Chronic Kidney Disease and the Carnivore Diet

Carnivore doctors claim kidneys are like a muscle and the more protien you eat the stronger the kidneys could get. We hope

I hope so too. 

I just got some blood work done and my creatinine was checked - and it again looks worse on paper (explained in the video). I'm going to go get a cystatin C next week and hopefully that has remained the same.

On 10/21/2024 at 11:02 AM, Bob said:

I hope so too. 

I just got some blood work done and my creatinine was checked - and it again looks worse on paper (explained in the video). I'm going to go get a cystatin C next week and hopefully that has remained the same.

how is your cystatin C now?

On 10/30/2024 at 10:14 AM, w1zxjr said:

how is your cystatin C now?

My Cystatin C has gone up slightly from the last time, which unfortunately trends in the wrong direction than what I wanted to see. 

There's a huge disparity though with my creatine vs cystatin C. Part of this disparity is the protein in the diet, as explained in my video. The other part I think is my fault. When I had the high triglyceride scare, I started taking high dose Niacin and fenofibrate. Fenofibrate is known to increase creatinine levels. But, after several months I started to have major issues with cramps. This issue almost miraculously disappeared overnight when I ran out of Niacin, which I posted about HERE back in the beginning of August.

While my initial research said that Niacin is good for lowering trigs and LDL while raising HDL, and being good for the kidneys, now my much deeper research revealed that high dose Niacin in people with late stage renal disease (me) can cause rhabdomyolysis (muscle wasting) and increase the chance of early all-cause mortality (like, holy crap!).

I think I was giving myself rhabdomyolysis, as evidenced by the chronic cramping. This muscle wasting and protein breakdown in turn caused my creatinine to go through the roof. On paper, I'm already dead. But I still feel fantastic and symptom free - especially now that I dropped the Niacin. I only struggle with electrolye balance which a little magnesium helps me with.

1 hour ago, Bob said:

My Cystatin C has gone up slightly from the last time, which unfortunately trends in the wrong direction than what I wanted to see. 

There's a huge disparity though with my creatine vs cystatin C. Part of this disparity is the protein in the diet, as explained in my video. The other part I think is my fault. When I had the high triglyceride scare, I started taking high dose Niacin and fenofibrate. Fenofibrate is known to increase creatinine levels. But, after several months I started to have major issues with cramps. This issue almost miraculously disappeared overnight when I ran out of Niacin, which I posted about HERE back in the beginning of August.

While my initial research said that Niacin is good for lowering trigs and LDL while raising HDL, and being good for the kidneys, now my much deeper research revealed that high dose Niacin in people with late stage renal disease (me) can cause rhabdomyolysis (muscle wasting) and increase the chance of early all-cause mortality (like, holy crap!).

I think I was giving myself rhabdomyolysis, as evidenced by the chronic cramping. This muscle wasting and protein breakdown in turn caused my creatinine to go through the roof. On paper, I'm already dead. But I still feel fantastic and symptom free - especially now that I dropped the Niacin. I only struggle with electrolye balance which a little magnesium helps me with.

Rhabdomyolysis is just the worst and fastest way to damage your kidney. However, Cystatin C could also be affected by thyroid functions tho but I hope this is just temporary and I hope you will do well. Stay strong .

Thank you w1zxjr  

I've reversed everything except for my CKD and hypertriglyceridemia, which is a consequence of the CKD. I've never checked my thyroid. I should just for the sake of it. 

I'm making a handful of changes and hope to see some improvement, even if it's just a return to the Cystatin C level I had previously.