Chitosan & This CKD

 Recently, I made a post about being careful of supplements. Most of us with a chronic disease will often feel desperate enough to try every new treatment or supplement we hear about. Ironically, before and after I was writing that post, I heard of a new one.

Chitosan is:

"a natural polycationic linear polysaccharide derived from chitin" (source)

Chitin is (according to the same source):

"Chitin is the structural element in the exoskeleton of insects, crustaceans (mainly shrimps and crabs)..." 

What got me interested in chitosan was hearing from someone that it's supposed to be good for kidney health. Of course, I then did a search and read that it might have a "beneficial effect on renal function". According to a clinical trial, 

"Significant reductions in urea and creatinine levels in serum were observed after 4 weeks of chitosan ingestion. The feeling of physical strength, the appetite and the sleep of patients in the treatment group had improved significantly after 12 weeks of ingestion, compared with those of patients in the control group. During the treatment period, no clinically problematic symptoms were observed. These data suggest that chitosan might be effective treatment for renal failure patients, although the mechanism of the effect should be investigated further." (source) [my emphasis]

 NOTE: Keep in mind that I have no medical training. Do not rely on my laymen's research. Only get medical advice from professionals. That said, I myself am a sarcoidosis and CKD patient. It took me several days to find and even attempt to understand what I was reading during this info search. It's a shame that I (as a patient) have to even do this kind of research but my mantra is to be my own advocate. That's a real problem sometimes due to my cognitive issues but such is the current health care system.

(Source)
The 3 I love

Barring any serious problems with lab tests, I see my nephrologist around every 3.5 months and I get labs with my Remicade infusions every 7 weeks. I was in between these appointments when I heard about chitosan and decided to try it for at least a couple of weeks.

When I looked for a chitosan supplement, I noticed that most of them include as much as 500mg of chromium, 200mg of calcium, and 150-200mg of phosphorous. I know that I'm not to take any additional calcium and phosphorous (I keep a list of things my doctor has warned me about) so I found a brand that didn't include those two things. That was tricky but I found one that was fairly affordable to boot.

Reading reviews from several sources, I got the impression that the brand I was going to try either did nothing for the user or - and this is horrifying - caused bloating and constipation. Apparently, it only took most users a couple of days to experience the bloating and constipation. Users who had little or no results based on labs realized the lack of effect within 1 to 2 months of use.

Okay then.

I decided that I would try the supplement for at least 2 weeks. I would be having infusion labs done within a week and a half of starting. Of course, I'd stop if I had any of the more uncomfortable side effects. 

(source)

The capsules are the standard size for filled gelatin caps. There is a very slight fishy taste to the capsules if let them melt the least little bit on my tongue. The odor didn't last and I had no aftertaste (or smell) from them.

The suggested use of the brand I have is to "take 3 capsules immediately before the two main meals of the day", not to exceed 6 capsules per day. The capsules are to be taken at least 4 hours before or after taking any fat-soluble vitamins (which are vitamins A, D, E, and K). I learned that there is a reason for that and it leads to why most non-CKD people take the supplement.

Chitosan blocks dietary fat absorbtion.

Ahh...

The thing is, while I am hoping that the chitosan will help with my CKD, I wouldn't count on it for weight loss. According to this:

"Analyses involving all trials indicated that chitosan preparations result in a small but statistically significant greater reduction in body weight..." (my emphasis)

(source)

So, yeah. I don't remember from reading all those reviews that I waded through whether or not people had weight loss success with the supplement.

The good news for me is that, after 3 days of taking these capsules, I have not had any problems with bloating or constipation. I suffer from chronic constipation and I got some relief from it. Go figure.

When I have my labs done and meet with the nephrologist, I will be able to do an update on how this is all going. It might be that the doctor has me stop taking the supplement. Maybe there won't be any "Significant reductions in urea and creatinine levels" but I can hope, can't I?

Peace

--Free

Be Careful of Supplements & Remedies

 Sometimes, like most people with chronic illnesses, I get to feeling a little desperate about my health. I'll think that there must be something to help my kidneys heal or that I should be able to find something to help fight back against the effects of sarcoidosis. In addition to those things and battling depression, and getting older, I struggle to maintain a healthy weight. So I will often go searching out something - anything - to help with all of that. (I've even thought briefly of going back to smoking just to lose a few pounds.) And, then, every now and then, I get a reminder to be careful.

The other day, I saw this news headline: "Congressman’s Wife Died After Taking Herbal Remedy Marketed for Diabetes and Weight Loss".

Hold up. Hold up. What?

Yeah. Go read the entire article. In summary, she:

died from dehydration due to gastroenteritis — an inflammation of the stomach and intestines — that was caused by “adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion,” according to a report from the Sacramento County coroner...

She was my age and, from photos, she appeared to be in much better physical shape than I am. 

It's very easy to get hopeful about finding a supplement or treatment that can help us look and feel better. Not many months ago, I actually bought a bottle of collagen peptides because I'd heard they could be useful for weight loss. And, of course, I'd also heard so much about the other benefits of collagen being good for skin, bones, muscles, hair, etc. Sounds great, right? I thought so until I realized that excessive intake can cause oxalate deposits. I try to limit foods and supplements high in oxalates. I even refer to a list of certain foods to monitor in order to protect my kidney function. There is one list I keep in my OneNote folder. But I was hyped about that collagen...

I got the same kind of hyped when I heard about Chitosan supplements. Chitosan is said to be possibly beneficial for lowering creatinine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The thing is, I had trouble trying to find one without added calcium and phosphorous. When I did find one, the reviews from CKD sufferers were not encouraging. Some said their creatinine only went down by tiny amounts after weeks of taking a supplement. Some said that they couldn't deal with the side effect of terrible constipation after just a matter of days. So that is something I am going to have to talk about with my specialist. I think that this is the kind of supplement that I will want as a prescription. Too many supplements are not well-regulated if they are regulated at all. And we are talking about my kidneys here...

I'm not saying that every supplement is bad. For my own personal health, I do try to be careful of knowing as much as I can about any supplement. I always check with my GP, rheumatologist, and nephrologist before I get excited about any vitamin, supplement, or other "remedy".

Just understanding the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in my basic food diet is complicated. When it comes to adding supplements, things can get really tricky.

Talk to your doctor or treatment team about adding anything - even vitamins - to your routine. I was taking a multivitamin for a few years and my doctor recently had me switch to a different kind. At this time, I don't need the excess iron that I was getting in this particular vitamin. Thankfully, I have an attentive medical care team watching my lab reports and they were paying attention as things were changing but they only know about the vitamins and supplements that I tell them about. So, I'm sure to add anything new.

These are the other lists on the same page such as...

After reading about this woman's death, I am even more determined to deal with my health more carefully. Sure, I still want to lose 20 pounds (I'm lying, y'all, I want to lose a lot more than that!) but I will be relying on exercise and willpower.

By the way, I still love and rely heavily on FREE resources such as the Cronometer app. I stepped back from the paid version but the free one is still a favorite. I use it daily. If you can afford to, the paid version is great and I like to donate to the project when I can.

There are a LOT more details than shown here

Be safe, be sensible, and don't give in to quick-fix trends. 

Peace

--Free