The Renal Diet

While on hemo, I was not very compliant with this diet. I did stick to the 32 ounces part, but the food was a whole different story. I would eat good on the day after dialysis, but on the day of hemo, I would go out to eat somewhere bad for me like mexican, japanese, chinese, hamburger, etc.....because my theory was, the hemo machine would pull it right out of me. I could literally go into the dialysis unit weighing 160 pounds and leave at 150! Some of my friends were jealous....jokingly of course. But it wouldn't be until later on when I quit hemo and transition to a home dialysis called peritoneal that I would strictly adhere to the renal diet.

So what is the renal diet? CRAZY for one thing! I cannot eat anything with sodium, potassium, phosphorus, caffeine, dairy or wheat! Yeah, I thought it was totally unrealistic too! So basically you can't eat anything with sodium which is anything out to eat or in a restaurant. Nothing with potassium such as bananas, oranges, orange juice, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, etc. Nothing with phosphorus like chocolate, pizza, cheese, milk, honestly almost every item in the grocery store has phosphorus. No caffeine, ever! Nothing with wheat or wheat products and nothing with dairy.

I cheated a lot during my hemo days. But once PD started I would have to get real about my diet!