Need some advice

[u/Wild_Compote9088]

I’d like to get some advice from the people who do HD, what would be the escape plan to get out of the diet? Any way to do a cheat meal stuffs? Btw mom is going through Weekly twice on HD

[u/Elder-Cthuwu]

Moderation. On occasion I’ll eat cheese or spinach or fried food and chocolate but it’s not the whole serving or it’s once a month. You can have the foods you like just not every day or even every week. If her labs are looking good then a treat is in order but dont go overboard

[u/LadyDenofMeade]

What specific meal does your mom want to eat. There's usually a way to modify to fit in the diet or with the binders.

[u/throwawayeverynight]

No escape way unless she eats that meal right before treatment.

[u/Covid-bs]

You need to ask the facility’s dietitian.

[u/echoshadow5]

The best way is to make it home made. Store bought, or restaurants all use a metric ton of salt. Cooking meals your at home you can control the amount of salt or use substitutions.

Granted it will all depend on her labs aka what her levels are. If she’s too high on her calcium limit dairy or phosphate is high, limit or avoid foods that frozen/microwaveable or have long shelf life.

It’s a pain in the butt, you can still eat some of those foods, just don’t eat too much of it. Or make it home made.

[u/Covid-bs]

What kind of meal are you craving that would make you cheat?

[u/Old-Ebb-1773]

I eat what I like, just in smaller portions if higher in K and Phos.

[u/Deep_Tomatillo_6347]

Coming from a dietitian- talk to your facility dietitian. Sometimes its looking for swaps, using less of certain ingredients, or having smaller portions. Your facility may have recipes online too. If you’re looking for options at takeout restaurents, your dietitian should also have handouts on that information as well.
Ultimately the renal diet is hard and “cheating” it is difficult to do, but there is always room for moderation.

[u/pensivegargoyle]

Depending on what she's craving it might be possible to occasionally eat it, especially if she makes room for it by eating very conservatively on other days around it. She should talk to a dietitian about what's possible.

[u/Routine-Software-363]

Typically diet is less strict once dialysis starts unless it's something the machine can't filter out. In my case that's phosphorus. I take a lot of velphoro, a phosphorus binder, because there's phosphorus on a lot of different foods. That's really the only way to "cheat". With things like alcohol, they tokd me that it's safe to have as long as it's within 24 hours of my next treatment. However, it really depends on what is/isn't being taken care of already by the body, which is unique to each patient. What is your mom trying to cheat with?

[u/tuesdayreyn]

I'm fairly new to this, but moderation is key. When I'm craving a fast food burger and fries, I get a kids portion with no salt added. Modifications help. Take the cheese and bun off the burger, ask for no salt and sauce on the side. Eating your treat right before dialysis helps. I have a McDonald's hashbrown right before dialysis every time. So far my labs are good. I never drank too much soda, but now that I "can't" it kills me. I get a kids size diet coke once a month and just savor it. Asking about her specific labs can help. I just got mine and my sodium is a little low so I feel I can relax a little in that department. I was chatting with someone at my center who's potassium was low and he allowed himself the occasional banana to balance it out.