Kidney Biopsy

[aj2581]

Hello everyone, I had an appointment with my nephrologist today. My Creatinine went up to 1.7 and gfr dropped to 36. They want to do a biopsy on my kidney. Has anyone had that? Any advice or your experience is welcome. My exercise and diet has been great so she doesn’t understand why the numbers aren’t so good. I’ve lost 40 pounds and am possibly seeing a dietitian to see if I can take supplements to gain a little bit of weight. Thank you and God Bless!

[MAS_Nurse]

Hi Aj2581 and thank you for your post. I am sure other forum members will also be able to help you with this. A renal or kidney biopsy is a procedure which takes a very small sample of tissue from one of your kidneys with a special needle. The sample is smaller and thinner than half a matchstick size. This can then be examined using a microscope for signs of damage or disease. Usually, a renal biopsy is needed to investigate a particular problem. For example, if blood or urine tests suggest your kidneys are not working properly, this will give the doctor the information they need to diagnose your condition.

In the renal or x-ray department, the doctor will explain the procedure to you and answer any questions you may have. A local anaesthetic is given and the procedure is usually carried out as a day case. Your consultant will discuss the results with you at your next clinic appointment. The dietitian should also be able to help you.

For further information please see the following website---

The Renal Association

renal.org/wp-content/upload...

Are any other forum members able to help Aj2581, please?

Thank you and best wishes.

[aj2581 in reply to MAS_Nurse]

Thank you so much!

[RickHow]

Hi. I personally have not had such a biopsy. I have read on here that it really seems to not be anything terrible or to be fearful of. I can tell you as a person who had a kidney totally removed (a heck of a lot more involved than a biopsy), that even this was not anything terrible. I hear the only troublesome part is you need to lie still and in one position for a while. But other than that it is not so troublesome. But it is quite natural to be fearful of the unknown. But just like I felt after my removal, I thought to myself that is was not nearly as troublesome as I thought. It is the fear of unknown and waiting that bothers you. Hang in there. You mentioned you went to 1.7 and egfr 36. I have been 1.7 or 1.8 for over 18 months. What was your previous reading?? Was this a huge difference from your last test? It seems so, if your doctor is ordering a biopsy. Was any other testing done, such as an ultrasound? My last test, last week, I suddenly was at 1.5, yielding an egfr of 44. So it jumps around. But have it done.

[aj2581 in reply to RickHow]

Thank you, I appreciate that. My creatinine was at 1.4 before this and gfr at 46, so it is disappointing because I am very strict on my diet. I only eat chicken and vegetables and fruit. No red meat and my sodium intake is low, I don’t even have 600mg per meal and I exercise 3-4 times a week. My dr doesn’t understand why my numbers changed because of my weight loss, that’s why she wants to do a biopsy. I am taking lisinopril and she thinks that may have something to do with it but not so much.

[RickHow in reply to aj2581]

Well I' surprised a little that she wants to jump to a biopsy based on one blood test. I say this because of a recent experience I had. I had a blood test done by one doctor and got my creatinine level. The very next day I had another blood test by another doctor. The result was a 3 point difference in my egfr, but with the same creatinine level???? I pointed this out to the 2nd doctor. He said it can not be, we use the exact same lab. My point? It seems she would do another blood test to see if your higher number remains or it was just a one time thing. Also on Lisinopril I too had recent experience. I was taking 20 mg daily. My cardiologist suggested the I did not need this size dose since my blood pressures were actually on the low side. But he was hesitant to reduce it as lisinopril is used to help maintain your kidney function. Especially for people with protein leakage. So we cut the lisinopril in half. Waited 6 weeks. Tested. There was zero effect on my egfr or any of my kidney functions. There also was a time for me, about 2 years ago, where lisinopril was not controlling my blood pressure. I was taken off it completely and had great success with amlodipine (of which I still take a small dose). If she is concerned about lisinopril, suggest amlodipine as a possibility.

[aj2581 in reply to RickHow]

I did take amplodopine but lisinopril has many benefits for me, because there’s a lot of protein in the urine. I am going for another blood test also. Thank you for your experience.

[Hidden in reply to aj2581]

Hi,

My Creatinine has gone 1.0 (6 months ago) to 1.5, 1.3, 1.6, 1.5 ( readings over last 3 months) I had one slightly higher reading of MA early (6 mg/l) but it's gone well into the low mode last couple of tests (1.2 mg/l)

Anyway after suspecting GN, now pretty much cancelled out with the ACR/MA readings, the nephrologist is stumped. He suspects the BP meds (16mg) may be influencing the higher Creatinine readings. He thinking there's a blood flow issue or a toxic injury because of medication (Nexium). He doesn't know so he's taking a biopsy.

So yeh, 4 hours flat on the back. Bleeding a risk as is 1/1000 chance of permanently losing some kidney function.

Sound alright.

[aj2581 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your comment

[doglove in reply to aj2581]

I am new to this forum. I just had a kidney biopsy. It wasn't bad at all. The actual procedure, meaning the taking of the samples from the kidney, only lasts about 10 minutes or so. The small amount of pain was very tolerable and then they kept me for an hour to be sure I was okay and then sent me home. The biopsy, I understand, can provide information that blood and urine tests can't. I am waiting for the results now but just wanted to say that I was concerned about the biopsy beforehand but found it to be no big deal.

[aj2581 in reply to doglove]

Thank you, that really helps, I appreciate it.

[B0xermad in reply to aj2581]

Hi I had the biopsy 3yrs ago to determine which type I had ,showed idiopathic nephrotic syndrome leaking protein basically where a mesh in kidneys let out the protein in urine instead of recycling it

[aj2581 in reply to B0xermad]

Oh ok thank you for sharing

[Junebug1988]

I had a biopsy on Monday it wasn’t terrible but not fun. They kept me over night. That next morning they did an ultrasound to see if everything was ok before they discharged me, but it wasn’t I ended up with a AV fistula which can happen to about 10% of cases. It’s not a big deal some people don’t even know they have one because most places don’t keep them over night and check. It can heal years later but my doc said it’s like playing with fire so I got it fixed Wednesday mornin, and was able to leave that night. My kidney hurts but other then that I am ok. I was scared but it ended up not being bad just one little set back for me.