I am a white male, 35 years of age. Height 174.4cm and I currently weigh 62kg.
I had a blood test a few months back because I was experiencing pain in my lower right abdomen and was seeing foam in my urine. At the time I was doing an extreme diet called the Gaps protocol which in brief limits all grains, starchy carbohydrates and sugars/processed foods from your diet. At the start of the diet I consuming a lot of bone broths and meat along with cooked vegetables and consuming about 3/4 litres of water a day, I also was taking probiotics. The reason for doing this diet is that I have been suffering for many years with an array of different problems which I suspected had something to do with leaky gut. When I got the blood tests back I was told that my kidneys weren't working as good as they should my GFR was 59 and my creatinine was 121 everything else seemed normal. My doctor asked me if I had been dehydrated which to my knowledge I couldn't of been as my urine is always clear and I drink a lot of water. Note that the morning of my test I did eat my broth and meat as I wasn't aware of it possibly messing with my test results if it even did. So then my doctor sent me for another test. After reading about GFR on doctor google and finding out about CKD I went into extreme panic mode and lowered my protein intake immediately. I did the next blood test the following morning and actually had my results that evening because I was scared out of my mind and phoned for a emergency phone appointment which came back as GFR 77 and Creatinine 96 which was an improvement, I made sure I hadn't eaten that morning. The doctor over the phone explained to me that my GFR had been fluctuating in the 80's over the past few years and that I shouldn't panic or change my diet habits etc. I then booked another appointment because they didn't seem too interested to do a urine test which I found out was the most common thing to do if you have bad kidney results to check for proteinuria and as I had seen foam pretty much after every urination that was a bad sign for me. So I had my appointment a week later and the doctor told me that he wasn't worried and that my GFR was normal for some folks, I made him take my blood pressure which he said was normal and did a urine sample which he said didn't have excess protein although I doubt he checked properly as he did it so quickly that it seemed like he just wanted to get me out of his office to stop wasting his time. He wasn't concerned at all about the foam in my urine, infact he didn't seem to even know what i was talking about.. Also at that point I had reduced my protein significantly, could this of effected the results? Over the past few weeks I scrapped the diet as realised I have an eating disorder as before the gaps I was also under eating doing a vegan diet. I am now just trying to eat normally but I find it extremely difficult to limit protein as its in everything! and I don't really want to lose more weight as that might cause more health issues, I've never felt as unwell as I do now after all these diets and obsessions about what i'm eating. I am still urinating foam mostly but on really random days the foam doesn't form. Any advice would be really appreciated as I'm really confused about what to do. I have an ultra sound on the 7th January and I can't stop worrying. Everytime I see that foam in my toilet it scares me senseless... I have noticed when I go extremely restrictive and consume a insane amount of water the foam dies down abit... sorry for the mountain of text I'm just really desperate for answers =[
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Drukqs
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I am 35. Proteins found in my urine 3 month ago, and like you, I tried to diagnose myself via Google searches, and it was terrible. Further checkup showed my BP is elevated, cholesterol elevated, A1C elevated, plus close to 1g Protein leak. I was given 50mg of Losartan, advised on diet change. I used to eat a lot of meat, very little veggies, and a lot of dark-colored soda.
Please don't worry. Your doctors will find it out. Meanwhile, eat healthy, regular exercises should help.
The foam is not uncommon. The Dr can check for protein wuickly - chemical coated strips that he dips in the cup. They will be close enough.
There’s a lot more in urine than protein to make foam. So foaming will not always indicate leaking protein. This is especially true if you are standing up when you do it. I have foam, but it tends to dissipate quickly.
The most alarming thing you have said in general is that you drink 3/4 L of water a day. You need to drink at least 2-3 times that, though you need to get there slowly. Don’t increase water in a day, or even over a week. If salted, the water from the broth hurts overall consumption not helps.
Regardless, your numbers seem fine now. Let your Dr figure out your medical problems. If you dont like this one, find another. But these “special diets” can cause problems - probably not serious, but its best to eat normally.
Why an ultrasound? A GFR of 77 is oretty normal, and you seem to be trending upwards as you get more normal with your diet.
You still can have a high protein in your urine even if you are restricting protein intake. The usual culprit in that case is high blood sugar. Have you had your sugars checked?
Your post alludes to you changing your diets and having an eating disorder. Restricting protein will improve your creatinine and BUN and improve your GFR but if you have high sugar or up and down blood sugar swings that will result in foamy urine and protein leakage.
Even my GFR is fluctuating around 80, even I see foamy in my urine but I have undergone 24 hour urine protein test it was 380mg for 24 hours which is slightly above normal.
Doctor will be only worried when it reaches above 2000mg.
I think in u r case Dr has done spot urine test to detect protein in urine it would have came normally I think, in my case also it was normal.
