Could I Have Kidney Problems As A 24 Year Old (pictures Of Toes Inside)?

JustAGuy

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Jul 21, 2018
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Hello,

I am wondering if I might have kidney problems.
My energy levels crash big time when I exceed a protein intake of over ~110g per day, I have been trying to figure out why this is (I get the classic low blood sugar/stress response. Lower temp, bad mood, feeling anxious, brain fog etc).
In addition to this I get a very red/hot feet, blood is pooling there (when I raise my legs they turn normal white again) when I eat a lot of protein.
The reason for wondering wether I have kidney problems is that for a long time I have had so called "half-and-half" nails (type this on Google image to see others with this). Apparantly it's a sign for kidney problems. See attached pictures for pictures of my toenails.

About me: 24 year old, 6'6, 180 lbs, lean (~7-8% BF, no pinchable fat anywhere with veins all over abs). Resting BPM in morning is about 35, in evening goes to 45. Temperature I do not know but can buy measurement device if needed.

Also I am wondering what is a good way to assess kidney function? Googling around it seems that creatinine is not that much elevated in early stages of kidney disease.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post!
With friendly regards,
Just A Guy

Knipsel.PNG
 

haidut

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Hello,

I am wondering if I might have kidney problems.
My energy levels crash big time when I exceed a protein intake of over ~110g per day, I have been trying to figure out why this is (I get the classic low blood sugar/stress response. Lower temp, bad mood, feeling anxious, brain fog etc).
In addition to this I get a very red/hot feet, blood is pooling there (when I raise my legs they turn normal white again) when I eat a lot of protein.
The reason for wondering wether I have kidney problems is that for a long time I have had so called "half-and-half" nails (type this on Google image to see others with this). Apparantly it's a sign for kidney problems. See attached pictures for pictures of my toenails.

About me: 24 year old, 6'6, 180 lbs, lean (~7-8% BF, no pinchable fat anywhere with veins all over abs). Resting BPM in morning is about 35, in evening goes to 45. Temperature I do not know but can buy measurement device if needed.

Also I am wondering what is a good way to assess kidney function? Googling around it seems that creatinine is not that much elevated in early stages of kidney disease.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post!
With friendly regards,
Just A Guy

View attachment 9975

I would ask a doctor first, but I don't think those pictures are related to kidney disease. The phenomenon you probably have in mind is "half-white" nails (which is indeed related to kidney disease) and those look very different from yours. Yours seem partially detached and are closer to iron deficiency and hypothyroidism. Google for "koilonychia" and click on the Images tab.
 

Richiebogie

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Hi @JustAGuy

What are you eating on a typical day?

Eg. Today I ate approx:

100g 70% chocolate - 566 Cal
20ml Coffee in sugar syrup - 66 Cal
50ml Milk - 70 Cal
450g bananas - 400 Cal
100g dates - 302 Cal
33g butter - 239 Cal
55g pumpernickel rye - 114 Cal
1000ml OJ - 400 Cal
120g canned tuna (drained weight) - 120 Cal
120g roast lamb - 400 Cal
30g tomato ketchup - 43 Cal
20g mango chutney - 51 Cal
Pinch of salt

From this you can see I eat a lot of fruit sugar, low PUFA, moderate saturated fat, moderate protein and a little salt and starch.

It would be good to see what you are eating...
 
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JustAGuy

JustAGuy

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Thank you for your reply @haidut & @Richiebogie

I will make an appointment with Dr. to have them check the nails.

My diet is as follows:
Usually I don't eat till 1 at noon, at which I have either some bread (usually whole wheat or rye) with skim milk.
I have a bit of fruit daily, ripe bananas or apples or berries, ~300g/day fruit.
I eat corn crackers or rice crackers during the day when hungry. Another meal at 4pm of bread/skim milk or no fat yogurt.
Dinner grain+potato+veggies+lean meat.
Late night more bread/milk.
Sometimes I will also eat an egg, about 2x per week.

Macros (measured) 3200 kcal, 110g protein, 30g fat, 620g carb.
 

