Nutrition and diet for kidney disease: Can what we eat help our kidneys?

@bobrichter Hi! I' Michelle. My doctor referred me to a nephrologist around five years ago. He explained that now I am almost stage 3 right now.  He has me on 3 different meds (monster pills) in order to reduce phosphorus and other things that are bad for the kidneys I guess. He also gave me a photocopy list of things to avoid. Certain beans and other veggies, beef, pork etc... I do the best I can combining it with my Crohn's disease diet and lactose intolerance. I also am low-sugar too.

One side blessing of following all these recommendations has been that my doctor has told me that my cholesterol has dropped to that of a teenagers!

@MichelleStack I have just been diagnosed stage 3b. I also have Crohn’s Disease. I also have kidney stones, which according to my gastroenterologist are more prevalent in CD patients. I will see a nephrologist in a couple weeks to hopefully guide me through keeping my kidneys from slipping more. Best of luck to you.

@DIANAM Good luck with the stones. My nephrologist told me he recommended blasting any stone over .9 size because if they get bigger they are harder to pass or remove. Also I can tell you that lithotripsy gave me a large bruise and that it was uncomfortable. I guess it was less painful than having surgery though. 

Interestingly after going over my long med list he told me that Topamax was making me grow stones! Ever since I switched out to other ways of treating migraines- no more stones!

@MichelleStack I am told my stones are small, but I apparently have several. I have passed 4, and altho somewhat painful, they are passing.  Crohn’s Disease make me prone to calcium oxalate stones. It also can cause kidney disease..  I wish I had been told this years ago, I could have changed my diet and possibly helped my kidneys.  Also, it seems doctors aren’t concerned about stage 3 kidney disease.  I had to insist on seeing a nephrologist when my eGFR went from 50 to45.  

Thank you all for sharing the info, I was diagnosed at the end of 2020 with stage 3 CKD so I'm ready and open to any and all information. @DIANAM I had a similar experience, but doctor didn't seem to be that worried either and didn't really give me much information, so I've been on a hunt to learn more on my own.