I had so-called routine blood tests last week, I phone up for my results, and the receptionist said all are fine, she was just about to hang up when I said can you tell me if I have had my cholesterol done please, well that was too much effort for her, she said I will have to go in and get a print out, well my creatinine level is 143, and my GFR is 47, I am a 55 year old male living in the uk, it also says at the top of results that I have to have them repeated in 12 months.
PS I do lift heavy weights at the gym can this be a factor?
Written by
Beano63
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I had a similar situation when my GFR was low at 64 with my creatinine at 126. Just like you, I lift heavy weights 4 to 5 times per week. My GP requested that I get an ultrasound which came back clear and kidneys looked normal. I also saw a nephrologist who requested that I get a 24 hour urine test which also came back normal with no protein. The nephrologist concluded that in my situation with no other causes of CKD such as diabetes or hypertension, an increase in creatinine was due to an increase in muscle mass and hence the drop in GFR.
I would suggest to you the following:
- have another blood test in 3 months.
- A week before the blood test don’t gym.
- drink lots of water
- stop intake of protein supplements including creatine. (If you are consuming)
- if the blood results don’t come back normal, request an ultrasound, urine test (24 hour test) and also ask your GP to recommend a nephrologist.
Based on my case I suggest elimination of heavy weights for Several months but start moderate walking at 2.5-3.5 mph for 30-40 min 5-6 x/ week and very light toning Also stop any supplements stay hydrated b
I started doing very vigorous exercise with 6-8 machines 5-6 days a week. Before I had done moderate exercise with walking.
My creatinine went from 1.85 to 2.1 in 3 months. I dropped as described with only light toning and walking. Before my next test I dropped all exercise for 3 days with low protein intake.
After 3 months my creatinine went down to 1.83
Are you on any meds and is your BP high?
Stay well hydrated especially before the blood test.
I don't believe Ckd people should build high muscle mass as it does increase creatinine.
I forgot to mention that I have high blood pressure, I take 10mg of lisinopril once a day, I don't really take any supplements apart from one scoop of protein powder after my workout, which is 3 times a week.
Thank you for replying, and good luck to you in the future.
I forgot to add that I do suffer from high blood pressure and take 10mg of lisinopril once a day, I have used creatine in the past, but do not take it now, I do eat a lot of protein, but nowhere near as much as they say you should when lifting weights, I bet I am lucky to get 100g of protein a day, if you don't mind me asking how old are you, and do you live in the UK, I only ask this as your reading are better than mine, and you were sent for a scan, and had a urine test, and I could use this information when I see my doctor.
I am 35 and based in Australia. However, my GFR had a steady decline from 71 to 64 over 12 months which prompt my GP to investigate further. In addition, GFR of that range was deemed pretty low for my age.
Been having a look around the forum, and on other sites, it does seem odd that doctors do not tell us we have this problem, what is the point of keeping it secret? and why even bother with blood tests, if they do not pass on the information to us.
I am 77 years old and live in USA. I have an advanced degree in the sciences. My suggestions are my best information and not what you should do as cases are different. My urine test is clear.
I will share a few things with you which you cn share with your doctor, I assume you have a nephrologist. Mine is from a top university teaching hospital, which is the type nephrologist I prefer as they must be on top of their field.
My nephrologist receoomended a channel blocker and not ace inhibitor for high BP because of side effects such as coughing, which you may not have, and negetive effects on creatinine and BUN. Suggest you do your own research on Ace inhibitor side effects. Some are different. I take Norvasc which is brand name for amlopidine. It has no such side effects
He does not recommend CT scan because of negative effects of scanning agent involved CKD. I took only NMR scans of upper and lower abdoinal with only a half dose of a different scanning agent. Also had Octreascans , alternating every 6 months. After 8 years of such tests my oncologist decided to sto as I showed no positive findings and she felt continued testing would have more negative effects on kidneys than worth it's continued use. I am not free of neuroendocrine tumor signs by other tests, but they are under conrtol by my use of a concentrate of blackraspberries that I have been taking after excision of my tiumor, which had metastasized with somme cells in 2 of 4 lymph nodes. The drink was recommended by a carcinod expert Louisiana. The drink acts to inhibiting blood from supporting tumors. My Oncologist is verty surprissed I have no neroendocrine symptoms such a flushing and diarrhea.
I understand you enjoy continued heavy workouts with 100 g protein with the protine supplement. Is is creatine? Which is not recommended. At your creatinine level my nephrologist receoomended not more than 1 g protein/kg body weight. At mine with GFR 31 he placed me on 0.8g/kg.
You must become an expert on CKD and take appropriate precautions as you have CKD which usually progresses. You can only try to control progression by knowing what to do.
I only found out yesterday that I have CKD stage 3, so I am not seeing a nephrologist, and having read other posts on here it is unlikely I will get to see one, as doctors in the UK, do not seem to care about kidney disease at this stage, they just monitor it with blood test, and seem to wait for it to get worse before they act.
The weight lifting could have an effect on your creatinine levels. I uses to bodybuild and recently went to my nephologist who told me to go back to it if I wanted. The more muscle mass you have the higher the level of creatinine you kidneys will have to filter. This doesn't mean there any better or worse. My levels were a lot higher 3 years ago. When I was 17stone and around 14% bf now I'm 15 stone the levels have dropped. There is a certain blood test you can have done that doesn't take muscle mass I to account I might me able to find the sheet I was given 2 years ago with it's name if your interested. I got told not to stop lifting weight as exercise is great. I since switch to road cycling but thinking of going back to weight lifting. Good luck.