Richiebogie

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Thanks for the diet info @JustAGuy

You sound pretty fit when under 110g protein! Perhaps your body is telling you that less protein is better. Many people in South-East Asia live on under 60g protein per day, and many look young in their 50's.

Are you wanting to gain mass? Note that being tall and slim with no inflammation are signs of youth.

Young men tend to have compact faces and bodies, whereas older men tend to become puffy and waterlogged!

Old men are balding and have gray hair around their ears, wrinkly eyes, autoimmune diseases...

The ones eating at fancy restaurants often look the worst.

Dietary theories can lead us astray. We can lose sight of what is normal and what is extreme!

There are many paths that lead to premature ageing!

I recommend you adjust your diet gradually and test for foods that keep you calm and fit with minimum body odours!

Also investigate how much protein 90 year olds and centenarians ate for their size.
 
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danishispsychic

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Thank you for your reply @haidut & @Richiebogie

I will make an appointment with Dr. to have them check the nails.

My diet is as follows:
Usually I don't eat till 1 at noon, at which I have either some bread (usually whole wheat or rye) with skim milk.
I have a bit of fruit daily, ripe bananas or apples or berries, ~300g/day fruit.
I eat corn crackers or rice crackers during the day when hungry. Another meal at 4pm of bread/skim milk or no fat yogurt.
Dinner grain+potato+veggies+lean meat.
Late night more bread/milk.
Sometimes I will also eat an egg, about 2x per week.

Macros (measured) 3200 kcal, 110g protein, 30g fat, 620g carb.

Hmmm. Seems like you might want to add coffee / magnesium - and also would wonder about your iron levels and your vitamin b levels, especially b12. Also since you are eating SO low fat... you might take a look at your hormones.
 

aguilaroja

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I get a very red/hot feet, blood is pooling there (when I raise my legs they turn normal white again) when I eat a lot of protein.
...Resting BPM in morning is about 35, in evening goes to 45. Temperature I do not know but can buy measurement device if needed.
It would be good to see a physician promptly and as priority mention two things: the slow heart rate and the red/hot feet. Slow heart rate is bradycardia. While it is possible to have “asymptomatic bradycardia”, heart rate in the 30’s is very low.

The change in foot color with position could be dependent rubor.

A concerned physician would likely think carefully on these two issues. While there may be mild explanations, these things may also correspond to severe conditions.
 
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JustAGuy

JustAGuy

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Thanks for the diet info @JustAGuy

You sound pretty fit when under 110g protein! Perhaps your body is telling you that less protein is better. Many people in South-East Asia live on under 60g protein per day, and many look young in their 50's.

Are you wanting to gain mass? Note that being tall and slim with no inflammation are signs of youth.

Young men tend to have compact faces and bodies, whereas older men tend to become puffy and waterlogged!

Old men are balding and have gray hair around their ears, wrinkly eyes, autoimmune diseases...

The ones eating at fancy restaurants often look the worst.

Dietary theories can lead us astray. We can lose sight of what is normal and what is extreme!

There are many paths that lead to premature ageing!

I recommend you adjust your diet gradually and test for foods that keep you calm and fit with minimum body odours!

Also investigate how much protein 90 year olds and centenarians ate for their size.
Hello, thank you for your reply!

I am indeed looking to build more muscle mass. This is a main reason why I try to keep my protein as high as my body will allow. Currently I am also exchanging 10g of my daily protein intake by 10g of BCAA's (for the Leucine and muscle protein synthesis effects of this amino acid). Though I am not a fan of supplements so I would prefer to eat food instead. I try to minimize weaker protein intakes (I eat bread without added gluten, because this protein gives me a similar "burden" to other protein sources and I feel like I am wasting my protein capacity on such things, I would rather drink 10g of milk protein than to spend that 10g protein capacity on an inferior protein).

Currently for mass building I am weightlifting 3x a week using mostly machines. My body feels way more stressed when I say use Barbell Bench Press vs a Chest Press machine, and from research muscle activation is similar. Just the free weight is more taxing on the nervous system. I feel like my nervous system is very "trigger-sensitive" and easily overtaxed.

Funny that you mention body odour. I notice foods that give me this also give me worse sleep (garlic & onions especially).

