Hello: I don't know much about kidney function or dysfunction, maybe someone here can be clear with me about what is going on. My parents recently told me that my dad has only 50% kidney function. The doctor said that there is a lot of scar tissue on the kidneys, and that he probably had kidney disease as a child without knowing it, with microscopic bleeding that he would not have seen. He’s now 59 years old. I’m not sure what his symptoms are, but apparently at first they thought it was cancer.
Anyway, my parents know that I worry a lot, and are trying to make it sound like nothing. All it is doing is confusing me and concerning me more. The doctor put Dad on a very low-protein diet, so he’s not supposed to have meat, fish, beans, nuts, dairy, etc. He joked that he can have all the doughnuts that he wants, which is not funny because he also has high blood pressure. Anyway, I asked what happens if the diet doesn’t work, and he said that if the kidney function gets too low, he would need to go on dialysis.
I guess my questions are: Is anyone on this low protein diet, and do you know if it works? It sounds really hard to maintain, I hope that it is effective. Also, how low does kidney function need to drop before dialysis is necessary? And I hear horror stories about people on dialysis not living very long or having really miserable physical condition. Is that true? I knew one person on dialysis and he seemed fine and healthy to me, but I didn’t know him all that well.
Any advice, knowledge or experience is appreciated. I care a lot about my dad and just want to know how serious the situation is.
Thank you.

I have been on a low protein diet for quite a few years and it really isn't that hard. The hard part is that most Americans eat so much more protein than we really need. If we eat about 60 grams in a day, that is fine. I do stay away from the legumes and from big pieces of meat, although almost everything has some protein in it. For instance, an egg is 7 grams and 3 oz. of fish is 21 grams and 1 cup of rice is 4 grams. There is a great article in the Sept/Oct issue of Kidney Beginnings, a magazine put out by the American Association of Kidney Patients (aakp.org) so look on their web site. About your dad's kidney function level--see this issue also. It sounds like he's in Stage 2 or 3 (I'm in Stage 4 and not on dialysis yet), which means he needs to start paying attention to his health and take good care of himself. A person doesn't need dialysis until they reach State 5 but...it's hard to say when that will be. My function dropped by 1/3 from a series of respiratory viral infections that caused me to have a bout of swelling (depends on the specific kidney problem, but mine acts out like this...) but then I've stayed at the same serum creatinine and creatinine clearance levels since then (2-1/2 years ago). He really needs the care of a good nephrologist and also needs to follow his doctor's orders very specifically. I'll pray for your dad. It's very scary--I know, because I've lived this way--very well, actually--for 30 years and I'm "only" 46! I only get through the fear because I've trusted the Lord with my health since I was 17. My life has been an amazing adventure and I'm still looking forward to more, hopefully living and working in Nepal with my husband almost full-time in the next few years. I am on a transplant list and my sister has volunteered to be my living donor, so I'm very thankful for that.

The first thing that you need to do is to tell your parents just exactly how you are feeling about this and ask them to tell you the real truth here.not knowing the whole story can make you crazy with unanswered questions.tell them that you are scared and really confused and that in order to handle things better, they must be honest with you right now.tell them you want the facts and what your dad is dealing with.You sound mature enough to handle the truth.It might not be as bad as you think.also when we don't know what is going on in a situation like this, our minds can have an absolute field day in thinking up all of these horrid scenerios.you really need to talk to them as soon as you can.Good luck.

I am on a low protein diet and it works well. I do slip every now and then and have steak and other thinks i shouldn't but my body tells me later. As long as your dad keeps his blood pressure down and follows his diet he will be ok with 50% kidney function. I am 32 and only have 60% kidney function. I do drink alot of water each day and this seems to help.

Just keep you head up and let your parents know how you feel.