Protein in urine along with 3+ mmol of ketones

(Manthan Bhat ) #1

Hi, I started keto 9 days ago when I weighed 117kgs.
Today my weight is 111kgs
Now the problem that has risen is that 2days ago I got a complete blood urine test done.
I was on a fasting state for 16 hrs.
Now the urine showed 3plus mmol of ketone
And 1 gm protein.
I have no clue if this is some damage caused by keto diet or something normal.
My doctor told me to stop the diet immediately.

#2

Of course you have ketones in your urineā€¦ youā€™re in Ketosis! On the protein, are you hydrating correctly? Thatā€™s a long fast to get blood / pee work done. Keto doesnā€™t damage your body. Your doctors a person who isnā€™t good at his job and given bad advise (Thatā€™s an edit for the people who are insulted by words they donā€™t agree with), sorry OP, People are pretty fragile apparently. If he doesnā€™t grasp the difference between nutritional ketosis and WHY there are ketones in your pee vs a diabetic with ketoacidosis then heā€™s not intelligent enough to take nutritional advise from, like most mainstream doctors and nutrition. Not a surprise. You are very much still adapting to this. Eat normally, stop the long fasting and let your body become fat adapte.

(Allie) #3

Most doctors have no understanding of keto, how it works and the effect it can have, they are also very rarely trained in any sort of nutrition.

Your body is in the early stages of ketosis so going through the process of re-balancing and changing everything about how it has always worked. This can, and will, cause some unusual test results which is why itā€™s advised to avoid any sort of testing for the first six months.

The stage youā€™re at, the very best guide you can have is how you feel, and how your clothes fit.

#4

Whatever the cause for your proteinuria- you should have it tested again. If it is still there, then you need to be examined thoroughly. Many things can cause protein in your urine, but it is worrisome if it is the beginning of renal disease.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #5

Iā€™ve heard that diabetic kidney disease can precede the diagnosis or even onset of diabetes, so maybe you have stage 1 of that.

3+ ketosis is fine, and protein isnā€™t. Tell your doctor that you know whatā€™s going on with the ketones, but you want to further investigate the proteinuria, and look for nephritis and other such conditions.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

How much protein are you eating in a day? Are you eating more on your ketogenic diet than you were before? Recommendations vary, but the Dudes recommend 1.0-1.5 grams per kilogram of lean body mass per day. If you are exceeding that, you could try cutting back.

There is a minimum requirement for protein in the diet, because we always lose a certain amount of nitrogen every day, but too much protein intake can result in proteinuria and ammonia toxicity. On the other hand, there appears to be an instinct for getting the right amount of protein, so your proteinuria may well have some other cause. I doubt itā€™s the ketogenic diet per se, so in your place Iā€™d be encouraging the doctor to look elsewhere for a cause.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #7

as far as Iā€™m aware, this is only true if you have a weird liver or kidney disorder that prevents you from turning ammonia into urea efficiently, and then getting rid of that urea.

Iā€™ve never gotten the sense that high protein intake has a mechanistic reason to cause proteinuria. Amino aciduria maybe, but we have that anyway.

(Todd Allen) #8

See if you can get the report of your test result and post it exactly as written including the reference range.

It is perfectly normal to have protein in the urine. The question is how much do you have versus others being tested with the same assay. Hereā€™s my most recent result for a urinary protein test
RU/PROTEIN 7 mg/dL 5 - 25 mg/dL
My level of 7 is fine. It is near the bottom of the reference range. Also tests usually include a creatinine result and ratios of protein and creatinine as a way to correct for urine concentration as if you drink a lot of water the urine will be diluted for both or not drinking enough water will lead to abnormally high concentration of protein but it may not indicate a health issue.

(Bunny) #9

Some videos on the subject:

Ketosis and Kidneys: Setting the Record Straight

Beginners - SAVE YOUR KIDNEYS, Start KETO Now! Keto could have saved my Dadā€™s Kidneys

Dr. Stephen Phinney: Does a ketogenic diet cause kidney problems?

Kidney Disease (update)

Richard Morris - 'Protein? How muchā€™

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

These are pretty much the same thing, since protein is chains of amino acids that are cleaved in the digestive tract and when broken down as part of autophagy. But I was using the language imprecisely and meant amino acids in the urine, though I suppose that intact proteins can also make their way into the urine.

And my understanding is that eating too much protein can indeed overwhelm the uric acid cycle and cause ammonia toxicity. As I recall, Richard calculated that this is likely at protein intakes at or above 3.0 g/kg LBM/day.

#11

This place is really getting stupid with the censorship for disagreements in WORDS being used. Going to have to start putting on the bubblewrap before I come here.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #12

@lfod14 I can see no reason why your initial post got flagged. Is criticizing doctors now verboten? They receive no nutritional training and generally know nothing about keto. And weā€™re going to get flagged for saying so?

#13

Isnā€™t that priceless? A forum dedicated to spitting in the face of mainstream medicine that the majority of us think are near completely incompetentā€¦ But donā€™t say anything bad about one of them! Itā€™s insane, now even a disagreement of a dictionary word used correctly hurts peoples feelings. Getting harder and harder to come here lately.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #14

Amino aciduria is not the same thing as proteinuria. Proteinuria is the leakage of built proteins from the blood into the urine.

At which point you have rabbit starvation, if Iā€™m not mistaken. And we use urea, not uric acid, to excrete GNG waste.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #15

@Manthan_Bhat_117 You may be wondering whatā€™s going on, so hereā€™s what. A lot of folks on this forum have had poor experiences with their doctors not understanding nutritional ketosis and ketogenic eating. In some cases, folks have actually changed doctors to avoid dealing with constant negativity, criticism and misunderstanding. In most cases, I think, folks just go with the flow and accept that their doctor is not aware of the benefits of ketogenic eating but otherwise knowledgeable and helpful. They put on their ā€˜duck skinā€™ when the issue comes up and donā€™t get into arguments. A few folks are very fortunate and have found doctors who understand and support ketogenic eating. Those few are very happy campers. Finally, these scenarios get discussed repeatedly.

To get back to your questions. As noted already, ketones in your urine are to be expected at this point in your ketogenic journey back to health. The protein may or may not be indicative of a problem. You do need to have the protein clarified to determine whether or not itā€™s a problem that requires resolution. I donā€™t know your chance of finding a doctor knowledgeable about nutritional ketosis so you may have to stay with the one you have. That may prove difficult (or not) depending how adamant and inflexible he is about ā€˜stopping the diet immediatelyā€™.

(UsedToBeT2D) #16

Advice. Not advise.

#17

Nobody cares.

(UsedToBeT2D) #18

I am sorry for correcting you. My boss has me working on my soft skills.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #19

Calling someone an ā€œidiotā€ was the problem. We discourage name-calling, no matter at whom it is directed. For an idea of what we consider acceptable or unacceptable, please refer to our Community Guidelines.

Folks, I realise our tempers are all on short leashes because of the quarantine, but that only makes the need for civility all the greater. Look at it this way: you currently have plenty of time to polish the time-honoured skill of politely insulting folks!

(Polly) #20

Do you mean dressing up our insults with expressions like ā€œwith the greatest respectā€ or ā€œI like your thinking, butā€? Those would obviously work in an exchange between members in the group.

If we must avoid name calling, which sounds like a good idea, then we are going to have to come up with some novel descriptive words when talking about third parties whose actions have left people bereft of speech.

A doctor who wilfully refuses to recognise the benefit of a low carb diet in improving the blood sugar control in a type two diabetic could perhaps be described as a carbophile. Would that also be regarded as name calling?