I have experimented over the years with all sorts of diets (basically everything in existance). According to "theories" of what is best. Though, through trial and error, the diet which works the best for me is the one I gravitated towards as a kid by preference.

Hmmm. Seems like you might want to add coffee / magnesium - and also would wonder about your iron levels and your vitamin b levels, especially b12. Also since you are eating SO low fat... you might take a look at your hormones.
Hello, thank you for replying!

I do drink a cup of coffee a few times per week. Though I start to feel shaky if I do this too much. My magnesium intake is very high due to my whole grain consumption. My B12 was checked 1 year ago, it was high (200-900 was normal value, I was at 882 iirc). Which hormones do you think I should be looking at?

It would be good to see a physician promptly and as priority mention two things: the slow heart rate and the red/hot feet. Slow heart rate is bradycardia. While it is possible to have “asymptomatic bradycardia”, heart rate in the 30’s is very low.

The change in foot color with position could be dependent rubor.

A concerned physician would likely think carefully on these two issues. While there may be mild explanations, these things may also correspond to severe conditions.
Hello, thank you for your reply!

I have been to the Dr. about a year ago for the red feet. They checked my heart and said it looked very good on the echocardiogram. Eventually the cause came out to probably be dysautonomia (self-diagnosed initially then confirmed by a Dr.). I suspect I developed this through overtraining in the past, I have it reasonably under control now through diet. The red feet can be triggered by very intense exercise for long duration or eating lots of protein/fats.

I have not been checked for dependent rubor, I will look into it!
 

Richiebogie

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I am indeed looking to build more muscle mass. This is a main reason why I try to keep my protein as high as my body will allow.
You may find more strength or bulk gains from replacing protein with fat or sugar.

If your body only uses 30g protein each day then the rest is just taxing your kidneys etc.

Protein is tasteless. It is the fat and sugary sauces that taste good.

Try replacing 40g protein with 40g more sugar or 20g more fat!
 

Tenacity

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I have been to the Dr. about a year ago for the red feet. They checked my heart and said it looked very good on the echocardiogram. Eventually the cause came out to probably be dysautonomia (self-diagnosed initially then confirmed by a Dr.). I suspect I developed this through overtraining in the past, I have it reasonably under control now through diet. The red feet can be triggered by very intense exercise for long duration or eating lots of protein/fats.
Reading through your original post, it sounded like you had some kind of autonomic blood pooling disorder. Do you have orthostatic tachycardia?
 
D

danishispsychic

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You may find more strength or bulk gains from replacing protein with fat or sugar.

If your body only uses 30g protein each day then the rest is just taxing your kidneys etc.

Protein is tasteless. It is the fat and sugary sauces that taste good.

Try replacing 40g protein with 40g more sugar or 20g more fat!
agreed agreed agreeeeeed.
 
OP
JustAGuy

JustAGuy

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Reading through your original post, it sounded like you had some kind of autonomic blood pooling disorder. Do you have orthostatic tachycardia?
I am indeed prone to such problems. In the past I had orthostatic tachycardia which resulted from bad diet & overtraining. This is mainly why I limit the amount of low rep/free weights weightlifting I do, my body recovers very poorly from it.
 
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JustAGuy

JustAGuy

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You may find more strength or bulk gains from replacing protein with fat or sugar.

If your body only uses 30g protein each day then the rest is just taxing your kidneys etc.

Protein is tasteless. It is the fat and sugary sauces that taste good.

Try replacing 40g protein with 40g more sugar or 20g more fat!
Whenever I eat more fat I feel worse instantly. I will try add some sugar to my milk to see what that will do :) I don't think I'll build much muscle if I drop under 100g/day of protein?
 

Richiebogie

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More calories should grow your body.

Good idea to add sugar to milk. Brown sugar comes with a few extra nutrients.

Interesting how fat disagrees with you. Might be the type of fat you are eating, or what you are eating the fat with.

You could try 50g - 100g of 70% chocolate for your late night snack instead of your bread and milk. That would be 300 Cal - 600 Cal.

Just eat a few more Calories than normal (but not from protein!).
 
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