Blood tests hitting at some Kidney damage - Not getting help from Dr's - worried.

Kidney and urinary tract
1

I am hoping I can get some clarification on some blood test results since my physician isn't of much help. I had been experiencing insomnia, pain in my back on the right side, itchy skin, and extreme fatigue. I'm 49 years old. My blood tests showed the egfr at 65 down from 109 a year ago, the BUN at 23 which was higher than last year and the BUN creatine ratio at 22.3. I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I asked my doctor if I should be worried about kidney damage and it was shrugged off. Told to drink more water. Was also told that last year and frankly I drink so much water, Gatorade, and water with electrolytes in it that I am constantly in the bathroom and up at all hours when I do manage to sleep needing to go use the bathroom. I'm not overweighted, not diabetic, and do not have high blood pressure. In fact I have very low blood pressure. Not sure if this warrants getting a second opinion. Thanks.

 

2

Hi well I have just found out that most people around age of 50yrs will be in CKD 3 range and be healthy. It is due to natural age related decline in kidney function. I am 52yrs recent random blood test showed CKD 3 with efgr of 49. My doc not worried, he just says he will monitor yearly and nothing can be done until you go below 30. If you are obese, diabetic, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol then these things need to be addressed but if you are relatively healthy then this will be normal for you. The only thing I would say is that the right side back pain should prob be investigated as you may have kidney stone and this could effect your kidney function.

Hope this helps a bit.

3

Sounds like you are drinking too much water! perhaps a bit more moderation with it.  Your GFR is fine at the moment and many people who have age related loss of function never progress any further. Helps to try not to worry too!  Good luck!

4

It sounds like you drink too much, which is not good for you overall, including kidney health and blood pressure. I would start monitoring daily urine volume (more accurate since there is liquid in foods as well) and try to keep it between 1.5 to 2 liters. I one time, following doctor's order of "drink more", had my egfr plummeting due to resulting urinary retention which backed up into the kidneys.

Anyhow, egfr of 65 is not bad. 

Hank

5

Thank you. I'm relatively healthy as I run and workout a lot. All I was told was that I was dehydrated and I should drink more which didn't make sense to me since I was already on fluid overload. 

6

Thank you! And according to the doctor I'm not drinking enough!

7

Thanks, from what I've seen here I'm going to cut my fluid intake back a bit and see what happens. 

8

Especially if you are a male. Hank

9

I'm female. 

10

Good for you. 😀 Hank

11

Mg sister's daughter had some problems with her kidneys and I asked what she was drinking, she said gatorade. I told her that any liquid that contains phophorus and or potassium can be harmful to her kidneys. Guess what it contains. Itching may be caused with too much phophorus from any diary foods, unless you take a binder like Renvela.

Any caffeine drinks, colas or chocolates are diuretics, which will make you urinate more. Carbonated drinks can also cause excess urination, especially if you ate drinking them after 4pm.

If you are sleeping during the day, have you been checked for sleep apnea.

I am dialysis now, so I know items that I must not eat or drink. If I eat any diary, I take a binder. I don't drink dark soda, it contains phophorus. Caramel. coating contains it or brown sugar. The only soda that is dark is A&W root beer, or any light colored soda like lemon lime.

I am limited to 4 cups of water or 32 ounces of liquid per day, otherwise, I retain alot of water .

Before dialysis, I was drinking alot of water. But I experienced, water leakage out of my legs(my socks and shoes were wet when I got home) and claudication--Pain when walking. Hope you never experience claudication.

So I would suggest less. liquids, which includes fruit, ice cream, jello, or anything that can reduce itself to water.

But I am not a doctor. You must ask a doctor or a renal doctor what you can or cannot eat.

I took it upon myself to go on the kidney diet before I went on dialysis. But the one day I stopped the diet, and my creatinine shot up to 5.9, so naturally, I was fitted with a catheter in my neck to start on dialysis that day on February 21, 2014.

I hope I have. given you enough information so you can decide to take my advice or not.

Good luck. John

12

I only drink some Gatorade after running and not the whole bottle. I usually stick to running. I am lactose intolerant so I have to avoid dairy as well as gluten. Not into carbonated beverages so that's not an issue. I do have to watch what I eat because of digestive issues so I am very careful there. My neurologist said I don't have sleep apnea, have been checked for that. Just thought it was funny that my doctor told me to drink more when everything I read said otherwise. Think I'm going to adjust my diet accordingly and see what happens. Thanks. 

13

Hi..the fact that you're healthy could mean your problem is coming from your thyroid or a kidney disorder which can cause your numbers to drop. If you're not seeing a endocrinologist for the thyroid, you should try to find one as well as a nephrologist. I wish you the best of luck.