Potassium and phosphorus daily allowances

I cannot find nor remember what the daily allowance is for phosphorus and potassium as a hemodialysis patient. It’s drilled into us over and over about the phosphorus and potassium content in foods but I have no idea what the daily allowance is.

What have people on this list been told? I cannot even find articles stating the different daily allowances.

thanks!!

Wendy, I believe this is individualized based on your lab tests, so it shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all limit. You might try the Kidney School Nutrition module (http://www.kidneyschool.org/m09/ or PDF at http://www.kidneyschool.org/pdfs/KSModule9.pdf. I’m almost certain this info is in there.

Thanks Dori! That was fast!

I would imagine much depends on what type of dialysis and how often, and to what extent, if any, that the kidneys are working. The info says HD people could have phosphorus in foods to about 800 to 1,200 mg/day and potassium between 2,000 and 3,000 mg/day. I have zero kidney function, so most likely, it’s less than that for me.

I always had difficulty with high counts for both while doing short daily. I ate LOTS of binders and still had high phosphorus. The first month of nocturnal my counts were great. The second month I stopped taking all binders and my counts were great again. Last month, my third month, my counts on both were very high. I think it’s because of the white beans we ate for a couple of days over new years. YUM. I’m still learning and adjusting as I go along. I have learned even with nocturnal 6 nights/week, if I am going to indulge in beans, I’ll have to do the binders. Better yet, I should just skip them because they are also high in calories!

You might ask LeeAnn Smith, the dietitian who answers questions in our expert boards. We chose her because she knows how the meal plan changes with different treatment options. :slight_smile: