Cirrhosis Support Group

Good luck to you! Try to keep a positive outlook, though I know it is difficult to do. please don't give up and give in.

Thoughts are with you. Hang in there!

When you reach the point that your ascities is bad and you need lots of dieretics the balance between dealing with the fluid and not harming your kidneys is exremely fine.

I've been trying to ween my self off diuretics for about a year salt intake is about 1000 mg a day, lemon in hot water is a natural diuretic that is easy on the system. There are lots of foods that are high in potassium, my results when to high feels like cardiac arrest. Take care my dear

Chuck has trouble with his potassium too. he is on aldactone 100mg and lasix 80. his blood work for the potassium has been good. Try watching your diet too. There is no red meat to be found in this house and it seems to have worked well.

Hang in there God Bless

Maybe slightly off topic, but we are heading back into red meat and kidney territory so I'll paste my bit and shut up!

The notion that eating more protein than the paltry recommended daily allowance will result in renal problems has no foundation in scientific fact or support.

For instance, recent work investigated body-builders (BB) and other well-trained athletes (OA) with high and medium protein intake, respectively.

The athletes underwent a 7-day nutrition record analysis as well as blood sample and urine collection to determine the potential renal consequences of a high protein intake.

According to the authors, "the nitrogen balance for both groups became positive when daily protein intake exceeded 1.26 grams of protein consumed daily per kilo of body weight but there were no correlations between protein intake and creatinine clearance, albumin excretion rate, and calcium excretion rate."

According to the authors, protein intake under 2.8 grams of protein daily per kilo of body weight does not impair renal function in well-trained athletes as indicated by the measures of renal function used in this study." (1)

Another study suggested that "while protein restriction may be appropriate for treatment of existing kidney disease, we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet." (2)

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Craig, I will say it up front that I am not always smart enough to understand all the info you throw at us:)

I do get the thing about the kidneys getting rid of waste from the digestion process and when there is kidney damage, there are elements that are not gotten rid of and can become harmful to the body.

I know you have not had issues with eating extra protein and I am very thankful that you have been able to start gaining some weight back. BTW, what is your weight now?? If you don't mind me asking?

But, I have found it totally bewildering at how everyone is different in how they respond to what they consume and how their body breaks it down. So while the beef does not seem to be an issue for you, it does not take but one serving to mess my sister up. Of course, it could be because she is much more unstable right now anyway. Who knows...... its so confusing to me.

You read some things and it says no to this and that and the opposite on the next info you get hold of.

I am getting to be quite a mess in taking it all in and trying to figure it out.

Confusing isn't it. :-) But you are right gamgam, everyone is different, but on the protein thing, I have read about it being a myth in so many different articles I think there has got to be a degree of truth in it. Maybe not for everyone, but information like this gives us all extra questions to put to our doctors.

I just did a new search on 'protein liver myth' and from the results, I would now have to say there is no conclusive evidence one way or another.

Hello!! This is my first time on here so forgive me if Im not doing this in the right spot since it is more a question...but I was recently put on spironlactone for my ascites...(lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks whoohoo) but they put me on potassium because it was very low....now for the question... I am still getting horrible cramps in my feet/legs/sides and my lower back is starting to hurt, so would that be to much or to little potassium? (I have an appt in 2 weeks, but this is all new to me....and I dont have insurance...ouch) Thank you.

Potassium controls the bloods clotting factor. It is just Vitamin K. Shouldn't have anything to do with pain :-(