In the last six months, my Creatine went from 0.7 to 0.8 and my GFR went from >89 to 76 NB. Why such a big jump in such a short time? Is this something I should be worried about? I do have high blood pressure and at times have trouble keeping my systolic pressure down, never diastolic (always in the 50/60 range). Could these numbers be caused from taking a statin for cholesterol? My doctor didn't even order a urine test, she just said you have stage 2 kidney failure and sent me on my way. Should I be concerned and what can I do to prevent any further damage???
Please help,
Missy
At this point I wouldn't worry over much. Are you seeing a nephrologist? First off, those numbers are normal. Any eGFR over 60 is considered to be "normal". Also, your creatinine is also in an acceptable range. The slight changes you indicate could be due simply to a lack of hydration prior to the lab work.
Just out of curiousity, if you don't mind my asking, what is the underlying kidney disease that you have? I had type 1 diabetes. To help put these numbers into perspective for you, I didn't go on dialysis until my creatinine was about 9. Keep in mind too that very often kidney disease will stablize if you take good care of yourself. This means keepin blood pressure in a normal range, often taking an ACE inhibitor or ARB blood pressure med to help prevent further kidney damage, keeping hydrated, and cutting back on animal proteins.
corvah is very right in what she just stated. i am wondering what in the heck this doc is thinking? was this a neph or what? to tell you what you were told and NOT even bother to check your urine for trace protien just seems a bit odd to me. have you ever had an ultrasound done on your kidneys at all just to see what they actually 'look" like? i am only asking becasue of the ongoing high BPs you have and had? Marcia
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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
Thanks for responding. The doctor was my regular GP and I went in for just a routine blood pressure check and blood work. I have no underlying illness that I know of. I am not a diabetic. I am currently on blood pressure meds and have been for years. When I am at home, I usually have normal readings, but for some reason my sytolic pressure will spike for no reason. Everytime I go to the doctor it spikes because of white coat hypertension and my doc wants me to take more and more bp meds. This last time when I went in and she said you have Stage 2 kidney failure, I about fell off the bench!!!
I asked her how I got that and she said because of your high blood pressure and you should have taken the extra bp meds I keep trying to prescribe for you. I just don't think it's from high blood pressure. I have three different blood pressure monitors at home and when I get a wacky number, I verify it on the other monitors and I really don't think that my bp is causing the kidney failure. That's why I thought it was from the statin I was taking for my cholesterol.
So you don't think I should worry too much about my creatine and GFR levels??? I really got scared about them. If I am at 0.8 creatine, does that mean I need dialysis at 0.9???? That's only 1 point away!!!!! Also, I do feel dehydrated alot but drink alot of water. I have had my blood work done for diabetes and all was okay.
Thanks again gals for responding, it made me feel better.
Missy
While I'm not a doctor, I will say that maybe you are in stage 2, and maybe you are not. I found a definition that says:
Mild reduction in GFR (60-89 mL/min/1.73 m2) with kidney damage. Kidney damage is defined as pathologic abnormalities or markers of damage, including abnormalities in blood or urine test or imaging studies.
I wouldn't trust a gp to make this sort of diagnosis though. Especially one that doesn't do a urinalysis. While high blood pressure can cause kidney damage, I don't believe that you can make this sort of a diagnosis without further tests and I would definitely ask to see a nephrologist. You will get better advice regarding the kidneys and also probably get better advice regarding the high blood pressure.
I still stand by the fact that hydration (or lack thereof) could have affected your results.
Just want to add - I didn't go on dialysis at 0.9, I went on at 9.0. That is a world of difference away and given where you are at now, could take decades to get there.
ditto again on what corvah stated above. i am really wondering if this is not possibly a case of an actual kidney issue CAUSING the spikes in BP and not the other way around? the thing is here is that it can actually go or just be either way so to speak. while high BPs can cause a kidney disease, the same thing can happen if you actually HAVE a kidney diesease already ongoing too that could create the high BPs, ya know what i mean?
what you really need to do here is either seek out another doc who actually has a clue to this one thing(this IS just sooo freaking basic) or ask to have an actual UA that would simply confirm or deny a possible underlying kidney disease even being there that could create a high BP issue at times. seeing protien in ones urine is just one of the earliest actual indicators of a possible underlying kidney disease process going on. it should have just been done with what she decided to suprise you with at the appt. honestly? i personally think you need a much better primary doc who just knows the very basics here? seriously.
also obtaining at least an ultrasound would actually show what the kidneys actually are looking like in you. believe me here when i say that you can actually have really great kidney labs and STILL show some pretty crazy stuff within or even on the kidneys themselves. i have what is called polycystic kidney disease and still, despite really massive amounts of cysts in and on both kidneys and my liver too(along with profound enlargement of my kidneys), all my labs are still within midrange normal, all of them, with my GFR amazingly still above 80, but i DO most defintiely have that protien in my urine that actually showed wayyy before i even knew i HAD a kidney disease during what was my fire dept physical from a company that came in to test only certain things in all of us one year? i was told i had protein in my urine by my dept chief and not any notes from a doc that said i needed to follow up with this protien crap. this was actually 8 years before we even found out we had PKD running in our family after my son became deathly ill from impact on his liver. that was in 99. thats when I found out i had been born with this too. sooo, you just never really know for certain based upon only one type of testing just what IS really going on in our bodies really.
getting that one UA done is pretty important but also getting that one looksee at your kidneys should be done too at some point soon. if this doc wont do the right things for you, just fire her and move onto another more 'clued in' type of primary. like i said, she missed the very very basics of kidney disease 101, ya know? there just has to be a real reason for the high intermittant BPs and of course the very subtle but there changes in labs from what they were before. and that IS what she should be trying to just find out for any patient and she does not seem to 'energized" to even do for her patients? she just sounds like a very 'lazy' type of doc that you do not need right now. just some 'stuff'. marcia
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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
I agree. If there is any indication of kidney issues (and your gp says there is) you should be referred to a nephrologist. Many studies have shown that the earlier the referral, the better the outcomes. A neph and the neph team can deal with all sorts of issues - emotional, dietary, and other health issues like high blood pressure. You will learn all sorts of info that you can't get from a family doctor and the latest forms of treatment to slow or prevent progression. Demand a referral.
Thanks again for your responses. I have tried to change my primary doctor, but under the insurance program that I am on, no other doctors are excepting new patients. I guess I am just stuck with this one for now. Thanks Marcia for your response, because I never thought that perhaps it is a kidney problem that might be spiking my blood pressure instead of the other way around. I do believe that when my bp spikes, I swear it's like my body is producing some kind of chemical or something wierd is happening to my body!!! It's hard to describe and it only happens every so often, but when it does, I know immediately and it sends me into an extreme anxiety attack.
Is a UA a urine analysis???
I am do for another regular blood pressure check in the next couple months which I am sure will be very upsetting for me along with the blood test. If I get another bad result, I am definetly going to bring someone with me as an advocate, because this doctor really just scares the heck out of me and gives me no solutions but an increase in bp meds.
My kidney numbers are okay for now right??? Will let you know what happens, wish me luck.
Missy, you kidney numbers are find. As we've said before, if your primary doc insists that you have a kidney problem, then I would insist on seeing a kidney doctor. You don't necessarily have to switch primarys, just add a specialist.
