Oxnard—The longer I stay on this dead kidney journey, the more I learn about myself. It started slow as almost nightly, I would shake uncontrollably between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., which progressed to anytime I would wake up from any sleep.
FIRST, I eliminated red meat from my diet, on the advice of a dear friend, and Nurse Practitioner, Margaret. She saw my blood being drawn into the dialysis tubes during one of my podcasts, and responded that my triglycerides must be through the roof.
I switched to chicken; it’s not my favorite, but I am trying to adjust. I prefer rib-eye steaks. I’m shaking less because I don’t consume red meat, and my blood work, most notably my phosphate levels, has improved.
Another thing that has helped my phosphate and calcium levels is my medication levels, which, at first, were a problem, because I always had to eat at home. Then they shipped me a large amount of medication, so I put the medication to take with food in my car.
It helps, but at a price; the medication means that in about 5-7 hours, it will be an unhappy trip to the bathroom.
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