If you are too much worried about foamy urine means undergo 24 hour urine protein test which will give complete details.
From all that you have said about diet, I would suggest that you see a nutritionist, explain your health concerns and the results you have been given, and get recommendations for a sound, healthy diet. It does not sound like you have excessive cause to worry, but a balanced, healthy diet may help you to stay healthy. The problem with all of these diets is that they do not take into account any health issues someone may have or may be prone to have.
Be you're own advocate start eating a heathy balanced diet. Limit salt, processed foods, OTC pain meds, red meats. Limit not omit! Don't go on fad diets. I eat a small portion of protein and carbs and lots of veggies and fruit. Plenty of water....and limit the above mentioned. I have stage 3b ckd. Your numbers are good and that's why your dr isn't concern. Keep an eye on test the results. If you are concerned at the foamy urine you could go to a urologist. Usually that a symptom of stage 4 which is gfr under 30. Try not to worry and do things positive with heathy balanced eating.
Hi. You are going to drive yourself crazy. One should always be concerned about their health and keep an eye open for changes. But you are perfectly FINE. Turn off the damn internet about protein, CKD, etc. You can go to the internet and fine thousands of websites which will give you information that will convince you that you are ill, have a problem, have a death sentence, etc.. Equivalently you can find 1000 of websites that will say there is nothing wrong with you, when you might have something. This is why there are blood and urine tests. Doctors. Your numbers seem fine. Your doctor is not alerted. Foam in urine is NOT NOT NOT unusual or and indication that you have a kidney problem, when there are no other indicators. My urine sometimes covers the bowl in foam, other times not. I mentioned it to the doctors (I have five that I see of different specialties). ALL of their reactions were the same as yours. Unconcerned. Millions of guys, probably billions, have foam in urine and no medical problems. Notice yours is more foamy in the mornings? And as the day passes, while some is still present, it gets less and less as you get more and more hydrated. The amount will also change based upon diet (liquids and solids). That is why it is tested. Yours came out normal. So what is your worry. Also to give yourself peace of mind, do the following. Urinate hitting only the side of the bowl and not the water. Notice the greatly decreased foam. Better yet, use a plastic urinal or perhaps a pot one time. Notice you do NOT get anywhere near the amount of foam. I am 69. I started to develop more and more foam in my urine years ago. I mentioned it one day to my father. He said he has that his entire life. He recently passed in his sleep, living alone and healthy, at the age of 92!!! You did the right thing, got checked, all is fine, relax. As for diet, to LIMIT protein, certain foods is good for anyone. BUT DO NOT GO CRAZY. Just stay within what is a normal, healthy diet and stick within daily requirements. Your body needs protein. Don't eliminate it. Just don't overindulge.
So far, no. I do take lisinopril for my blood pressure. And this can help prevent protein leakage. So perhaps if I did not take it, the test would show protein. Do I worry about it? Oh sure. In fact one of my doctors urged me to do the following for my own peace of mind. I bought my own urine test strips (available over the internet to anyone). Every week or two I do my own test. Nothing could be easier. You capture a small amount of urine. Hold the stick in it for a few seconds. Remove it. Wait 30 to 40 seconds and look at the colors on the stick, especially the one for protein. If any it will have its own color to show even trace amounts, up to severe amounts. This brings to me its own level of peace of mind. If it shows no protein, you feel great about it and get satisfaction without having to wait months for another test by the doctor. If it were to show trace amounts, you can self monitor over time if it gets worse. It is shows a "bad" amount I would run to my doctor (not that he could do anything, but to show him and hear his advice or perhaps further testing). When it shows no protein, I could care less the next few days if the urine foams like crazy.
i have ckd stage 3b and have foamy urine most of the time. i do not now or have ever had protein in my urine. if you urinate directly into the toilet bowl you will often see foam. this may mean nothing at least it hasn't for me. i would not worry about this.
you and I are twins! :). Also 3b, so far no protein, and foam most of the time. I agree no sense to worry. When I mention it to my doctors, they either yawn or say "oh". :).
Thank you for taking to time to write to me guys, all your advice is much appreciated. I am unfortunately a big worrier I've suffered from severe depression and anxiety for 20yrs. The foam doesn't get calmer throughout the day it just stays the same. I also didn't really change my diet since my GFR dropped to 59, I just limited the protein more at the time I had the new reading GFR 77.. but in the past week I've started to eat normally. I will request another blood test when I next see my doctor tomorrow. I'm just still so worried about my GFR going down to 59 and what might've caused it and also why its currently 77. Recently I've started to also itch all over my body which I heard is another symptom of damaged kidneys, does anyone else experience this? I understand people have it alot worse on here and my heart goes out to you all.
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