Protein suppliments

[fc2821]

      I have been on hemo dialysis since February of 2007.  In all that time my albumin has been below 4 when I get my labs back.  I eat meat. fish,  and eggs at every meal.  My last lab this month had my albumin at 3.8 which is up from 3.6.  I have been adding a product called "ProCel" to my food. This was suggested to me by the dietician at the clinic I was at for over 2 years.  ProCel, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a powder that comes in pre measured packets.  It is suppose to have 5 grams of protein in each packet.
     The dietician at my new clinic, when I moved in July, prefered I use a powder called "Whey", but the times I have tired this it made me ill and I couldn't keep it down.  I am not one prone to throwing up either.  In other words I do it rarely.  Also the Nephr started me on a drink called "Nepro" while in the clinic.  This and the "ProCel" seemed to have brought my albumin up to the 3.8.  But now they have "cut me off" the "Nepro".  No explination given.  I have found it available locally, and wonder if I should get some and use it at home to help boost my number. 
    Also, would anyone have any other ideas how to incrase my albumin?   
    I should add that I do not have any  infections, open wounds, or internal bleeding to account for the low albumin.  These things have been checked and are closely monitored.
     My hemoglobin is 12.  My protein catabolic rate is only .99 and I know it needs to be 1.1 or gtrater.  So I know I am not taking in enough protein. 
     Thanks.

[boswife]

Hubby was going through the same and the suggestion from our nutritionalist was also the WHEY protein.  The said to get the " super advanced whey protein" from walmart. (Body fortress) and vanella was our choice.   It's a 2 lb size and much more directed at our needs (less phosphoris more protein) than the much smaller package we got at a health food store at 3 X the cost.  Anyway, i'll tell you how i do it for him and mabie it would work  for you.  (dont know how you tried using so this is just a suggestion)  So, I take about a cup of smallish ice cubes, 1/4 cup orange juce (hubby ok with that so check with your #'s) one smallish scoop of the powder and blend up until either like a slushy, or more chunky.  Hubby likes it a bit chunky and eats with a spoon for a treat each day....He IS a gagger over things like this normaly and he loves it.. We havent gotton our #'s done since he's been on it, but hoping for improvement.  It is pretty good and flufs up so it looks like more than it is, but it ends up not that much towards his fluid intake.  Also, just thinking, you could actually use the strawbery and not add any juce i bet..  The orange one tastes just like the old Orange julies (sp)  YUM!!

[BigSky]

There is a huge amount of various whey protein powders on the market.

Some people do have problems holding down or digesting some brands vs others.

Make sure to always check to see what the potassium, phosphorus and sodium levels are in each brand as they can vary from flavor to flavor and from brand to brand.  Also make sure its a true protein powder, and not a gainer mix.

You might check a store like GNC for the various brands they carry,  Try to get 1 serving packs to try them out to see if you agree with you.  If the local store doesnt have them contact the manufacture directly.  I have got free samples from various manufactures before. 

Of whey protein the ones I like best are:  EAS , Optimum Nutrition, Designer Whey as most of their flavors taste good and mix well, usually no need for a blender, just a shaker.

Some people cannot handle whey at all.

If that is the case there is also egg protein powders and soy protein powders on the market.  though I have found the flavors and taste can be less than desirable for me.

Again however, check the potassium, phosphorus and sodium levels per serving to insure you can incorporate them into your diet.

Body Fortress is also pretty decent for the price.

[fc2821]

Thanks for the information and help.  I got Nepro at dialysis on Thanksgiving, so I guess they have me back on that. 

[calypso]

I'm not a big fan of the Nepro. I took it while I was in the hospital recovering from peritonitis, and it was ok, but then i looked at the ingredients list. As you know the ingredients are in order from most abundant to least amount and these are the first few ingredients in it: Water, Corn Syrup Solids, Caseinates (Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium), High Oleic Safflower Oil, Canola Oil, Milk Protein Isolate...

How is that good for you? corn syrup is just a sweetener, calcium magnesium and sodium? do we really need those? and then the oils. Finally we get to the good stuff, milk protien isolates. More good less bad next time k? thx.

Then you got the Whey protien powders they sell in the health food stores which I'm sure you've seen. I tried one, not too happy with it's flavor. Good for you yeah, but if you can't tolerate the taste and hence never drink it what good is it?

The only whey protien I like so far is the Detour protien bars. The best tasting one is Caramel Peanut, but it has a lot of dark choclate which is high in phosphorous so you have to remember your phosphate binders with those. The other one I like a lot is White chocolate peanut butter, it tastes good, not sure of the phos content of white chocolate as opposed to dark, but still need the phos binders anyway. Only problem is they are very expensive, but like I say about  olive oil, you can pay more now or you can pay your cardiologist later. I'd rather pay more for good food now.

[Zach]

I tried Nepro but had a problem with the sugar alcohol content, so I switched to Novasource Renal.  Kind of expensive.
http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=novasource+renal

As BigSky posted, there are several powders available that work well.

Also, here are some other IHD threads about protein you may find interesting.

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=11799.msg275136#msg275136

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=10191.msg175486#msg175486

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=4820.msg71200#msg71200

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1196.msg57594#msg57594

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1277.msg15123#msg15123