Losing protein in urine due to FSGS. What to do?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a male with a weight of 90 kilograms. I am diagnosed with FSGS. Currently, I am taking Prednisolone 40 mg daily. Still, I have proteinuria. As I am losing more protein in my urine, do I need to eat more protein to increase my blood albumin levels? I can understand that edema occurs due to hypoalbuminemia. Will a diet with more protein can help me? My daily protein intake is around 30 grams. I am taking carbohydrates with low sodium levels. I started my treatment three months back with Prednisolone 60 mg daily. I got a better response and I do not had any more protein in my urine. After tapering my dose down to 30 mg, it came back again. Now, my doctor suggested me to take Prednisolone 40 mg and he has planned to give another drug called Cyclosporine. Is it fine?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Taking increased protein increases the risk of developing edema. Your kidney is unable to take more protein and if you add more of it, it will end up losing more proteins. So it is better to take a moderate type of diet. You should take a balanced diet. You should not take high protein and low carbohydrates. Both of them should be taken less. Eat more veggies. If there is a need, you can ask your doctor to increase the dosage of steroids. It will help to control proteinuria. In this condition, steroids should be taken for a longer duration. Do not take increased protein in your diet.