Kidney function update

[Cynthia]

So, as my GFR dropped from 55-43 in one month my GP was quite concerned and ask me to test again. Originally I thought maybe I was really dehydrated. So I hydrated really well, didn’t eat any meat or anything salty the day of the draw, and still only managed to raise my GFR to 47.
Needless to say, with only one kidney, this is quite distressing. What did I do different to cause such a decline so quickly? And how do I stop it? So I started searching on the internet and I think I found my answer.
So when I started the new diet, eating really bland and over cooked veg, the only spice I was using was salt...and a lot of it. And I was eating sausages for breakfast, which are very salty too. Now I knew that people with CKD have been advised to watch their salt intake, but I always thought it was because it made for high blood pressure, and that high blood pressure put a strain on the kidneys. I have always had perfect BP so figured I did not have to worry about salt. NOT TRUE!
Now I find that too much salt all by itself causes harm to the kidneys. So a learning experience, the hard way. Will be watching the salt intake now and retest in a few months. The good news is, my digestion has improved leaps and bounds in this last month and a half so I am pretty thrilled with that

[brandy]

Good news you went from 43 to 47

Sounds good to limit the salt. I have full faith it will be up on next draw.

[Cynthia]

Thanks Brandy!

Funny how you compensate hard one way and then something else gets knocked off balance. I have no doubt that I can turn this around and will have a better result in a few months.
Now that I am feeling so much better I feel like I can add in a few more flavours and lay off so much salt. Phew.

[tex]

Salt is a desiccant (it attracts/extracts water). I used to do my own taxidermy work, and if I was out in the boondocks and had a hide or cape that I wanted to preserve (with no refrigeration available), I simply applied a thick coat of salt to the flesh side of the hide or cape, rubbed it in, rolled it up, and stored it in the shade. Over a few days, the salt will draw out all of the moisture and dry and preserve the hide or cape.

It's well known that you can easily kill a pig/hog by feeding it salty feed. If the animal doesn't have free access to enough water soon enough, and for an extended period, it will die of salt poisoning. If water is freely available though, pigs can tolerate a lot of salt. There are old research articles available that verify this. Humans and pigs both have monogastric digestive systems that are so similar that most of the parts are interchangeable.

The point of all this is, when ingesting salt, water is vital. I hope that this sheds a little light on the salt issue.

That's great news on your digestive improvements.

Tex

[Cynthia]

Thanks Tex,

I can tell you I am feeling a bit like a dried out hog right now! For a smart girl I can sometimes do some really dumb things. I know what you mean about preserving with salt tho. In Newfoundland I saw plenty of salted cod drying on the flakes, so no surprise it does the same thing in the human body. I guess it really is everything in moderation, I will be sure to report back when my numbers come up, after I have stopped my bad salt lick habit