Any Suggestions on Improving Kidney Function

[SampsonandDelilah]

I bought the Doctor's Best NAC from some hippy store Sprouts. It's 600mg per tablet. I took one already.

That’s where I bought mine as well. I like sprouts…or poor mans Whole Foods

My doc also said cut down on the protein laden diet…I didn’t.

Damaged muscle tissue is also excreted through the kidneys. When you’re constantly building up and breaking down muscle tissue like bodybuilding, I’m convinced it skews the labs. You have a constant supply of myoglobin in your blood that is being filtered through the kidneys. Ask your provider their opinion.

Also ask about a condition called Rhabdomyolysis. Might be worth having that conversation with your doctor as well

[Honkey_Kong]

That’s where I bought mine as well. I like sprouts…or poor mans Whole Foods

My doc also said cut down on the protein laden diet…I didn’t.

Damaged muscle tissue is also excreted through the kidneys. When you’re constantly building up and breaking down muscle tissue like bodybuilding, I’m convinced it skews the labs. You have a constant supply of myoglobin in your blood that is being filtered through the kidneys. Ask your provider their opinion.

Also ask about a condition called Rhabdomyolysis. Might be worth having that conversation with your doctor as well

I'm going to ask him about Rhabdomyolysis on the 5th, when I have my next appointment. On the 23rd of this month, I'm having a doppler ultrasound on my kidney. So after that, I'll have a better understanding of the condition it's in.

I don't know about the other guys on here, but I'm not addicted to sweets at all. I'm addicted to meats. I don't really like chips or sugary shit. My idea of snacking is pork rinds or beef jerky. I like chicken breasts, pork chops and big juicy steaks. I can't really start my day without my eggs and bacon. For me, it'd be easier to cut out carbs than protein.

[DinAZ]

I'm going to ask him about Rhabdomyolysis on the 5th, when I have my next appointment. On the 23rd of this month, I'm having a doppler ultrasound on my kidney. So after that, I'll have a better understanding of the condition it's in.

I don't know about the other guys on here, but I'm not addicted to sweets at all. I'm addicted to meats. I don't really like chips or sugary shit. My idea of snacking is pork rinds or beef jerky. I like chicken breasts, pork chops and big juicy steaks. I can't really start my day without my eggs and bacon. For me, it'd be easier to cut out carbs than protein.

yeah I know what you mean. I used to like sweets but since I haven't been eating them for months I no longer crave them at all and it is easier to not eat them. Yesterday I went out for lunch and had my biggest "cheat" meal in months: a big birria (beef) burrito with sauce cheese, sour cream, guacamole. I have been trying to eat 5-6 times a day but small, and this was like 1400 glorious calories all in 1 hour. If I am going to treat myself I'd much rather have a big cheeseburger or burrito than ice cream or sweets at this point.

[wango]

yeah I know what you mean. I used to like sweets but since I haven't been eating them for months I no longer crave them at all and it is easier to not eat them. Yesterday I went out for lunch and had my biggest "cheat" meal in months: a big birria (beef) burrito with sauce cheese, sour cream, guacamole. I have been trying to eat 5-6 times a day but small, and this was like 1400 glorious calories all in 1 hour. If I am going to treat myself I'd much rather have a big cheeseburger or burrito than ice cream or sweets at this point.

Yup, same here. Cheating is a cheeseburger or a double cheese, thin crust pizza. Like HK, love beef jerky (and salmon jerky). Trying to move away from pork, but can’t resist bacon with my eggs.

Trying to drink a sh*t-load more water to keep my urine clearer.

[SampsonandDelilah]

Cheat meals? Shit, bulking….

2 double cheeseburgers for a PWO snack

Lean and mean baby lol

[charger69]

There goes Wango starting trouble!!!
I have been on the longest pre competition cycle ever. They cancel or change dates. No cheat meals allowed here.
I only want a hamburger when I can’t.
Wango- I’ll be out your way on Labor Day at the Venice Beach competition. Just look for the smallest guy. That’ll be me! LOL


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[wango]

There goes Wango starting trouble!!!
I have been on the longest pre competition cycle ever. They cancel or change dates. No cheat meals allowed here.
I only want a hamburger when I can’t.
Wango- I’ll be out your way on Labor Day at the Venice Beach competition. Just look for the smallest guy. That’ll be me! LOL


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Well, here you go Charger. Certainly nothing wrong with a protein style burger, lol. Pretty ugly pic, cause damn those things are good. Man, maybe they’ll have Venice cleaned up by then. The homeless (lots!) took it over & right now the city is trying to clear them out. The pictures that we see in the paper are not pretty.

[Honkey_Kong]

Well, here you go Charger. Certainly nothing wrong with a protein style burger, lol. Pretty ugly pic, cause damn those things are good. Man, maybe they’ll have Venice cleaned up by then. The homeless (lots!) took it over & right now the city is trying to clear them out. The pictures that we see in the paper are not pretty.

I'd rather just eat the patties and cheese with a knife and fork than eat that lettuce. And they're never going to clean up Venice. You need a place to put those bums and that is going to cost a lot of money.

I'm hoping that after my ultrasound on the 26th, I'll get a clean bill of health. I want to blast this fall or winter and I want to not have to worry about what I'm eating.

[SampsonandDelilah]

The ultrasound will be all you need and it’s quick and easy. Did they test for hepatitis? They did for me and it’s quick and easy too…just have them rule out everything.

Put down the pipe Charger…you’re a fucking monster and what we all aspire to be!

And no way Venice is clean by then…or ever for that matter. Lol

[Honkey_Kong]

The ultrasound will be all you need and it’s quick and easy. Did they test for hepatitis? They did for me and it’s quick and easy too…just have them rule out everything.

Put down the pipe Charger…you’re a fucking monster and what we all aspire to be!

And no way Venice is clean by then…or ever for that matter. Lol

They tested for hepatitis and lupus and I was negative for both. They're doing I guess a "doppler" ultrasound.

[SampsonandDelilah]

Exactly what they did for me. They’ll check for lesions, scarring, enlargement. Etc…

How does your liver look?

Legitimately sounds like the exact same thing I went through last year. In the end it was all inconclusive (the ultrasound was clean as a whistle) and I was deemed as being just fine. If I remember correctly they called it nothing to worried about, just “annoying”. Just a lot of super high creatinine levels

Your labs were pretty close to mine too brother…just sharing to give some peace of mind.

I stand by the fact that you are eating a diet high in protein and constantly shredding up your muscles and rebuilding them, that process is excreted through the kidneys.

I’ll he interested in hearing what they say and also if the NAC helps you as it did me and if they have you repeat bloodwork

I may have missed it, but are you just running TRT? Or anything at all?

My money is on you HK

[Honkey_Kong]

Exactly what they did for me. They’ll check for lesions, scarring, enlargement. Etc…

How does your liver look?

Legitimately sounds like the exact same thing I went through last year. In the end it was all inconclusive (the ultrasound was clean as a whistle) and I was deemed as being just fine. If I remember correctly they called it nothing to worried about, just “annoying”. Just a lot of super high creatinine levels

Your labs were pretty close to mine too brother…just sharing to give some peace of mind.

I stand by the fact that you are eating a diet high in protein and constantly shredding up your muscles and rebuilding them, that process is excreted through the kidneys.

I’ll he interested in hearing what they say and also if the NAC helps you as it did me and if they have you repeat bloodwork

I may have missed it, but are you just running TRT? Or anything at all?

My money is on you HK

As far as my liver tests went in the bloodwork, the levels for all of them were within the reference range every time I was tested except for the ALK PHOS test. That one was slightly elevated 2 of the last three times I had it tested:

136 units/L (High)
Date:May 13, 2021 10:10 a.m. PDT
Reference Range:36-130

111 units/L
Date:Apr 12, 2021 09:58 a.m. PDT
Reference Range:36-130

133 units/L (High)
Date:Mar 16, 2021 09:04 a.m. PDT
Reference Range:36-130

So I think my liver is alright.

I'm hoping that it's just a high protein diet and lifting in the gym that is causing the high creatinine levels and the high protein in the urine. I had a kidney removed in 2001 after a car wreck, so I'm being more cautious about the condition of my remaining one. You know when I was younger, I didn't care about my health. I didn't even run bloodwork for cycles until I was in my 30's. And I hope kids will see these sorts of threads and think a little bit about controlling their blood pressure and RBC during their cycles. Getting bloodwork done. Time catches up with us all and we're not invincible.

I'm done ranting hahaa.

I'm on TRT 150mg of test E a week and I added to it 100mg of deca a week (for my joints). You don't get as much joint relief running a low dose like this as you would if you were running cycle doses, but it makes life a lot easier to live with arthritis.

Thanks for betting on me!!!

[wango]

I'd rather just eat the patties and cheese with a knife and fork than eat that lettuce. And they're never going to clean up Venice. You need a place to put those bums and that is going to cost a lot of money.

I'm hoping that after my ultrasound on the 26th, I'll get a clean bill of health. I want to blast this fall or winter and I want to not have to worry about what I'm eating.

Wow, utensils for a burger, a little too fancy for my taste, lol. Agree about Venice, which is why I haven’t been there in 30 years. However the current situation there now is a special type of cluster-f**k. Hopefully it will be a little better for Charger’s show.

Good luck with the kidney situation.

[charger69]

Prior to the ultrasound for me, they did a 24 hour urine sample. Did they do that for you?


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[SampsonandDelilah]

Didn’t know you were down to one…I’d be extremely conscientious too. Fingers crossed brother and agree with everything you said regarding keeping up with our health.

Godspeed and good vibes

[Honkey_Kong]

Prior to the ultrasound for me, they did a 24 hour urine sample. Did they do that for you?


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Yeah the results were on page one at the bottom.

[Honkey_Kong]

Wow, utensils for a burger, a little too fancy for my taste, lol. Agree about Venice, which is why I haven’t been there in 30 years. However the current situation there now is a special type of cluster-f**k. Hopefully it will be a little better for Charger’s show.

Good luck with the kidney situation.

I'm sure they'll tell those bums to GTFO of there for the duration of Charger's show. But they'll be back afterwards. They're like roaches.

And thanks.

[Honkey_Kong]

Didn’t know you were down to one…I’d be extremely conscientious too. Fingers crossed brother and agree with everything you said regarding keeping up with our health.

Godspeed and good vibes

Thanks again. It is comforting to hear from others that this is likely nothing.

[Honkey_Kong]

Ok I got the results of my ultrasound in. I don't know if it was my the amount of muscle I have that was throwing off my eGFR and protein collections through blood and urine analysis or if it was the NAC and astralagus I've been taking but...





So as far as I know, my kidney is healthy. Thanks everybody who gave me suggestions!

[almostgone]

That's great, H_K!!! They were constantly pulling labs while I was in for the C spine surgery and my eGFR, BUN, and creatinine were all improved and end range. I'll be pulling more panels in a few weeks.

Astragalus seems to be the responsible party in my case.


Again, that's really great news, man!!!

[SampsonandDelilah]

Awesome news brother, congrats HK!!

[SampsonandDelilah]

On my ultrasound, they called me “unremarkable”. Assholes…lol

[Cuz]

Great news bro!

[DinAZ]

Honkey do you think the astragalus helps? I’m taking NAC and I can tell it helps. I guess you can’t really tell which is helping or likely both.

My kidney function has been OK recently but I’m kind of paranoid about it because I had rhabdo before.

I might have to add it to my supplements to try it. Congrats on the improvement!

[wango]

Been meaning to post the obvious. Watch the blood sugar levels cause you sure don’t want to be slipping towards diabetes, particularly since you are down to one. Congrats on the ultrasound!

[Honkey_Kong]

That's great, H_K!!! They were constantly pulling labs while I was in for the C spine surgery and my eGFR, BUN, and creatinine were all improved and end range. I'll be pulling more panels in a few weeks.

Astragalus seems to be the responsible party in my case.


Again, that's really great news, man!!!

Yeah,I really didn't have much confidence that it would do anything. You know the doctors don't have much they can do other than treat the high BP and slow the progression. So there was nothing to lose by giving it a shot. I wss pleasantly surprised.

Honkey do you think the astragalus helps? I’m taking NAC and I can tell it helps. I guess you can’t really tell which is helping or likely both.

My kidney function has been OK recently but I’m kind of paranoid about it because I had rhabdo before.

I might have to add it to my supplements to try it. Congrats on the improvement!

Yeah I think I'm going to take this stuff for the rest of my life.

Mind you that my low egfr and urine protein levels might just be because I lift weights, eat a lot of protein and have more muscle mass than most people my age. That might have skewed the results

[almostgone]

Ok, I pulled a CBC and CMP yesterday. Back in May my eGFR was in the 38-41.4 range.

Yesterday, (9/3), my eGFR was 66.6 ( reference= >59).

Yesterday, (9/3), my BUN was 19 ( reference range is 6-23, on 5/24 this was 31 mg/dL).

Yesterday, (9/3), my creatinine was 1.2. (reference range is .7 - 1.3, on 5/24 this was 1.8 mg/dL).



So, in my case at least, astragalus has made some major improvements.

[almostgone]

I'll have to give Dante the credit for telling people about this, but the article below was very impressive to me.

https://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6...474-9/fulltext

[Honkey_Kong]

I'll have to give Dante the credit for telling people about this, but the article below was very impressive to me.

https://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6...474-9/fulltext

Yeah, more people need to hear about this. Listening to the nephrologists and GPs tell you there's nothing you can do to possible reverse this and all you can do is manage the progression is defeating. There is something we can do, it has worked miracles on many of us and it's not expensive at all.

I don't like using anecdotal evidence, but there are enough of us who have had great results from astragalus and NAC that there has to be something to it. Pharmaceutical companies are never going to finance large-scale clinical testing on it, since there's no way for them to exclusively make money on it.

But yeah, people need to know that CKD isn't necessarily a death sentence.

[almostgone]

Yeah, more people need to hear about this. Listening to the nephrologists and GPs tell you there's nothing you can do to possible reverse this and all you can do is manage the progression is defeating. There is something we can do, it has worked miracles on many of us and it's not expensive at all.

I don't like using anecdotal evidence, but there are enough of us who have had great results from astragalus and NAC that there has to be something to it. Pharmaceutical companies are never going to finance large-scale clinical testing on it, since there's no way for them to exclusively make money on it.

But yeah, people need to know that CKD isn't necessarily a death sentence.

Absolutely! If I had known about astragalus back when my Mom was alive and started the downward spiral to renal failure, I'm sure she would have loved the chance to perhaps avoid dialysis, etc.

[BuzzardMarinePumper]

I have a thread in the over 40 section and a few members have mentioned kidney issues . One thing I did find with my low kidney readings of around 49 GFR's and elevated Creatine production in my body . I did find that excessive use of scripted prescription strength Ibuprophen by myself as a pain med to avoid opiates was a huge reason for my high Creatine levels , or at least it causes the GFR's to show high creatine levels ....... I also had low blood count at the same time and what I was told to be severely anemic . This was due to internal bleeding that I did not even notice due to post coma . I received 2 units of iron and I have more energy to overcome the effects of post coma ..... still issues with shortness of breath and been in the gym 2 days this week . Borderline depressing as in questioning if I will ever be like I was a year ago ? Coma in Nov knocked me on my butt and had to learn to walk and even feed myself again . lost 52lbs in 2 weeks all kinds of issues now just filtering through the ones I have control over .

[Honkey_Kong]

I have a thread in the over 40 section and a few members have mentioned kidney issues . One thing I did find with my low kidney readings of around 49 GFR's and elevated Creatine production in my body . I did find that excessive use of scripted prescription strength Ibuprophen by myself as a pain med to avoid opiates was a huge reason for my high Creatine levels , or at least it causes the GFR's to show high creatine levels ....... I also had low blood count at the same time and what I was told to be severely anemic . This was due to internal bleeding that I did not even notice due to post coma . I received 2 units of iron and I have more energy to overcome the effects of post coma ..... still issues with shortness of breath and been in the gym 2 days this week . Borderline depressing as in questioning if I will ever be like I was a year ago ? Coma in Nov knocked me on my butt and had to learn to walk and even feed myself again . lost 52lbs in 2 weeks all kinds of issues now just filtering through the ones I have control over .

