Blood test results...what do they mean?

[PrinceFan]

Hi, I’ve just picked up a copy of my blood tests and I wonder if anyone can enlighten me please on whether they are typical of CKD? I put a post on the other day but didn’t have the report. I’m 49 year old active woman

Gfr recorded over 3 tests as 58/60/59

Total vitamin D - 83.1 nmol/L

Serum inorganic phosphate level - 0.73 (stated as ‘below range’)

Serum adjusted calcium concentration 2.26 nmol/L (was 2.40 in May)

Serum creatinine level 88 unol/L (was 73 in May)

BP 156/83

[lowraind]

GFR sounds like it is borderline stage 3--

[lowraind]

Sorry, I did not mean to send it yet.

GFR sounds like it is borderline stage 3--60 is the cutoff.

Creatinine level is still within normal ranges--"The normal serum creatinine range is 0.6–1.1 mg/dL in women and 0.7–1.3 mg/dL in men." Yours seems to be trending higher.

BP is high.--"High blood pressure should be treated earlier with lifestyle changes and in some patients with medication – at 130/80 mm Hg 90 – based on new ACC and American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for the detection, prevention, management and treatment of high blood pressure." High bp is one of the leading causes of CKD and it is also a complication of CKD.

You should request an analysis from your doctor, as well as information regarding what you can do to help your kidneys by way of diet, hydration and exercise.

lowraind

[RickHow in reply to lowraind]

I am lost on these calculations. The creatinine level is 1.0 mg/dl. This for her age would yield a eGFR level of about 66. Yet she reports 58/60/59. The 66 would be NORMAL (above 60). 99% of doctors would not even mention CKD to a patient with egfr above 60. It is one of the MAJOR flaws with the use of egfr. It labels people with CKD when in fact for their age, other blood and urine results, are really just "normal". I go to 5 different types of doctors (kidney, oncologist, gp, cardiologist, urologist). Every one tells me to pay attention to my creatinine, my bun/creatinine level. This is a far better indicator of kidney function. They all have less and less fail in the simplicity of the egfr equation. The egfr does not take into fact a persons body type, height, weight, or even if the person happens to have just one kidney versus two.

[PrinceFan in reply to RickHow]

Thanks for replying RickHow & Lowraind. I’m totally clueless about any of this tbh. Doc ran blood tests as she wassn’t happy that my gfr has dropped from 73 in May to its current level of 59. In her words ‘a pretty big drop in short space of time’. The reason I went to the GP was because of the fatigue & impaired cognitive function I’ve had since August. Have checked the lab results again and it’s stating 88umol/L (normal range 49.0 - 90.0)...so I’m just within the normal range. I appreciate that these results all still look ‘normal’ on paper but I just want to find out why I’m feeling so unwell. Maybe I’m feeling so brain dead because my serum inorganic phosphate level is 0.73 mmol/L (normal range 0.8-1.5)?

I don’t understand why my phosphate level has also dropped since May and is now below range - I’ve not made any changes to my diet. I eat a varied healthy diet. I know that it’s recommended to reduce phosphate and potassium for long term management of CKD to try and stop further decline but as I’ve not been diagnosed with CKD and while I’m still being tested I wanted an accurate picture to be formed. I’ve just cut salt down to try lower BP. Something is clearly affecting my levels...wish I knew what it was?? 😳

[Julesboz in reply to PrinceFan]

Hi there, borderline CKD is unlikely to make you feel unwell. It’s much more likely that you have something else going on that is making you feel unwell and that is negatively affecting your kidney function. I’m not medically trained, but I do speak from personal experience. I have mild CKD and was diagnosed when I went to the doctors feeling awful. It turned out I also had iron and folic acid deficiency anaemia and low B12. Now I have my deficiencies sorted I feel much better and, although I still have mild CKD, my kidney function has improved. If you feel ill, I would ask your doctor to do some more checks.

[PrinceFan in reply to Julesboz]

Hey there Julesboz, thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. Glad to hear that your deficiencies were detected and you are feeling much better. Fingers crossed that my GP finds the root cause soon 😬