Reversing My Kidney Function Decline and Chronic Pain

There are moments in life that feel like someone flipped a switch.

In mid-May 2025, I realized I was pain-free.

Not just a little better. Not “slightly improved.” Actually pain-free. My mind was clear. I had energy again. I could walk through the grocery store without leaning on the cart.

And it was sudden. Like a lightswitch had been turned on.

I couldn’t help but sit there thinking…

“How was this ever hard for me?”

That question – stunned, almost disbelieving – was the sign that something real had shifted. I wasn’t surviving anymore. I was healing.

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🌀 Then vs. Now

Less than a month earlier – in April, even the smallest tasks were massive obstacles.

My cat had become gravely ill during a massive storm – and the process of getting him into a carrier and driving him to the vet felt insurmountable. I kept hoping my husband would come home and take him, but as a first responder, he kept getting held over due to the storm and all the emergency calls.

I finally realized: I was my beloved pet’s only hope.

• Just finding the cat carrier in the garage took massive effort. I had to rest after coming back inside.
  
• Wrestling him into the carrier was a battle –  he was so exhausted, and I was too. We struggled just to get him flipped upright.
  
• Carrying him to the car left me breathless.
  
• Driving into town? A heroic feat. It was pouring rain, and I’d hardly been driving at all lately – certainly not in weather like that.
  

At the time, I was still in pain, despite having started physical therapy back in September. I’d paused treatment because of the awful weather, but I hadn’t healed.

Every day felt heavy. My energy was gone. My brain was fogged. I was pushing through, just barely.

And now?

I swear it was a lightswitch.
I’m walking freely.
I’m working again.
I’m building and dreaming and leading my community with a passion I thought I’d lost.

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📈 The Kidney Function I Was Told Would Only Decline… Improved

The most shocking validation of this transformation came not from how I felt – but from my lab results.

In 2021, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Chronic Kidney Disease. I’d had blood in my urine for years and was prescribed round after round of antibiotics – until I finally read one of my reports closely and realized it said I did not have a UTI.

Eventually, after a long diagnostic journey, I had a kidney biopsy. That’s when I was diagnosed with Thin Basement Membrane Disease (TBMD)—a genetic condition where the filtering layers of the kidneys are thinner than normal. This allows protein and blood to leak into the urine and can lead to long-term loss of kidney function.

At the time, doctors told me:
🛑 There’s no medicine.
🛑 No supplement.
🛑 No diet that can reverse it.
When the filters are used up, that’s it.

They told me I might stabilize, but I would most likely continue to decline.

Here’s what actually happened:

For context:

• 90–100% is considered normal kidney function (the kidneys are filtering well)
  
• 60–89% is Stage 2 (mild loss of function)
  
• Below 60% moves into more serious stages, with dialysis required by Stage 5
  

When I saw the April 2025 improvement to 74%, I was told it was probably just lab fluctuation and to expect it to hover in the high 60s or low 70s.

But by July, my kidney function shot back into the normal range to 97%! From Stage 2 to fully functional!

To be fair, I’d been fasting for about 18 hours when the labs were drawn, which likely lowered my creatinine and raised my eGFR. But even accounting for that, the trend is undeniable.

This isn’t a fluke.
It’s a reversal.

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🌿 My Remission Protocol

📥Download My Remission Protocol here

I didn’t do just one thing—and honestly, it’s hard to list everything I did. But I believe my healing came from the synergy of choices I made working together:

• Ketogenic diet (since Sept 2024) — customized to my food sensitivities and inflammation triggers
  
• Nightly 12-hour fasts, plus a 36-hour fast every 9 days
  
• Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) — ~5 mg daily, when I first felt the “cloud” lift
  
• Tulsi tea (Holy Basil) — daily for cortisol, blood sugar, and inflammation balance
  
• Ultima electrolytes — started mid-May, supporting hydration and mineral balance
  
• Stopped Pantoprazole and Famotidine (PPI and H2 blockers) in February
  
• Circadian rhythm support — morning sun, evening wind-down, blue-light blockers after 6 PM
  
• Vagus nerve support — humming, deep breathing, time in nature
  
• Sunlight for vitamin D — No sunscreen for vitamin D time & use the app D-minder prevent burning
  
• Supplements — L-theanine, magnesium glycinate, B12 to support mood and sleep
  
• Infrared therapy — for reducing cortisol and increasing serotonin
  

All of it worked together.
It brought me back to life.

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💭 “Was I a Fraud?”

Recently, I had a moment of reflection.

I was talking with a friend who had injured her back just before a cruise. My husband and I suggested she ask for a wheelchair at the airport – just like I once did- and she hesitated.

Her hesitation made me pause.
I remembered using airport wheelchairs…
…grocery carts as makeshift walkers…
…asking for help at the DMV…

And suddenly, I thought:

Was I really that bad? Was I exaggerating? Did I need it?

But no.

I wasn’t faking. I was coping. 

I wasn’t weak. I was resourceful.
I asked for help – and that’s part of what got me here.

That version of me – struggling, creative, still showing up in small ways – got me through.

We all deserve support while healing.

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😰 The Portal Panic (and What It Taught Me)

I’ll admit… I panicked.

The morning of my nephrology appointment, I logged into my portal and saw an eGFR of 70 again. ALL the labs looked different. I was furious and confused.

Did they change my labs? Retest my sample? Was it all a mistake?

Turns out, I was just looking at older results. My patient portal had reordered them, and I hadn’t realized it.

But the emotional whiplash was real.

We watch those numbers like lifelines. One value can either validate our healing… or feel like a betrayal of all our effort.

If you’ve ever felt that way, I see you.
You’re not alone.

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❤️ Final Thoughts

My healing didn’t come from one protocol or pill.
It came from a thousand small steps over months – and years – of trial and error.

And yes, I’m sure there are still more errors ahead…
But there’s also hope.

• I put Hashimoto’s into remission in 2016.
  
• I lost 7 dress sizes with Lipedema in 2018—despite doctors saying it couldn’t be done.
  
• I reversed Prediabetes.
  
• And now… I’ve reversed Stage 2 Kidney Disease.
  

Despite what they said.
Despite what I feared.

Healing is possible.
I’m living proof.

And to the version of me who once needed a wheelchair… who couldn’t even carry a cat carrier…
Thank you.
You didn’t give up.
You brought me here.

When Did We Become a Nation of Shrugs?