Dude, give astragalus and NAC a try. There are enough of us with anecdotes of miracle improvements that it's worth the try. It's cheap too.

[Honkey_Kong]

Absolutely! If I had known about astragalus back when my Mom was alive and started the downward spiral to renal failure, I'm sure she would have loved the chance to perhaps avoid dialysis, etc.

I'm really pissed at the medical community as a whole. They've pulled the whole "there's nothing we can do except control BP" shit for decades and decades, while hiding from people something they at the very least knew had potential to help a lot of people and extend a lot of lives. They should've heavily studied this supplement and they not just refused to, but they would go so far as to attempt to deter people from taking it who knew about it.

Thank God for people discussing these things on internet message boards. Otherwise, I'd never have even heard of it.

[lovbyts]

I agree. I just dont remember the name. I did a lot of research before buying. I dont trust 99% of the sups out there.

Sometimes I really think I might have early alzheimer's because of all the things I forget that are so simple. NAC is exactly what I was trying to remember and I have taken it off and on for years. I do have 2 shelves full of different sups though. lol

Speaking of forgetting I really had to LOL a while back because I was researching something in the Lab section and read a somewhat lengthy explanation of what I was looking for but clear and exactly what I wanted. Then I scrolled back to the top and saw I had written it about 10 years ago.

[Test Monsterone]

I’ve been reading up online but can’t find a straight answer… can the eGFR fluctuate significantly? During my little appendicitis situation over the weekend they took my bloods and I checked the app and saw my egfr was 64 and about 8 years ago it was 115. My creatinine is at the top range at 1.4 and was the same a few months ago when I had it tested.

[almostgone]

I’ve been reading up online but can’t find a straight answer… can the eGFR fluctuate significantly? During my little appendicitis situation over the weekend they took my bloods and I checked the app and saw my egfr was 64 and about 8 years ago it was 115. My creatinine is at the top range at 1.4 and was the same a few months ago when I had it tested.

Yes sir. I've found it best to pull consecutive labs monthly for several months to get a better picture. Mine keeps flip flopping around....2 out of 3 labs will be good and then I'll get one significantly lower.
Better than it was before I started astragalus, but lower. Having a kidney ultrasound done next week.

[Test Monsterone]

Yes sir. I've found it best to pull consecutive labs monthly for several months to get a better picture. Mine keeps flip flopping around....2 out of 3 labs will be good and then I'll get one significantly lower.
Better than it was before I started astragalus, but lower. Having a kidney ultrasound done next week.

Ok, thanks AG. I checked and right before starting “Trt” my egfr was like 83, then 75, 65 after each cycle. Seems like the steroids haven’t helped. I’ve also had high bp pretty much my whole life. Was diagnosed at 19, but I’m sure it was there since childhood but nobody thought to check.

[Honkey_Kong]

Ok, thanks AG. I checked and right before starting “Trt” my egfr was like 83, then 75, 65 after each cycle. Seems like the steroids haven’t helped. I’ve also had high bp pretty much my whole life. Was diagnosed at 19, but I’m sure it was there since childhood but nobody thought to check.

The high BP isn't helping you out, but the eGFR really isn't a good measuring stick for people who train. It's designed for the average man and doesn't take in to account the amount of muscle you have or your sheer size. Go get an ultrasound or CT scan done along with a urine analysis.

[almostgone]

Well, I had my kidney ultrasound a couple of weeks ago. My labs I had drawn were all good, but the ultrasound shoes I have cysts on my kidneys, so that may explain why my values have been inconsistent.

[Honkey_Kong]

Well, I had my kidney ultrasound a couple of weeks ago. My labs I had drawn were all good, but the ultrasound shoes I have cysts on my kidneys, so that may explain why my values have been inconsistent.

Do they have any plans of action for the cysts?