Hello, everybody! I'm new, so thanks for having me in this thread.
I have Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), with a kidney function of about 40-45%, and in the course of learning about it and such, I have learned that poor kidney function can cause other illnesses, one of which is anemia. I have now developed this type of anemia myself...due to my poor kidney function. (Just the other day, I had my first of two iron infusion IVs.) I know anemia can be caused by many different functions within the body, but I just felt it important to let folks with undetermined anemia know to ask about getting their kidney function tested.
I have learned that our kidneys play a role in regulating red blood cells by producing erythropoietin (EPO). The reason poor kidney function can cause anemia is that as kidney function decreases so then does the body's production of EPO. There's a lot more to it than that, of course, but I'm not a medically trained person and only understand this little bit. My main point is that if the source of your anemia is unclear, you might want to ask your doctor to please check your kidney function. (The same could be said if the source of one's high blood pressure were unclear, as poor kidney function can cause that, too, as well as other ailments that result from ailing kidneys.)
I am learning a lot from this message board and from this anemia folder, and so I thank you all a whole lot for teaching me. Have a good day!
I am in stage 4 CKD, with anemia as well. I have heard the kidneys called the chemists of the body, much more than a pee machine, for sure. It is definitely all interconnected, and everything has to be diagnosed and treated to have any success at all.
I am glad you are on top of things with your health..I had strokes, making it hard to retain any information, so I depend on re-learning all the time. The more you know, the better your decisions are...I wish you well!
I suspect I have kidney problems. I pee a lot at night (volume). According to my reading, I have mild diabetes insipidus (water diabetes). I just got some labs back which show everything normal (I think) except specific gravity was 1.005 (pretty dilute). What would reduced kidney function, in the sense you're talking about, look like on labs?
A renal (kidney) panel (blood work) would be drawn, and the results would be obvious to your doctor. You could get a copy of your latest blood work results and ask for explanations of the tests that were performed. Your doctors office should be happy to give you a copy of your results, and answer your questions.
And, if for some reason a doctor won't do a full renal panel initially (my experience at first), ask the doctor particularly for the serum creatinine (waste in blood) to be measured and from it the eGFR (kidneys' estimated filtration rate) to be calculated. It's really important to get the eGFR. In my case, simply seeing the serum creatinine value didn't tell the whole story, and my GP didn't believe I had CKD until another doctor calculated my GFR...then my GP sent me to a nephrologist (kidney specialist). So, your doctor(s) should be glad to provide you the clearest answers to your questions about all this.
Wishing you the best!
Last edited by Mia1974; 09-29-2009 at 01:12 PM.
Reason: terminology
I got the latest labs today. My creatinine is always a little high, sometimes out of range, sometimes not. Today it was 1.22 (range .61-1.24). The doctors never seem to think its a problem and chalk it up to a lot of muscle mass(?) and/or meat consumption. The GFR was >60 (reference >60). Not sure what that means, but it wasn't flagged, so....ok?
The GFR, or often times referred to as the eGFR (estimated GFR) is a measure of your kidney function based on several factors. With a GFR of >60, means you have an estimated kidney function of >(greater than) 60%.
Our kidney function decreases over our lifetime, so your values will be lower as you age. A GFR of greater than 60, your kidneys are working at over 60% function. This represents mild loss of kidney function. Your doctor will keep an eye on this.
My doctor ran a urine test. All was normal according to him, although specific gravity was 1.005, which meets the definition of insipidus, I think. He was more worried about my platelet count dropping. He ran a platelet antibody test, which was negative. Not sure what, if anything, he'll want to do next.
Anemia and Kidney Function 
(Just the other day, I had my first of two iron infusion IVs.) I know anemia can be caused by many different functions within the body, but I just felt it important to let folks with undetermined anemia know to ask about getting their kidney function tested. 
