Latest lab results

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Mr VOW and I had doctor appointments today. We’re both alive and breathing.

We got the definitive answer as to how many Coca-Colas Mr VOW may have per day: one. He has been sneaking the damned things, and that causes a lot of fighting. He does love to prevaricate.

My previous labs showed my kidney function to be 47%. My doctor was quite disturbed at that figure, and I chose to take the result quite seriously. I purchased a few books on the renal diet and put them to use.

My new lab result showed my kidney function to be 63%.

Renal diet is no fun. But it is compatible with the cardiac diet Mr VOW is following.

And DAMN, I’m thrilled with the improvement!

~VOW

2

Congratulations to you and sympathy to Mr. VOW. Stick with the renal diet, dull though it may be.

I keep trying to get myself unstuck from chocolate (my refined sugar source) and from Diet Pepsi (caffeine, I love you so). It would help if I could tolerate coffee, but I can’t stand the stuff. So I’m glad one of us is showing improvement.

3

Congrats on your new kidney function. I’m overdue for a test (next appt. is in November), but last time it was in the 30s. Bad, bad, bad.

I stick to the renal diet mostly, but I cheat with small amounts of tomato products. And I allow myself a little MSG in cooking, no salt at the table. Fortunately, I love onions, garlic, berries and wild salmon.

4

And I am IMPRESSED!

Changing one’s diet is difficult. Well done @VOW.

5

@panache45

Lay off the MSG.

Run immediately to Amazon and buy HERB OX no sodium bouillon. Amazon offers a double pack of chicken flavor and beef flavor.

It will never replace salt. But it’s a damn good try!

@Chefguy turned me on to The Spice House. Magnificent stuff! Many blends are salt free. The Lemon Pepper is to DIE for!

~VOW

6

I’ve looked into renal diets online the info seems rather overwhelming. Which books did you get / do you recommend?

7

@Lancia

Oh, I hear you on the information overload! Eat this, don’t even walk near this, you can have a taste of this, and if you eat that, you die.

My biggest takeaway is No. Salt. Period.

Mr VOW had a heart attack in January 2020, so the kitchen has already been purged of salt.

I do mean purged!

No seasoning blends, no canned soups, nothing processed. Basically, anything that tastes good, throw it away.

Did you know that frozen chicken parts have salt solution in them?

I told the dietitian I made chili with canned beans, but I rinsed them off really well. She said, “No.”

You can find canned beans with no salt. You really gotta look carefully, but they are there. All I found were black beans and pinto beans, no white beans. I ended up making baked beans with pinto beans. They were very good, but they weren’t QUITE what I wanted.

I know how to cook dry beans, though, so all is not lost.

The book that helped me the most was “The Renal Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed,” by Susan Zogheib, MHS, RD, LDN.

I have an extensive Kindle library, but for this situation, I bought the paperback. There is a LOT of information, and I kept flipping back and forth between sections to untangle my brain.

Good luck!

~VOW