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CKD stage 3 diet
Hello! My husband was diagnosed with CKD stage 3 about 6 weeks ago. I have lists of sodium and potassium values for most common foods, also got some renal diet cookbooks from the library, as well as from Amazon, and do a lot of checking out recipes online.
I tried to find a renal dietician, but there isn't one. Physician(s) nor hospital outpatient services have anyone to recommend, either. Of course, once you progress to the dialysis stage, there's a personal dietician available. But not before, at least here.
So: muddling through. Most, if not all recipes I''ve seen are heavy on boiling stuff, especially vegetables. I get that for carrots, beans, etc., but I've yet to find a reason why I shouldn't roast them in the oven, with olive oil, garlic, etc. Does the cooking method really make a difference?
Also: almost every recipe for CKD diet is super low in calories. Great for someone overweight, but with a BMI of 21.6 my husband does not need to lose weight. But instead of bulking up with healthy vegetables I'm stuck with increasing carbs (rice, pasta), since vegetables contain quite a lot of potassium.
Lastly: leaching potassium out of potatoes: online recommendation is small pieces, lots of warm water, rinse and replace frequently, room temperature. Specially bought cook book by renal dietician says cold water, fridge, overnight (which internet says is the least effective method). Any comment? This is for potatoes destined to be roasted, not mashed.
Sorry to carry on, but there's so much conflicting information going on. Perhaps someone who has dealt with this for a while has some hints or advice.
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Yes, after roughly 18 months of self-taught renal diet cooking it becomes routine. I still have the scale out and use it most days, same with measuring cups etc. Over time I have searched for and found options for some prepared foods (e.g. tortellini, plain thin-crust cheese pizza, for example, at Lidl) that stay within the allowed sodium and potassium perimeters. I have always cooked from scratch, the few canned ingredients like beans or tomatoes are off the menu anyway, so fresh or frozen veggies, lots of suitable fruit, small servings of lean meat or salmon 2 - 3 times / week, and so on.
Husband's eGfr even went up slightly between the last 6 months interval checks, and holding steady. But the initial frustration regarding guidelines was quite real. And so is the almost total ban of potatoes!!!
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2 Reactions@dpeters1219 I want to extend my welcome to you as well as @gingerw. She posted some good links that should provide some information about renal nutrition.
I noticed you mentioned having a continual glucose monitor and that you used to have an insulin pump. So I am guessing that your CKD is due to diabetes. Mine is too. So you have to concern yourself with the requirements of diet for diabetics as well as renal nutrition. Early on in my health journey I was blessed to find a dietician who was also diabetic and she understood the importance of proper renal nutrition. Do you have any kind of dietician who would be willing to help design a meal plan for diabetes and CKD?
My own plan involves counting carbs to determine the mealtime insulin bolus.I have an insulin: carb ratio. I avoid salt. I try to limit fat especially saturated and trans fat. I limit fats that increase LDL and try to use the “good” fats that increase HDL (things like olive oil). Be careful of low fat dairy products. Because sometimes salt &/or sugar is added to improve the flavor. This also happens a lot with condiments like salad dressings. For protein I usually go with poultry, fish, a little pork and eggs. Red meat is particularly hard on kidneys so avoid that. There is good protein in dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. I especially like Greek yogurt for breakfast. When you have kidney labs done they often include albumin or urine albumin, calcium, oxalates, phosphorus, potassium in addition to the BUN, creatinine and eGFR calculation. My nephrologist monitors these and tells me to “eat for the labs”. What he means by that is that if the things that he measures are out of range changes in diet can help improve those numbers. A good example is potassium. People with CKD often have high potassium and need to avoid foods that have a lot of potassium such as potatoes and bananas. Those links that @gingerw provided may have lists of the foods that are commonly a problem for folks with CKD.
Last but not least you mentioned having troubles affording the specialists and the insulin pump supplies. Is there a social worker affiliated with your healthcare system? This person has access to programs and resources you may be eligible for that could help. Ask at the billing department. They should be able to point you in the right direction. I have had to go this route for some of my meds, supplies and treatments.
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3 ReactionsThank you for the information. There is no renal dietitian in our area. I have tried connecting with ones that do zoom meeting or phone visits but to no avail. My labs all came back with improvement except now my sodium is below range. My potassium went up, but I'm adjusting that. My a1c is 6.2 but my eye specialist says that because my vision starts going dark below 130, I'm not sure i can get any lower. I work and am lucky enough to work from home and so with vision issues I stopped driving. After 40 years of struggling, I got out of a bad marriage and am dating the love of my life. I have an autistic man/child that I support as well and only money that comes in from my job. There is no renal dietitian in outer area and I have tried to set up telephone meetings to no avail and since my labs came back improved i will just keep doing what I'm doing. Except now my sodium is too low. Everything else doing better. I have 2 people I can depend on no matter what my son, who is autistic and still lives with me with no monetary support and the love of my life, who after 40 years we found our way back to each other.
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1 ReactionI completely understand, my 3 biggest items I miss biscuits and gravy, potatoes of any kind and a nice steak and sweet potato from Texas Roadhouse was our celebration place to go, not often, but birthdays or job promotions, anniversary things like that. I miss those.
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1 ReactionGinger, thank you, your information will be a huge help and I am excited to explore that website. They say depression is a major concern of this disease, I think the depression is from lack of resources. Last weekend I got really down because our company gives everyone their choice of a ham, turkey or vegan meal from honey baked hams The holidays have always been a joyous occasion at our house and I look forward to making special dishes for family. I'm a good cook and everyone looks forward to my stuff every year. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW?!!! We'll, my finance says no biggie honey, you pack your lunch and provide the meat from the company and we will just go to mom's. She was like yeah, that works. So I think this depression they warn about depends on your support.
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2 ReactionsHi! How long have you had ckd? It definitely is a process but sounds like you are doing wonderful on the food you eat.
@dpeters1219 It is indeed difficult to deal with any restrictive diet.
What I will say next may fly in the face of common sense, and may get some raised eyebrows. It's okay to have a little bit [and I mean little!] of those foods we have to cut back on, once in a while, at a holiday or special occasion. Watch yourself carefully so that you don't overdo that treat. And go right back onto the correct meal plan for you. If you are having a family meal, or going to a relative's place, eat your meal ahead of time, so you're full. Treat yourself to a couple forkfuls of the potatoes, or roast, or whatever. Then, that's enough.
You know you will get right back to eating correctly. But having that little treat will "make your day" and let you feel that you are part of the gathering. I have done this method before, and it works!
Ginger
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2 ReactionsGinger, you just made me tear up. My family said, just pack your lunch and come anyway. We just want to enjoy your company. And, lol I was told, I'll take a bite and kiss you ok? Lol, he always says silly stuff like that. I have been terrified to even taste anything. I make him a chocolate éclair cake ever year for his birthday and use sugarfree pudding and almond milk in it this year. I was even afraid to taste it to make sure it was good. This was the first year I change the ingredients like that and didn't tell anyone. He said it was delicious. I also used pillsbury sugar free chocolate icing so I could have had a small piece and I would have been fine.
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1 Reaction@dpeters1219 Experimenting with your cooking can be a fun project to do together! You never know, you might like your revised version better. I have honestly found that allowing myself that little treat once in awhile lets me know that I really do like myself, and I really do want to make this diet plan work. It's a little reward for all the hard stuff that we have to go through.
So happy to hear that the cake you made was a big hit, it sounds delicious!
Ginger
It is soooooooo easy and he loves it everyone does
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