Date:   1/11/2012 7:40:31 PM ( 12 y ago)
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URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1899095

Many of those of us who suffer from kidney disease are also diabetes patients. I have some diabetes books, one of which says this (within a much longer discussion):

"Once you develop nephrotic syndrom, it is unlikely you can halt the progression to end-stage renal failure, but you can slow the progression. The best way, of course, is to prevent progression to this stage. You can do this by lowering your blood pressure, keeping your blood glucose levels under control (practicing intensive therapy if possible), exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet low in fat, avoiding alcohol and smoking, and seeing your doctor regularly." (From "The Diabetes Problem Solver", pp. 223-224.)

They don't mention going especially easy on protein consumption when they reference "balanced diet" here. That's the main area where I'd want to see more material added.

It's a good idea to limit protein somewhat as you age, since as you age your kidney function normally declines somewhat, and lightening the load on the kidneys might slow the progression toward reduced function. Just how much to limit protein isn't agreed upon by all kidney specialists. But most people on a typical American diet can limit it a lot and still remain within healthy limits in terms of normal nutrition guidelines.

There's a book written by a Johns-Hopkins kidney researcher who believes many patients can arrest their deteriorating kidney function by drastic protein reductions: "Coping with Kidney Disease: A 12-Step Treatment Program to Help You Avoid Dialysis" by Mackensie Waller.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471274232/


It's a book worth reading, with lots of kidney disease information.

There's another book I'd highly recommend, just generally. While the book's title might lead you to believe that it must be filled with simplistic old wives tales' kind of thinking, it's not at all filled with that kind of stuff. It's a great resource! Title: "Solve It With Supplements," by Robert A. Schulman, MD, and Carolyn Dean, MD, ND. The single herbal supplement they recommend as having the potential to "improve" (not cure) kidney function is cordyceps.

I'm pretty sure that it's not realistic to believe that a cure for kidney disease exists in some particular herb or combination of herbs. I merely hope to find some things to potentially slow the disease progress, whether it's in one supplement or several.

Taking a hint from the "Solve It With Supplements" book, I do take cordyceps. It hasn't cured me of kidney disease and thus far I can't say that I can see an effect. But note that the authors of "Solve It With Supplements" didn't lead me to believe that it would "cure" kidney disease, either. If I find anything that I can tell does makes a noticeable difference, I'll post it. (I am trying out lots of things.)

One last thought. Most (all?) of us here are prejudiced against commercial prescriptions. I know that I definitely am, as I have suffered gazillion side effects when I was on gazillion drugs. With my doctor's knowledge, I have taken myself off a bunch of different blood pressure medications for various problems, the last of which was that the more of one particular blood pressure drug I took, the more I had to take: it was _causing_ my blood pressure to rise. Yes, really, to stroke levels. (My blood pressure is better controlled via Mukta Vati, an Indian herb preparation, now.)

But that's just me; the chances of exactly that same thing happening to you are about one in a million. Don't take yourself off standard blood pressure drugs if you have kidney disease or diabetes unless you absolutely must. Well-regarded research just a few years back showed that the blood pressure drugs have a protective effect on preserving kidney function, over and above the clear benefits to the kidneys of their blood pressure lowering functions.

That is, if you have kidney disease, even if you don't have high blood pressure, it's a good idea to take some of the blood pressure drugs of the ACE inhibitor kind, second choice Angiotensin II receptor blocker drugs, or (distant) third choice the half loop diuretic HCTZ. And sure enough, my kidney disease has gotten worse since I took myself off the commercial blood pressure drugs over a year ago (except for HCTZ).

The gist of what I want to say: if you have protein in your urine, I'd urge you to see a kidney specialist and take their advice. Try some supplements as something extra on your own under well-informed conditions (read a lot), trying to stick with those supplements that have few or no known negative side effects. Under those conditions, you might find something that might help some and wouldn't likely hurt you.

My orientation:
1) If you - you personally, not talking about your internet reading or someone you know or heard about - are a kidney patient and discover something that helps you some, please do post about your experiences. There are lots of us who might like to try it, whatever it is.
2) Your reading is another matter, but could also be valuable to the extent (and really only to the extent) that it cites actual scientifically valid research in support of the benefits of a particular herb or supplement for a particular health condition.
3) There is nothing awful about posting one's own theories, or theories that one has read, but personally I'm not likely to read the details because I don't make my health decisions based on someone else's theories. That goes triple for someone else's theories posted/reposted over the internet. That the poster can show a webpage for where they got the idea doesn't make the idea valid. Anyone can make a webpage and make whatever claims they might wish on that webpage.
4) Well-known and accepted medical knowledge does not have to be scientifically sourced at all. (Example: High blood pressure is hard on the kidneys and contributes to kidney disease.)

If a post consists of a mixture of #2 and #3 above, well, the more it leans toward #3, the more the whole post is weakend, to my mind. If I read a whole post with a mixture like that, I'll only pay attention to items falling within the constraints applicable to #2. But if the post leans heavily on orientation #3, at some point I begin to question the post generally and I'll quit reading it.

Kidney disease is like lots of things in life. Life is just too complicated; it's so tempting to seek simple solutions in every area, including health. It's understandable to look for simplicities and in some areas it causes no real harm to oversimplify. Unfortunately the more upset and traumatized you are by your disease (or that of a loved one), the more you really do want or need to find simple answers.

Alas, with kidney disease, simple answers do not exist, but the potential for great harm with misinformation on the internet does exist. Just because doctors' kidney patients do eventually die of kidney disease, DON'T ASSUME THAT YOUR DOCTOR DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING.

Best wishes,
Mary





 

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