Kidney Disease

[BDANDFAM3]

i went in for a check up on friday, don't have the same doctor i did at the start of my anemia, had blood work done
RBC 3.84 RANGE 4.10-5.30
Hgb 10.8 RANGE 12.0-16.0
Hct 31.8 RANGE 37.0-47.0

BUN 26 RANGE 10-25
Creatinine 1.35 RANGE 0.60-1.10

now what has me concerned is the
GFR Estimate 43 RANGE >60 high low flag was A
the doc i seen did not say a thing about it. i always ask for a copy of any tests i have. i looked at this when i got home has me very concerned i am for sure got to call my family doc from what i could tell is that i am like at stage 3 kidney failuer. any help with this would greatly be appeciated

[Hopeful]

Don't panic yet! My GFR was out-of-range one month, and I also panicked after Googling what it could mean.

Definitely call your family doctor and have your BUN/creatinine tests redone. I would also ask for a urine test to look for protein. Be sure to be well hydrated before the tests, as this can throw off the numbers.

Have you ever had your EPO measured? If your kidneys are stressed, perhaps this could contribute to your anemia???

I hope it is just a transient event!

[Lisa Z]

I am very concerned. Out of nowhere,my Creatinine and GFR counts are way high. I looked on line and it looks like significant kidney failure. Did a retest this morning and will meet with my regular family doc to see what this all means. Now and then I get a very high count on something that has always been normal. Hope this is one of those occasions. But, in the meantime, I am concerned and will likely have to wait till Monday for the results. This will mean a long weekend

[Hopeful]

Hi Lisa,

Are you on any medications right now?

Hopefully the retest came back normal. I would get the urine test done as well to look for protein, since it is a quick office test. I consulted with a nephrologist who recommended doing a urine test every 6 months while on Cyclosporine.

Do you have any other symptoms? Extreme fatigue? Swelling? Itching? Here's a website that lists some of the other symptoms of kidney failure:
http://www.lifeoptions.org/kidneyinf...nfo.php?page=4

If you don't have other symptoms, try not to panic until Monday! Hopefully it was just a lab anomaly.

[Lisa Z]

Thanks for your reply. The new test results came back in normal range. I just have to make sure I am not dehydrated. I was never a drinker, just never thirsty, unless, of course, I'm exercising. So, I need to force myself to drink plenty of water. And, I'm not really on meds, so it wasn't caused by that. I will now be more careful. I am doing too well on my Campath trial, to have any issues with kidneys, etc. Boy, that scary feeling came back that I haven't had in over a year; I don't want to feel it again........

[Greg H]

Hey Lisa!

So, are you now off Valacyclovir and Pentamidine? I recall that back in July you were thinking you might be stopping those soon.

Any side effects from either of those?

I've never been a big drinker of water, either, though I am getting better at that. I find "fizzy water" helps -- just plain old seltzer with no added salt. It makes the water less boring. In the warmer months, I drink a lot of iced green tea, though I have to admit, it took some getting used to. We still call it "swamp water."

Take Care!

Greg

[Lisa Z]

My local doctor wants me to stay on them until my CD 4 counts are back in normal range. They do continually go up. No, the meds cause no problems at all. No problem there.

[Divina Buhay]

I have MDS and I also have kidney disease and I'm transfusion dependant since my bone marrow no longer produces red blood cells. I have had terrible back pains that required me to use my back brace almost all day long and every now and then when the pain gets so bad, I take Vicodin. On my own, I decided to stop taking Actos in total of 45 ml every day and I have reduced my Glipizide to one twice a day. I now treat my diabetes with insulin. For the past 7 days, my back pain went away, I am no longer swollen that use to require me to take Lasix for relief. My last creatinine test showed improvement in my GFR. I thought I was well on my way to become a dialysis patient. I am also taking "black tea" (2) 3 times a day that is helping to stabilize my iron overload. I hope my discovery helps those who suffer from the same thing that I've suffered on my own without the help of my doctors. The black tea recommendation came from my new oncologist, while my other oncologist gave me Vidaza that only served to ruin my kidneys even more.