I am nowhere near your level of lifting, and I don't ever think my bodyfat levels have been that low lol, at the moment I weigh 15st 12lbs, of muscle and fat, I do enjoy lifting weights, and don't really want to stop, there is mixed information on the internet, don't lift weights, don't eat this, then another site will say you can lift weights, and you can eat this, what annoys me is that I have been having blood tests for a few years, and I remember about 4 years ago, the doctor said my creatinine levels were up a little, but not to worry about it, we will keep our eye on it, but they never told me what the level was, or if it had gone up from earlier blood tests.
Thanks for replying, and good luck for the future.
Hello Beano63, I have found your posts very interesting, especially when you mentioned the attitude of your Doctor. I have found the same thing and was given no dietary advice whatsoever, just to lower my consumption of potassium but not how to do this or by how much and, unlike you, I have no idea what my GFR figure is! It seems that in UK one does not get to see a renal dietician or nephrologist until one is near to needing dialysis. After being monitored for around 5 years by the GPs Surgery, I was told I had age-related CKD stage 3 - I did get to see the Registrar at the local Renal Unit of the local General Hospital where a CT scan showed I have only one effective kidney (probably since birth) and at my age, nearly 77, its beginning to feel the strain of doing all the work! I was told they do not give precise figures for GFR and creatinine levels since they change all the time and everyone gets too fixated on them instead of keeping calm and adopting a suitable regime of kidney-friendly diet and exercise (but again no guidance as to how to do this). On the bright side, I have learned from more than one source that it is not inevitable that CKD gets progressively worse, most people manage to keep stable for long periods of years, that one should follow an appropriate kidney-friendly diet, avoid alcohol and smoking, lower salt and sugar intake as much as possible (also avoiding salt substitutes and artificial sugars) and try to lose weight, if needed!
Incidentally, I also have high blood pressure, controlled by Atenolol and Irbesartan, and also take prescribed Atorvastatin for cholesterol. My brother, 3 years younger received the same diagnosis 18 months before me and also has only one effective kidney, so it seems genetics has a part to play in this. He lives in a different part of UK and does see a specialist dietician as he has complex health issues. Hope some of this has helped - Curleytop1.
Thank you for taking time to reply to me, I sat in all day waiting for a phone call from the doctors that never arrived, I am very angry at the moment and I am going to ring them up when they open, they do not seem to take this problem very seriously a tall, hope you are keeping well, I have tried to look after myself all my life, never smoked, not a big drinker started working out around 16 years of age, been riducled by family and firends over the years because of my healthy eating and workout regimen, so if there is a problem with my health I think I have a right to know, not just sweep it under the carpet, As I have mentioned I have been having regular blood tests for a number of years, one doctor did mention about 4 years something about my creatinine levels being a little on the high side, but nothing to worry about, I had been taking the sport supplement creatine at the time, so thought nothing of it, if he had sat me down and said this could get quite serious, I would have paid attention to it, had a good luck on the internet, and took apropiate action to turn it around.
Thank you for replying, and good luck for the future.
Managed to get an ultrasound examination sorted out by the doctor, even though she said there is nothing to worry about, at my age and the amount of muscle I am carrying there is no problem, she even said my creatinine levels are lower now than they were in November of last year.
Hello again Beano63, Glad to have been helpful to you - that is why we are all here, to try to help each other as best we can. Good that you will be having an ultrasound exam. as you will learn a lot more about your figures when this is done, and I hope you don't have to wait too long for this - mine was 8 months! At your stage 3 you have probably not have been given any dietary advice except to eat healthily and an appropriate portion at each meal. I have to cut down on potassium (GP and Renal Registrar's instruction) so have devised a number of meals and snacks AVOIDING those foods highest in potassium and concentrating on eating those lowest in potassium. Some people have to watch their phosphate intake too, but I don't know if this happens at stage 3 or later. The USA website 'Davita.com' is often recommended as it has lots of nice looking kidney-friendly recipes but I find them difficult to follow as I like simple meals and live alone - dividing meals into 4 or more portions is tricky but I do make extra portions to freeze for when I need things in a hurry. The Renal Departments in our local general hospitals are often a good source of information on which foods to use and which to avoid (Guys and St. Thomas's in London comes to mind) - just google in what sort of kidney-friendly diet you need and see what comes up! I think you will feel better about things when you start to take steps to help yourself and you should congratulate yourself in trying to keep as fit and healthy as you can - unfortunately there are no guarantees in life!
P.S. Referring again to the ultrasound exam, I got the result of mine about 20 minutes after it was done and was given a tip from someone on this site to go armed with all the questions I wanted answered as I was going through the results with the Renal Registrar - he readily answered them and seemed impressed that I'd bothered to do it - also, it really helped me to realise I was doing the right thing to help myself - good luck and let us know how you get on - Curleytop1
Thanks once again for replying curleytop1, hopefully, things start going in the right direction now, I have also been looking at kidney cleansing drinks like parsley and dandelion tea, I did take a list of foods I am supposed to avoid to the doctors, but she said just carry on eating as normal, but maybe leave out the olives, and I can still lift weights.
PS just did a bit more digging, and parsley is also high in potassium and phosphorus, so maybe not have it, it's like a minefield out there lol.
Halfway down this page it lists foods you can and cannot eat, it says parsley is good to eat, but as I have pointed out, it is full of potassium and phosphorus.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Seriously questioning my doctor, need your advice!
Saying goodbye. And leaving some info that might make you people that have a "near" normal gfr feel better!
Anxiety over Recent Tests. Please Help
