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

Randy, I am happy to welcome you to Connect. I am a liver/kidney recipient, but due to my sudden kidney failure, I have no experience or personal knowledge of the numbers and scores that you have mentioned. I am happy that you are getting some good information and support from member, 2011panc.

The Mayo Clinic Hyperoxaluria Center in Minnesota brings together doctors from many specialties to design a personalized treatment plan, based on the type and severity of hyperoxaluria and any related conditions.
Hyperoxaluria and oxalosis
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperoxaluria/symptoms-causes/syc-20352254
Hyperoxaluria and oxalosis care at Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperoxaluria/care-at-mayo-clinic/mac-20352260

Thank you very much.

@randyr I am sorry, but I cannot get a readable pic of my list. I did, however, find a comparable (more recent and probably better) list at https://oxalate.org/ that you might find helpful. Unless it is the list you already have. I will be asking about an updated list when I return to Mayo in May and can let you know what I find out.

Thank you. I haven’t seen this list, but even it has some conflicts on foods.

@randyr, new members have to endure a trial period before they can post links to Connect. We do this to discourage spammers. I reviewed the link that you attempted to post from the University of Chicago and it is indeed a very useful resource and have posted it for you so members can see it here:

- How To Eat A Low Oxalate Diet https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/how-to-eat-a-low-oxalate-diet/

@2011panc, let me know if I can help get your list uploaded to the site.

Good news and bad news for me today. This past November my labs showed kidney function improvement. Then the first part of December I landed in the hospital with exacerbation of my COPD. My GFR immediately dropped from 37 to 35 and my diabetes went out of control partly due to respiratory meds, partly due to having to go off my pre-meal insulin doses. It took me all of January to start feeling better.

Now, at the end of February, I feel great. I have lots of energy, decreased pain, generally sleep well. Diabetes is well controlled. Phosphorus, sodium, potassium, calcium levels, etc. are all normal and A1C is 5.9. Blood pressure is good, oxygen level is good.

BUT creatinine is elevated and so is BUN.

And the worst part of it is, GFR (kidney function) has dropped from 37 to 24! I'm back in stage four CKD and we don't know why!
Since everything else is normal I'm wondering if this last round in the hospital dropped my GFR like it did a year ago when I had the flu and COPD exacerbation.

I'm hoping sticking to my vegetarian diet will kick it back up. In fact, I think if it weren't for the diet, it would be even worse. I probably would be dead.

Yes, I know, it's only one lab test.

But I'm so bummed I could scream.

@kamama94
I am so sorry to hear things are going in a bad direction. I don't think there are any of us out here in the community who can't relate. Just FYI, sometimes when I am so bummed that I could scream, I just do. I have had significant fluctuations in my kidney labs based on my level of hydration. Can you put a call into one of the nurses and find out if it's ok to up your fluids between now and your next labs? Just a thought. Stay strong, we are all pulling for you!

@jolinda, thank you for the compassion and encouragement. I'm not on fluid restriction but find it difficult to get down more than 6 glasses of water a day (plus other fluids.) What I don't understand is how my GFR could have dropped 11 points in 3 months yet all my electrolytes are normal. If the glomeruli filtration rate is so low, why isn't there a buildup of potassium and phosphorus in my blood? My potassium level is normal. Even my sodium is normal! I will try to get in 8 glasses of water daily (thanks for the reminder, much appreciated) but don't know what else to do. I don't scare easily but I gotta tell you, when I saw my lab results I came pretty close to hitting the panic button. Thanks for your support!

@kamama94 I know nothing about kidney problems but that must be scary for your numbers to take a dive. As long as you are not limited in how much fluid you can take in, I would work to increase that, that’s what they have me do to keep my creatinine in check. I find it helps if I put water in a pitcher, then I can more easily track how much I have drunk.
I hope your numbers right themselves somehow.
JK

@kamama
Your strength, faith and hope in the face of adversity are remarkable. 🙂 I'm humbled by the fight in you...drink up!
With everything you've been through lately it's no wonder your labs are doing backflips.
When do you get retested?