I have been mostly carnivore for nearly 2 years and was doing very well first year. Then started eating bad carbs occasionally. Started going backwards and gained about 15 lbs. Started having consistent lower back issues about 6 months ago and was seeing chiropractor every other week. Just recently began having a lost of discomfort in the kidney area. I believe I may be experiencing kidney disease so will be scheduling blood work this week. Until I know more I stopped my carnivore diet and for past 3 days have eaten not much of anything. I was so encouraged to listen to the video by Bob. I am concerned my current doctor may not be opened minded enough to work wiith me outside of their current mindset. My doctor is a ND but using conventional lab ranges rather than l holistic ranges. I am concerned I may have unknowingly had not optimum kidney health when I began carnivore and done some real damage.

Welcome.

Bob is definitely the go-to guy for kidney related conversations here on the board.

But speaking in general, and I mean way general, I would wait for actual testing to come up with a diagnosis. A lot of kidney issues can be corrected.

As far as having doctors that work with us while on carnivore seem to be few and far between. My primary care provider pushes statins as he is an advocate for their use. I pass. And on the flip side my Neurologist is a big fan of my choices. He says he is not ready to prescribe carnivore but at the same time he wished his other patients would have a conversation with me, even making some of the same decisions I make.

Good luck. And again, welcome.

Scott

On 7/21/2026 at 9:48 AM, Lois said:

I believe I may be experiencing kidney disease so will be scheduling blood work this week.

The blood work will be necessary to tell for sure. I'm teetering on stage 4/5 and I have never had any physical pain. Kidney disease is usually one of those "silent" diseases. You don't know it's been taking place until all of a sudden you are sick and in the ER and told you need dialysis.

If you are comfortable sharing your labs when you get them, we primarily look at creatinine, BUN, and eGFR, and whether you are spilling any protein in your urine.

On 7/21/2026 at 9:48 AM, Lois said:

Until I know more I stopped my carnivore diet and for past 3 days have eaten not much of anything.

Carnivore itself isn't going to harm you. But it won't hurt to fast (for short periods of time) either.

On 7/21/2026 at 9:48 AM, Lois said:

I am concerned my current doctor may not be opened minded enough to work wiith me outside of their current mindset.

Welcome to the club, lol :-D

On 7/21/2026 at 9:48 AM, Lois said:

I am concerned I may have unknowingly had not optimum kidney health when I began carnivore and done some real damage.

You may have not had optimal kidney health, but I seriously doubt carnivore wouldn't do any damage on its own. I've been carnivore since May 2023. Diabetes, hypertension, and drugs are the biggest culprits. If you haven't watched my video on Carnivore with Chronic Kidney Disease, I explain a lot in there. I should probably make an updated version too.

Bob , I can't thank you enough for your comments. I have a feeling you have given me great info. I will be having the urine test run on Monday so they can see what lab draws they want to order. I have found the less I eat the more comfortable I am. Tried a hamburger patty last night and noticed more discomfort late evening. Could just be a coincidence. I'll update when I have lab results.

It is so great to have a community - especially when we don't have medical teams today who seem to understand alternatives perspectives.😊

Best of luck with your upcoming tests.

Yes, it is sad a large part of the medical community, and most in general, think pills and potions are the way to go. (And with that said, in 2018 without pills and potions I probably would not be here today, so I am all for the use of medicines to start the healing process. I'm just not a fan of lifelong prescriptions.)

Good luck with your testing.

Scott

Thank you Scott. I agree that there is a time and place for traditional allopathic medicine. One place they excel is trauma care! My biggest dream would be for doctors' training to be less supportive of the pharmaceutical industry ( unfortunately they do the majority of the funding) and focus more on prevention through truly the healthy diets and environments. I hope that is the future for our next generations.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Agreed.

I feel like if I got better with a shift in diet I would like to think so could a lot of people.

What I think would help, similar in thought to what you posted, is doctors being a bit more open minded. I get pills and potions can help correct a situation in a hurry and a lot of times that is the best practice. But I wish there was the next step to see what could be done for an alternate means of healing/staying healthy.

Good luck on your continued progress.

Scott

Part of the problem that I think has led doctors to become what they are, to think how they think, is people in general. We're actually in the minority, being the people who were willing to give up what we loved for the sake of better health. Most people aren't like that.

I was talking with a friend about a month ago, and he is pre-diabetic, has blood sugar issues, takes meds for various reasons, etc. He was telling me how his doctor said he should cut out this and that from his diet, and his response was he would rather die. Food was one of the last remaining pleasures he had left.

Food is god to some people. Even my parents will try a new restaurant and then tell me about their meal and how it was mmmm mmmm mmmm good, almost as if they had some out-of-body experience, lol.

A cardiologist recommended among other things that I employ carnivore diet in July, 2025 so I did. 6 months later my weight had dropped nearly 30 lbs, and blood chemistry was all within normal ranges. Cardiologist then said I could stop taking statin, and I did.

Since then I have slid back into SAD. I gained 10 lbs and recent blood panel shows poor numbers. Current doctor and new cardiologist (prior one moved far away) want me to take pills and some injection. My positive carnivore experience last year leads me to think otherwise, and I am one week back eating carnivore. I have quite a few questions and hope to find answers and support here.

-Joel

2 hours ago, joelrog said:

A cardiologist recommended among other things that I employ carnivore diet in July, 2025 so I did. 6 months later my weight had dropped nearly 30 lbs, and blood chemistry was all within normal ranges. Cardiologist then said I could stop taking statin, and I did.

Since then I have slid back into SAD. I gained 10 lbs and recent blood panel shows poor numbers. Current doctor and new cardiologist (prior one moved far away) want me to take pills and some injection. My positive carnivore experience last year leads me to think otherwise, and I am one week back eating carnivore. I have quite a few questions and hope to find answers and support here.

-Joel

We are here to help Joel.

You’ve already seen the positive results from being a carnivore so you just need to go back to the lifestyle. You’ve proven what works for you.

It sure would be helpful to have a local doc who would work with me/us. The only one in my area runs a clinic that won’t accept insurance. Is there a thread here that deals with this issue?

I’m afraid not but you could do a google search for keto/carnivore doctors in your area but there aren’t many.

What I did when I found a new doctor was to look for a DO rather than an MD.

A DO generally try’s to treat the root cause of an issue whereas an MD treats the symptoms. On top of that a DO has more education and training than an MD.

On 9/7/2026 at 1:19 PM, joelrog said:

I have quite a few questions and hope to find answers and support here.

Welcome aboard! We're here to help :)

On 9/7/2026 at 7:37 PM, joelrog said:

It sure would be helpful to have a local doc who would work with me/us. The only one in my area runs a clinic that won’t accept insurance. Is there a thread here that deals with this issue?

Finding a keto or carnivore friendly doc? There hasn't been a dedicated topic for that here yet.

My old PCP reluctantly accepted my position over the years. It took a number of visits, his meds making me worse, and my choices making me better, for him to back off, lol. He's retired now. I got a new PCP and met him only once. He seemed a little more open minded, but was still immediately pushing pills.

My nephrologist is one of the coolest dudes on earth. Totally supports what I am doing.

So glad to hear your nephrologist is supportive. That makes a health journey so much easier.