Sticking to a renal diet year after year is difficult. Explaining why you are taking a pass on the lovely broccoli soup, stuffed squash, freshly squeezed orange juice, lentil soup or lasagna that your host carefully prepared can be awkward. It's little wonder that non-compliance to your renal diet begins to set in. Non-compliance is a slippery slope, however, that results in serious complications.
Renal Failure
The National Kidney Foundation recommends that patients who are not on dialysis follow a low-protein diet. Left untreated, chronic kidney disease slowly progresses to kidney failure. Eating more protein than your nephrologist recommends accelerates the progression of the disease, increasing the likelihood of renal failure. Ultimately, renal replacement therapy, such as dialysis or transplant, is needed sooner than would otherwise be the case if the patient complied with the low-protein diet.
Hyperkalemia
Most patients with advanced kidney disease are advised to follow a low-potassium diet to prevent hyperkalemia, or high serum potassium. Since their kidneys can no longer regulate serum potassium levels, the diet is necessary to do what the kidneys used to do. Eating too much potassium causes true medical emergencies if your potassium levels already tend to be high. Your nervous system starts to malfunction, leading to irregular heartbeats, tachycardia and death.
Hyperphosphatemia
Itchy skin is just one of the many symptoms caused by failure to comply with the low-phosphorus diet recommended to many patients with advanced disease. While this symptom can be maddening, it is minor compared to the problems caused by hyperphosphatemia, or high serum phosphorus. Failure to comply with the diet raises phosphorus levels, which, in turn, cause calcium to leach out of bone. The bones are permanently weakened, and, as MedlinePlus explains, the calcium forms deposits in soft tissues such as muscle or blood vessels. These deposits can be very painful.
Solution
If you are having problems complying with dietary recommendations, ask for a consultation with a renal dietitian. He appreciates how limiting the diet of kidney patients can be. In addition to suggesting new menu ideas and ways to make your diet more appealing, he can also help you navigate problems eating out or special occasions where compliance is more difficult.
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