eGFR around 60 normal??

[Cruze44]

Again, this stuff is so confusing. I'm currently waiting for blood test results to rule out kidney disease. In the meantime I dug out old copies of all my blood test results from past physicals and stuff like that. I was looking at the kidney section and there was no actual number listed for my eGFR. All it said was >60 (NORMAL). But some of the post I read on here people was saying that they were diagnosed with like stage 3 ckd with eGFR's in the 60's and 70's????? I'm confused. So is readings over 60 normal or not?? Thanks for any advice!

[DeanSamson]

Hi,

I have had a few blood test done in recent years and one year it came back >60 normal and 6 months later it came back >90. From what my nephologist told me is that egfr reading are very inaccurate and are mere calculations. I would go more of your creatinine, serum sodium and serum urea. If these all indicate normal there's nothing to worry about. I have pkd and all values in the normal range. Creatinine goes up and down with muscle mass as mine does (I like to lift weights). Hope this helps.

Dean

[Cruze44 in reply to DeanSamson]

Well I be damned. So about 3 am last night I got an email saying my labs were ready to view. And sure enough. I guess I have CKD!! My creatinine level was 1.3 with a eGFR of 65!! So stupid cause the lab result says normal. However, when I look it up it says I have stage 2 disease. Very close to stage 3?? One thing that scares me even more is my BP spikes. From what I’m reading BP spikes aren’t really common at this stage??? At night my BP often goes from high normal to like 180/110. So is it CKD causing this?? Or is my BP spiking for other reasons and that what causing my kidneys to act up? And of course I have no health insurance so I’d say I’m likely doomed. Very upsetting.

[motolas in reply to Cruze44]

If your no is spiking it will have a negative effect to the very small blood vessels in your kidneys. 1.3 is a very low level and not to panic. Determine from you internist about your normal levels and whether it is normal to have night spikes. If you are normally above 140 you may want to get a mild antihypertensive drug. Amlodipine is good.

Have another test in about a month. Make sure you are well hydrated before the test.

Hope you do well

[Cruze44 in reply to DeanSamson]

Yeah, my BUN is normal which from what I'm reading is odd. Most things I've read is that elevated BUN is usually the first sign even before creatinine raises. From what I been able to gather from the web usually in CKD they both rise together. I guess BUN is not as useful as Creatinine just for the simple fact it can elevate for a wide variety of reasons other then kidney disease. But a normal BUN and elevated Creatinine seem like an unusual presentation.

[Marvin8]

Most labs don't really test for GFR's above 60, although they used to. Whether you have ckd or not depends on what your true GFR is. Mine has been hovering between low/mid-50's to >60 for the past year and a half, and if I'm lifting weights or not really well hydrated, it'll be in the lower range of the band. I was diagnosed 18 months ago in a random blood test, and my past labs indicate I've gone from around 75 to where I'm at now in about 6 years. My creatinine was mid 1.3 range last time I checked, but it was also 1.1 twenty years ago. I just turned 60 a few weeks ago. Doc says ckd can progress really slowly or it can progress relatively quickly and he can't determine how fast any individual's will progress. He said most folks tend to plateau "for a while", then the ckd progresses. I wanted firm estimates and he said there's nothing firm at all. And that's how it goes. Am hoping that the bionic kidney will be perfected by the time I need it.

[Cruze44 in reply to Marvin8]

I'm just in disbelief that these test show a eGFR of 65 as being in the normal range!!! I mean WFT!! It's like stage 2, almost stage 3 ckd! I just found some old blood test results from back in 2011 and my creatinine level was 1.1 which also calculated out to CKD stage 2! And I had no idea. I could have been working to improve this situation for years! Docotr never said a word. I'm beyond mad and depressed at this point.

[Marvin8 in reply to Cruze44]

I should also say that my random urine tests are completely normal. About to do my first 24 hr test to figure out the reason for my past two kidney stones and the tiny one waiting inside my left kidney. I believe that this test will also be a 24hr creatinine clearance test which will tell more about how well my kidneys are filtering my creatinine.

[DeanSamson in reply to Cruze44]

I felt very simular iv had pkd all my life and didn't know it. I could of done things much much different growing up to help the condition but I didn't know. To be honest I'm glad I didn't know because I wanted to enjoy life and this would of hindered it. Now that you know you can make small lifestyle changes to help the condition. The blood pressure is the main one to get under control first. Cleaner eating and exercise helped me. I still eat what I want tho mainly at weekends. By the look of your results your still in good shape. I know its easy for me to say but get things under control and enjoy life.

[aoalabi]

To diagnose CKD you need to meet one of the following criteria

1. eGFR persistently less than 60 over a 3month period

2. Protein in urine. albuminuria or proteinuria.

ACR>3 or PCR >14

3. Evidence of renal damage on imaging.

An eGFR over 60 with no evidence of renal damage is not classified as CKD.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Ade

[lowraind]

Your panic is completely normal--we have pretty much all been there. I don't believe you stated your age. GFR does go down as age goes up. There is much you can do regarding your diet--low sodium, low potassium, low phosphorous, low protein. High blood pressure is one of the major contributors to ckd and ckd does cause high blood pressure. It is now important that you educate yourself and become your own advocate. The medical field will not.

[Cruze44]

You got that right Low! I’m so mad It wasn’t at least mentioned casually. One of those test was even done for the sole purpose of checking my kidneys because I had some pain during urination once. Doc office sent me a reply by mail a week or so later that said my test were all normal. But looking back and calculating my eGFR using today’s calculation my eGFR was 68 which would be stage 2 CKD!

But it seems there is a disconnect between what is considered normal by some docs and CKD by others. Last night I paid to talk to a doctor online. When I told him my eGFR was 65 he immediately and emphatically said I do not have CKD and my numbers are perfectly normal. I mentioned that I had not yet been tested for protein in my urine and he was like whatever. Do it if you want but your worrying about nothing. Seems absurd. But then again I think about this. When I received my blood work results in the mail it said all my kidney numbers were normal. Even my creatinine which was 1.3. Normal range went to 1.4. So the vast majority of people and I mean like probably 99% would have said awesome, everything was normal. And that would have been that. Test results go into a drawer and never get looked at again. And I guarantee the vast majority of physicians would glance over the results and concluded all was well and into the file it goes. And then that patients walks around for the next decade or so with CKD that was never diagnosed. Unreal how this is possible. And unreal that more clarity has been demanded by this point.