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

@eirrol, I am stage 4 CKD now but about 3 years ago was in Stage 3 and stable until I got shingles. Shortly after the shingles my kidney function dropped to Stage 5 and I went on dialysis for a few months. Slowly some of my kidney function came back but even today I still have a burning itch along the nerve track where the shingles were the worst. It's actually getting slightly better over time but when the burning, stinging, throbbing itch was at it's worst I couldn't sit still sometimes or sleep much . I did get some relief from topical lidocaine patches and cortisone cream. I was told that destroying the affected nerve root(s) might help but the docs here didn't want to do that and offered gabapentin instead which I had taken before for diabetic neuropathy and did not help. I sure can relate to your post-herpetic problems and hope they resolve over time. Let us know if you discover any solutions.

Happy Holidays! Congratulations on reversing your level of kidney disease. Regarding burning itchy skin, that is,
unfortunately, typically a symptom of CKD, especially at Stage 3 or greater. But shingles could also be the result as well. At any event, I use a moisturizing cream like Aveno or CeraVe several times a day to reduce the itchiness. Regarding blood pressure medication, one size does not fit all. Your cardiologist will be more suited to answer that question depending upon the severity of your illness. I wish you well as we approach a new year as you have come so far.

Are you stage 3a or stage 3b? What is your gfr and creatinine levels? Johnmacc

How many calories daily are you getting?

@eirrol Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I see you have gotten replies from @kamama94 and @collegeprof already, and they are great sources of information! Good for you for following a renal diet, which will go a long ways to helping you.

As mentioned, please check with your cardiologist and nephrologist for the medications that will work best for you and high blood pressure. It's important that your medical team communicate with each other, to give you the best care possible. And remember, you are an integral part of that team! In my medication bag there is amlodipine and verapamil for blood pressure issues.

A gentle reminder about using "Dr. Google" for information. It is way too easy to go down a rabbit hole as we search for answers. Some of the sites that come up as a result of a search, may not be appropriate for our situation, and give us misleading information. Coming here to Mayo Clinic Connect, we can tap in to the collective experiences of fellow members. And using reliable websites such as Mayo Clinic, Renal Support Network [rsnhope.org], Cleveland Clinic, or large teaching hospitals, National Kidney Foundation [kidney.org] may provide you with a more solid education.

Do you have any questions for me?
Ginger

When I was diagnosed in emergency in August after an ultrasound for hydronephrosis, secondary to an enlarged prostate size 99cc, my eGFR from a previous lab test was at 69. In emergency, it fell to 55, this was in August.
I was catheterized with an indwelling urethral Foley catheter so the retention and back-flow up though the ureters to the kidneys would stop. Since then, my last two ultrasounds indicated both kidneys at normal size.
After three months of using the catheter, the catheter was removed and I went home, but could not urinate after four hours. I went back to emergency. The inevitable UTI was detected with two bacteria. A new catheter was placed. Antibiotics given must have wreaked some havoc on my kidneys because my skin was itching profusely after about three days of a seven-day treatment (Cefuroxime 500m.g. 1 T p.o. Bid 12hrs). This UTI seemed to have been killed off, but another came three weeks after the first one.
On the 19th of December, this month, I had more labs made. Hemograph, they call it, renal function and urinalysis- *all of which were done fasting and with the same antibiotic for a second UTI- with three bacteria incl. staph. The results came back yesterday 24th December. eGFR went up from 55 in August to 75. Creatinine levels dropped from 1.16 to 95 (1.07 mg /dL). Urinalysis indicated protein at 1, which may be normal due to UTI and antibiotics. The ONLY thing they did not test for, was blood glucose. But, the urinalysis detected NO GLUCOSE.

As for diet, I have found a bakery that makes white bread without sugar and salt! I've been mostly on well-rinsed seasoned garbanzo beans with fresh garlic & chopped parsley & red leaf lettuce salads with olive oil only. I buy a bag of little red apples (crab apples?) and sweet purple onions and roast them with thyme and drizzle with olive oil after no salt. I'll add this to other meals as a side. I reserve some of the apples to make homemade apple sauce with cinnamon and clove & a dash of lemon. No sugar necessary if you use a little water and simmer low while covered. Best applesauce I've ever tasted, not to toot my own horn.
The DaVita site as well as this Mayo forum, it's members have been really informative.
I drink at least 3 liters of water, just under a gallon (US). Since another member here offered a genius approach to hydration, protein and simplicity, I started making a homemade vegetable broth with a ball of ground beef in it and a chicken sandwich in the afternoon with roasted chicken tenders- whoever you are: THANK YOU!
I want to "eat for the labs" so with these alterations and daily walking, I hope I can bring the eGFR higher.
I'm a Caucasian male, 59 years old.

@delmar418 Thank you for sharing what has worked for your situation. We all learn from each other here!

It will be interesting to see what happens in the months to come, regarding your eGFR numbers, and I hope you will share with us. Remember it is best to follow trends in our labwork results, not neccesarily a specific set of values. The results can change around based on your general health the day of the pull, your hydration level, which lab will do the analysis, and the different types of equipment used.
Ginger

Hi Ginger, and thank you.

I have my lab tests for various reasons dating back as far as the year 2000. I took note of them and the trends in the area of eGFR specifically, since this is the malady du jour. The decline actually started at the end of the year 2017, which in February of that year, I had taken the direct acting antiviral, HARVONI, to cure chronic hepatitis c. I used to be an ambulance driver. Now I'm a TV actor.
I was diagnosed with HCV Gt: 1a, in 1990. I had remained treatment naive, since the current treatment was barbaric, at best. My hepatologist, told me to wait on treatment, he knew these DAA's were coming down the pipeline. For over 30 years, my lifestyle choices helped me to maintain some good stasis. My eGFR ranges were maintained at above 90 up until the end of 2017, they dropped to 90, then fluctuated between 60 and 80. My glucose also went up and hovered at about 100-110 for about three years post HARVONI -solo treatment 8 weeks.
I found the monograph of this drug from Canada. It's side effects "correlate" and are mentioned adversely in Ph. III clinical trials, kidney function and elevated glucose, respectively.
So, yes, it will be interesting to see if things improve. As it is, the candle burns at both ends with primary and secondary causes, retention damage from the prostate and from the kidneys, tertiary when including the HCV. I cannot conclude that the DAA was causal, since the prostate issue had been happening since 2013. However, inflammatory responses did elevate after HCV eradication.
You, and the people here have made embarking on this journey very helpful for me and I will share my results across the board here as they relate to each category in the Mayo forum.
A giant whopping hug, from me to you.

Thanks so much for sharing this. My doctor told me that B12 shots might help as they nourish the covering of the nerves. I took them for awhile and then started taking the B12 sublingual ( under the tongue) tiny tablets. I wasn’t sure if B12 raised blood pressure so have stopped for awhile til I can try to get a blood pressure med that doesn’t harm my kidneys.
Eirrol

Ginger, thank you very much for the information. As to my diet, I am never sure if I am eating something I should not eat. I have tried to get vegetable protein more and ate lentils but I am told I need to careful of purines. In the animal protein, I eat about 2 ounces at a time of skinless,boneless chicken breast or salmon. My doc and nutritionist see things differently about grains. One says no cereal but corn flakes. The other says cheerios are ok and whole grains are ok and that the kidney does not absorb them but I am thinking that kidney must have to deal with them and is that stressful to the kidneys ?