? Anyone else have high calcium/uric acid?

[Charlie B53]

Sorry if this reads more like a small book instead of a simple posting, but medical conditions are often very complex problems.  It would be great if there was a simple pill would cure anything, but it just isn't that easy.

I am wanting to know if anyone else suffers from the effects of high calcium and/or uric acid.  What are you doing for it?

Historically, my blood calcium has always ran high, very near the upper limit of 10.2, and often slightly over.  Long ago Dr's ran all kinds of tests to rule out a number of things and never did come up with an explanation why mine stays so high.

My uric acid has always been well within 'normal'.

I've been on PD now a little over a year and a half, my calcium has steadily been climbing, now at 11.2, meds have been changed, no improvement.

Uric acid has also been climbing, I don't know the numbers, but the Dr's are now saying I have gout.  Wrists/thumbs, shoulders, hips, and knees.  For the last 6 months straight I can hardly turn a bottle cap off, open a jar, much less ride my Harley.  Am I depressed?  More like confused!

I have thought for 6 months that I have psuedo gout with the high calcium crystalizing in these effected joints.  The Dr's haven't bothered to pull a sample of the joint fluid to look.

I haven't found anything addressing high calcium treatment, and I have asked and looked, Googled and other searches, don't know where else to look for information.

Dr's have given me a short 'gout diet' which spells out a few common foods to avoid, many which are  a large part of my diet.

Many proteins, which are essential to maintaining my protein as I lose so much through dialysis and what little my kidney do still remove.  About the only protein I see NOT banned by the gout diet is eggs.  No red meat, chicken, fish, sea food, beans.  What am I supposed to eat?

Dr keeps increasing my fentenyal patch to help cope with the pain.  I'm thankful for it as it is one of the very few pain meds that do not alter my perception and leave me 'drugged' and groggy.

I do worry some as the Rheumatology Dr's recently order prednisone, 5MG 3X daily.  A much smaller dose than Renal gave me a couple years ago hoping that would stimulate my kidney function.  It didn't, it only caused a 40 pound weight gain within the first week.  I had NO knees, my legs swelled about the worst than they were befeore I started dialysis.  Resting heart-rate was 96.  Dr didn't use the words but I'm sure that combination was soon leading to congestive heart failure.  Glad that's over.

It's been almost a week on this small dose of prednisone and I have gain only 5 pounds, hope it stops there.

One small improvement.  Today was the very first time that I was able to walk Grandson to the end of the driveway, and back, to meet his school bus without either hip or knee stabbing me every other step.  I fact, NO stabs at all!

I have to wonder if this is the steroid or that the weather change has finally stabilized for a few days.  It is COLD and dry.  That 3 or 4 days leading into weather changes are often a serious problem, leaving me laying in bed, or just standing, as it is too painful to walk, or even just sit much.

So again, I have to wonder, am I the Lone Ranger here?

Do any of you share some of these conditions, and if so, is there anything you do, eat, take, or don't eat, that helps, even a little?

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks all,

Charlie B

[obsidianom]

I treat gout with steroids a lot. The prednisone is probably helping your joints a lot. In fact you may be able to lower the dose in the future, ask your doctor.
My wife has chronic hypercalcemia and it reqwuired hemodialysis to bring it down. The dialysate bath lowersit. I dont know if they can do that with PD.
The other issue is phosphorus. In my wife we found if we lowered phosphorus it raised her calcium as they balance each other. So what is your phosphorus and do you take binders?   My wife actually takes phosphorus supplements which has brought her calcium down to 9.8.

[Charlie B53]

I take a potassium supplement regular but very often fail to take my phosphorous binder with meals.

I don't remember the numbers off hand but I am NOT yet near the upper limit, just high enough over the mid 'normal' range that the team thinks it is having an effect on my calcuim.

Maybe I need to find just the right small bottle to carry a few in my pocket so as to have it 'on-hand' whenever and where ever I eat.

The prednisone at 5MG 3X daily I think is beginning to make some small improvement at a small weight gain.  I have gained almost 6 pounds within the last week of starting the med.  Directions are one month, then decrease to 2X daily.  Not sure after that.  When Renal order the prenisone in large doses I gained right about 40 pounds in the first week.  It was bad, so understandably, I fear that happening again.  It wasn't pretty, nor healthy.

End I have been so proud of myself losing as much weight as I had.  I was just under 230 after my morning fill cycle.  That's a long way from 310 before starting PD, and not all of that was water.  With NO exercise, too much pain to move much at all.

It's been a tough, sore year this year so far.

Here's to hope 2015 will be better.

Hyper calcemia?  That's the correct name for elevated calcium?  Hemo scares me, a LOT.  I do not have a port, shunt, or anything but my normal veins so hemo isn't an immediate option.  And I'm hoping that won't become necessary except as a last resort.

What I really hope to learn is some diet addition or restrictions that can made a serious change.  So far I haven't found a thing.

I firmly believe that ALL plants and animals are here to be used correctly, we are just to stupid to remember how the 'Old Ones' lived, and how they used everything to maintain their health.

Hope your Wife never gets to the point of the calcium forming crystals in her joints.  It HURTS!

[Charlie B53]

I can hardly wait for Dec to get here so I can cut down one pill a day.

Three weeks and I've gained 17 pounds.

Beginning to see some small swelling in the lower half of the calves.

And the steroid makes me HUNGRY, I and, or it seems like, I am, constantly eating.   A whole sandwich or something, not just  three Ritz and a small glass of water.

I'm beginning to feel like a PIG.

Seriously hoping that Jan and after when it cuts to only once a day that I can start losing again.

[Jean]

Just got diagnosed with high uric acid about two weeks ago. Dr. gave me. Allopurinol 100 mg. Got to admit, it has only helped a little. But with that foot having been on fire for 3 months, I am grateful that most of the time, I can walk a lot better. I looked at the diet too and it is unreal. A friend of mine takes cherry juice and says that helped her, so maybe that is worth a try for you and for me.

[Charlie B53]

I'll have to Google Cheery Juice.  I've recently learned that I like them, after developing quite the aversion to them when picking/eating them growing up in and around the orchards of Yakima, WA.  I ate almost as many as went into the bucket, it wasn't good later, squirt like a duck.  Haven't touched them for 40 odd years other than a slice of pie once in a while.

But it IS a natural plant/fruit.   And I do firmly believe that ALL things are here to be used wisely.   We've just forgotten what to use for each of our many afflictions.

The steroid Predisione is make a substantial difference for me, but the side effect is I am EATING, and drinking, and gaining weight at three 5MG pills a day.

Hoping that as the dose tapers so will the hunger and weight gain, until I get to that once a day and maybe begin a slow weight lose.  I don't expect to drop at all soon, but willing to wait and see in another year.   As long as the joint pain doesn't come back like it was.  I couldn't walk,  hardly able to move my arms, and couldn't use my hands, even holding a fork or glass, was a problem.   Definitely wasn't having any fun.

Now I almost feel like I could do anything, the weather has changed and it is COLD outside!!!!!!

I'm waiting for Spring already.  So I can get out in the yard, get after the leaves that I didn't touch this year.