Muscle gain. how?

[tiredandthirsty]

My voice gets hoarse after dialysis too. People have asked me whether I was getting a cold. It clears up in 3-4 hours.

Does your center do nPCR labs? It stands for Normalized Protein Catabolic Rate. It measures your protein intake between sessions to make sure you're getting enough. It would be worth asking your nephrologist and/or dietitian about it.

ok good.  that means i am not the only one whose voice gets messed up after treatment.  mine clears up after a while as well.  i asked a couple of nurses at the clinic and they had no idea!  I think there is only one RN at the my clinic who knows what she is talking about.  she has been there 16 years. 

i am not sure whether the clinic does nPCR test or not.  i will check to see if they do.  thanks for the tip.  they take blood every now and then and i ask them what it is for.  the answer usually is clearance, hemoglobin etc.  nothing this complicated sounding. hah.

[Whamo]

Moosemom,   My cardio nurse says not to lift over 20 lbs.  My nutritionist says high reps is a good way to go.  I like to mix it up.  Doing one thing all the time gets boring, especially when you plateau.   I usuallly just walk on a treadmill, and it makes me feel good.  Yesterday I did "Biggest Loser" exercises along with the DVD.  The lunges and squats kicked my butt.  I used to do the entire stack of weights on the leg press back in my 30's.  Those were great times, but things change.

[MomoMcSleepy]

Ah, poor things, I'm sorry,  How tall are you?  I was in your situation once after a bout of pancreatitis, I  am 5'2'' and got down to about 87 lbs.  I only weighed like 99, though, but got very skinny.   I was 15 at the time, and felt like I looked like  I'd been in a concentration scamp,  my mom counted my backbones ...ugh.  They put me on an infusion of lipids.  I don't know how healthy that is!   I think the protein you're eating is good, but maybe more fattening stuff?  Also, and I know your energy level is lower than mine, but   I do bouts of exercise throughout the day, I do things like "desk push-ups" and squats (when no one's around!).  I stand up to answer the phone or radio, or type on my computer (my desk goes up and down).  I have been sick and unable to run (or walk, let's be honest), on the treadmill, and have been worried about muscle wasting myself. 

What about muscle milk?  Wait, probably not esrd friendly.  Have you talked to your nutritionist?  Or your Neph, about your energy level?

Anyway, when I got skinny, they put fat into my PICC line on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It still took me months to get back to my fighting weight, but I looked a lot better.  It is scary to see the wasting...They only infused for a couple of weeks, until I was discharged.  I had lost weight because I couldn't eat at all.

I think you would have a hard time gaining muscle if your calories and fat are too low....

Also, it sucks, but, I always feel better when  I move; even when I think it's impossible to start exercising, when I do it, I feel better.  Maybe you can do yoga?  That builds muscle tone, and sometimes they have yoga for kidney health classes, or on Networks right now, there's a yoga for chronic illness video that I watched just last night.  There are also videos o. YouTube.

Good luck, 118 is awfully low, hopefully you get some help with your energy.

Momo
 

WAIT--just saw the post about hyperlipidemia.  Good grief, I had no idea.  Is that my my gallbladder attacks and pancreas attacks got worse a couple of years ago? I still think you might need more calories, just maybe not as much fat as I thought.  Good, quality calories, and protein , like you're doing.  But mostly, get your team working on your energy level.  How can you get stronger if your energy level is in the toilet?