There was a discussion of ckd phase 3 in the general health forum, but I want to start a separate forum for this subject. Hope that is okay.

I just learned that I am in phase 3. My PCP did not bother to tell me this but I asked for a copy of my recent labs and the information was there. I asked my pcp and he said I did not need a specialist but I got referred to one anyway.
I saw him yesterday and he was great. He spent a lot of time asking questions and answering my questions. His take on the LCHF is that if you have established CKD then high protein makes the kidneys work harder. He said "when you go back to a more normal diet it will help slow down the decline in kidney function. He did not say that I should stop eating this way, and he agreed that losing 30 pounds has done me a lot of good.
He also said that I should cut back on my blood pressure meds as the latest research shows that levels of blood pressure for folks my age (72) can be a little higher than previously thought. He thought 130/75 was perfect. That frustrated the heck out of me because I have spent years trying to get it lower.

I am looking for others with this issue to discuss eating lower protein and still maintaining LCHF.

Did you follow up with "What if I don't go back." I'm assuming that "more normal" means high carb.

I said "I can never go back to the other way of eating because if I did I would gain all my weight back. He left it at that.

Has your CKD progressed, or is this the first you've heard about it?

I remember that I had to give my kitty a phosphorus binder and I remember reading that calcium is a phosphorus binder as well as some form of aluminum... something. Anyway, I did use calcium on his food at one point. I think it was bone meal.

Article: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijn/2012/597605/ -- these are dialysis patients.

Did he ask you how much protein you are actually eating or did he assume because you are eating Low Carb that you are eating High Protein? Did he give you a recommendation of HOW MUCH protein you should limit yourself to? I've done a bit of casual research in this area and have found that not everyone agrees with lowering protein. I think it is the Canadian guidelines that question if lowering protein actually affects outcome.

Did he seem to think the meds for high blood pressure were a possible cause of the kidney disease?

I've seen studies and papers finding lowering protein wasn't helpful and could be detrimental. Maybe I can find them again.

What was the cause of your CKD? High BP or diabetes? Both?

Thanks for your answers Liz and Nancy.
Interesting story (to me). About 6 years ago my PCP seemed really concerned about my creatinine. He had me get it rechecked several times and concluded that it was the prescription NSAIID I was taking. (pyroxicam), I quit taking it and he raised the dose of my blood pressure med and added a diuretic. My creatinine leveled off. Fast forward to May, I got blood work done before a procedure at the local hospital and noticed my cratinine was still high but didn't do anything about it. I didn't think too much about it. So in December I had my annual tests and asked for a copy from my PCP. The doc who had seemed concerned moved away and now I have a different PCP who doesn't seem to get concerned about anything. I read my results and noticed that it mentioned my glomular filtration rate as very low and that it indicated level 3 kidney disease. I called my pcp back and he said well that Glomular filtration rate is normal when you have CKD. I said that is the first that anybody told me that I have that. He said well that is the reason he kept me on the ace inhibitor and diuretic was to treat the ckd. I asked him should I see a specialist and he said no. I did not take that for an answer and asked for a referral to a specialist at the University of Iowa clinics. So no I did not know that I had it.

He could not say for certain why I have it and it is progressing rather rapidly. he showed me a graph from 2012 to today, if the rate continues like that I could be in kidney failure in two years. he said I was right to come to see him.

I am not diabetic and my blood pressure is low normal. (thanks to my having lost 30 pounds.) He said there is no clear reason for the progression, it is possible that the NSAIID usage started it and perhaps high blood pressure. I have been taking generic prilosec for about 6 months because 3 doctors told me it was okay, although I knew it was not. I quit that after my reflux problem got a lot better with weight loss. He thinks that may be the reason for the steep drop in the last 6 months. I take tylenol daily for my arthritis but have cut way back on that recently. I took the max dosage of tylenol for about a year before and after I had a big back surgery. He said that may be an issue too. So I will have to learn to live with the pain and maybe get over it. I wish I had realized that sooner.

I did send him an email this morning telling him that my average intake of protein over the last 2 months is 70 grams and asking what he thinks would be a "normal" amount.

I really liked this doctor, he spent so much time with me. I will just have to forgive his remark about the "normal" diet.

Tylenol is hard on the liver, hadn't heard about it being an issue for kidneys. Are NSAIDs like naprosyn (aleve) had on the kidneys? I take it daily myself. Bad arthritis in my back. I would love nothing more than getting off it. :\

Hmm... guess they can cause kidney damage.
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/painMeds_Analgesics

Okay, gotta get off those suckers.

I took pyroxicam for a few years and that was the beginning of my high creatinine. I quit those and do not take any NSAIDS. I have taken a lot of tylenol always being careful to stay below 4000 and 3000 when it was decided that 3000 mg/day might be better. I had a big back surgery in 2012 and I took hydrocodone before the surgery and oxycodone afterwards for a few weeks. I always counted how many grams of tylenol I got in a day. I quit those drugs aa quick as I could.

I have recently cut back on my tylenol because after losing 30 pounds things don't hurt like they used to. But I am going to try to quit it altogether to see if I can slow down this kidney issue.

Well, you haven't been LC for long. Hopefully you can reverse it altogether!

I sent an email to the kidney doctor's office and got a reply. I told them that I average 70 g of protein a day and how much is too much. They wrote back that at my weight 78 KG I should get between 60 and 140 g per day and that my average is right on the nose at 70.
I also just read on the Mayo clinic website that kidney patients should also keep their potassium, salt, and phosphorus low. That is good to know. Phosphorus goes into phosphoric acid and that leaches calcium from your bones into the kidneys.

Interesting also the calcium in my blood was very high and the specialist thought I should not be taking calcium supplement every day. That is the only supplement I take.

This whole thing reminds me why I do not believe in taking supplements without discussing it with a doctor.

Dr Jason Fung has a great video on calcium where he demonstrates that the countries with the lowest calcium intake have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. http://intensivedietarymanagement.com/calcium-story/

I'm surprised he did not give you dietary guidelines as I know my dad's doctor gave him an extensive list. It may be that you are not far enough along to advise dietary restrictions (that's great!).

A friend of mine recently had some borderline eGFR readings and has been able to return her readings to normal by drinking more water. I don't think it improves the underlying disease particularly, but can obviously improve readings. Did your doctor have recommendations on more (or less) water?

I don't/won't take calcium since it is found that women who do have more calcium in their coronary arteries.

I always found it odd that our Western diet, which is very high in calcium, doesn't prevent osteoporosis.

That is definitely something to think about. When I got my blood and urine checked yesterday I was extremely well hydrated. I drank a bottle of sparkling water on the way over to the office. I knew I would have to give them a sample and I wanted it to be a good one. it was

He wants me to get it checked again in 4 months, and then will decide if I need to take stronger nutrition measures.