my pretransplant nurse coordinator. “It isn’t really a transplant issue” and I was told to contact the Dr. directly. I tried that too through the transplant center because that was the contact info on the card he gave me in September. I explained my issue to the receptionist that took my call. I got a call back later that the Dr. would be taking care of it in the week. I also got a very nice email/letter from Mayo patient online services dated October 17th. It was a letter from the Dr. reiterating the prescription, why it was necessary and requesting a preapproval/prior authorization. It also had an invitation for insurance to contact him. He used the endocrinology department contact info. That was mid October. At the end of October and early November when I tried to follow up on this with the insurance/pharmacy I was transferred all over both and told they could not find anything like an appeal from the Dr. dated October 17th. We even had two three way conference calls. One between me, insurance and a secretary at Mayo Endocrinology and one between me, insurance and someone in the transplant center. The Mayo folk didn’t know anything about the Dr.’s October letter! I’m sorry this post went on & on. I’m just aggravated. The last I heard was that perhaps insurance just hadn’t received the letter yet and someone there was going to check something and get back to me! I think I’ll take the issue to my local endocrinologist, maybe sooner than later.

I am new to this post and the Mayo Clinic site. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney disease last March. My kidney biopsy showed severe oxylate damage, and we don't know why. I have had genetic testing done and do not carry the gene that inhibits my body from flushing oxylates. I did discover I was on a high oxylate diet (spinach, nuts, nut butters, lentils, etc). This was a real shock as I am a competitive masters swimmer and otherwise very healthy. I have been able to stabilize my GFR, Creatinine and BUN only because of some help from EPO, ferrous sulfate and a complete change to a low oxylate diet. In two weeks last Spring, my oxylates went from 140 (three times normal) to 34 because of the diet changes. The list I am using for oxylates is from the University of Chicago on how to eat a low oxylate diet. My Nephrologist is at a loss as to why this happened to me. I am considering whether to go to the Mayo Clinic as I understand they have a Department that specializes in oxylates. Any thoughts?

@randyr I received a list of oxalates in foods from Mayo several years ago and have also responded well to the low oxalate diet. As a result I was removed from the kidney transplant list and am still being followed. Last spring I had a bizarre change in my diet when I suddenly discovered I could eat dairy again. For about 3 months I ate Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, ice cream and had bowl after bowl of dry cereal with milk. Then suddenly it was over. What I did not realize until later was that the dairy is not recommended for kidney patients. My oxalates were sky high in July, but have now returned to 2.1 with a normal of

That's great news you were removed from the transplant list. I am not yet on the list, GFR is holding at 22-24. I haven't had a 24 hour urine test since last summer when oxylates had dropped into normal range at 34. Amy hoping to get another one done soon. I would be very interested in seeing your list from the Mayo Clinic. Would that be possible?

@randyr The list is quite extensive at 15 pages and separated into sections such as cereals/grains/proteins/vegetables/fruits, etc. How big is the list from the University of Chicago? The initial list I received was very small and subsequent lists got longer, but I like this one the best because is lists the foods with an number showing the amount of oxalates in the food. This way I can maybe have a potato if I make sure to keep all other oxalate sources minimal. My biggest struggle was with the root vegetables because I really like beets, rutabagas and an occasional potato or yam.

Thanks. I love to see it. Mine is also broken down by categories but is probably half the size. I’m just steering clear of potatoes and any other high oxylate foods to be on the safe side.