New concern!!: Hello everyone! As u know... - Early CKD Support

Early CKD Support

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New concern!!

Fatiooi profile image
18 Replies

Hello everyone!

As u know that my husband is dealing with stage 3a kidney disease due to hypertension.

In January his nephrologist done an ultrasound that shows one kidney is smaller then the other one (8cm). According to normal values the kidney should be the size of almost 11_13 cm.

The other kidney is in normal range. Just wanna ask that someone also diagnosed with that at stage 3 and how it will treated to avoid further deterioration.

Me and my husband are doing our best to slow down the progression by eating healthy and excercising.

Ur positive suggestions will surely give me a relief.

Thanks.

God is always with us.

Stay blessed.

Xoxo.

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Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi
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18 Replies
MAS_Nurse profile image
MAS_Nurse

Hello Fatiooi

Thank you for your message. Do you have another appointment with your husband’s nephrologist? It may be worthwhile contactIng the nephrologist or your GP to ask these questions, as any treatment will be very specific to your husband’s medical needs.

If one kidney is normal sized it may be compensating for the smaller kidney.

As you request, our members may be able to help with personal experience of similar situations.

You are both being very proactive and positive with you work on your diet and excessive regimes. This is very important and can help to keep your husband stable. I think you are very aware of this.

The topics and pinned posts might have more information.

The kidney research charity at kidneyresearchuk.org also has a helpline

0300 303 1100

Do let us know how you both get on.

Best wishes

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toMAS_Nurse

Thanks MAS_Nurse!

Yes my husband will have his next appointment in April 11 after three months of his last visit to a nephrologist. In his last visit his ultrasound shows that one kidney is smaller than the other and nephrologist give him BP medication and fish oil tabelets also advise him to follow low salt diet and exercise for 30 minutes which we are doing.

Hopefully our next labs will show some good results. Yes I m hoping that the group members definitely share their experiences and advices.

Thanks again.. :-)

Sally10255 profile image
Sally10255

Hi, I am not in the same situation. One kidney is normal, the other about 1/4 the size. I had a 6 mm kidney stone and doctor feels that is how my kidney was so damaged. So, some things I am mindful of. I don’t take any vitamins or supplements. I am very mindful of sodium, potassium, carbohydrates, and another...but can’t think what it is. Just a label reader. No painkillers or ibuprophen. I exercise daily quite a bit. I try to drink as much water as I can...should be in ounces half of body weight. I don’t eight excessively of any food group. Most veggies green. Not many fruits. Great luck!

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toSally10255

Thanks Sally10255!

I just wanna ask something when u were find out that your one kidney is small and what ur nephrologist said to stop further detoriation.?

Sally10255 profile image
Sally10255 in reply toFatiooi

My lab results of gfr were declining. So family doctor sent for ultrasound. It showed the kidney wasn’t draining, but no kidney stone, but I felt lower pressure when they did scan. Family doctor lined me up with kidney doctor within a week. In that time frame I had awful lower pressure. Lots of pain. Ends up I had a 6 1/2 mm kidney stone that had dropped down. Kidney doctor wanted to get it out. Set me up for outpatient surgery and had CAT scan to confer stone. They said if I passed it I would know. Went to surgery, no stone, I had passed it and didn’t know. But it gave him a chance to look at kidney. He put in stint to help drain, but those are temporary. It helped a lot but had to come out. A renal scan was done twice to check kidney. A person can survive with one kidney. Latest gfr and creatinine are stabilized. The things I previously mentioned are things suggested by him. I am very fit and bp is great. But if the bp were to get high that is a sign that good kidney is being compromised. So it is crucial to keep bp down through diet, cardio exercise, not taking anything that could put kidney under stress.

Bunkin profile image
Bunkin

Sounds like you’re on the right track! I’ve been stage 5 almost 4 years now, maybe longer as my GFR was 11 when I first rediscovered I had kidney disease. I drink a lot of water, bought a program by Duncan Capicchiano that told me what supplements to take , exercise and diet. I’ve also added some things along the way that I’ve researched. Hope this helps you! Prayers for y’all, God can do anything 😀

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toBunkin

Thanks Bunking!

Your hard work pays off. And it shows it in ur story( 5 years stable) it means u r doing something very good. Best of luck. God is with us☺️

RickHow profile image
RickHow

There is one thing you do NOT mention, but perhaps do not even know. It seems we are all assuming that the smaller kidney is, or has, deteriorated. May I suggest that perhaps your husband was born this way. That he has always had one kidney of this size. Now you will read that a "normal" kidney is about 11. However in all of us one kidney is usually a little smaller than the other. Also, the kidney size ("normal") is based upon an average height male. There is variant based upon our height. Did the kidney doctor express any concern? If not, next visit, ask him if this is unusual or not.

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toRickHow

Yes RickHow in 2015 when his creatinine was little up then his GP did an ultrasound at that time his kidneys was perfect in shape. Only his creatinine was high. He was first diagnosed with high BP and put on high dose of medication but his results were not improving for almost one and a half year,I mean his creatinine ranges from 1.4-1.5. Then his GP referred him to nephrologist.

In 2018 he finally diagnosed with CKD3 and again ultrasound done and shows one small kidney.

Dangermom13 profile image
Dangermom13

Eating healthy is good, but a healthy diet for the kidneys is quite different. You should see a kidney dietitian and go from there.

Best of luck!

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toDangermom13

Thanks Dangermom13!😊😊

Marvin8 profile image
Marvin8

I'm a 5'6" male aged 60. Diagnosed 27 months ago with 3A GFR60. Had a checkup 4 months ago and was at GFR 52. Ultrasound when diagnosed showed one kidney at 10cm and the other at 9.6. Have had two small kidney stones and a third tiny one is still in there.

Doc said I "may" have been born with small kidneys. Was told to drink 2-3 liters of water a day, but I like your formula of half your body weight in ounces which would put me at around 72oz. Here's the kicker: My creatinine was 1.1 TWENTY years ago (found my old blood labs) and back then was within the "reference" range...ie...no kidney disease. My last creatine was 1.44, which put my GFR at 52. My biggest concern is that my GFR was 75 six years ago, so I get a bad gut feeling when I chart the progression. And the doctor said he has no idea how fast or slow it will deteriorate. I do exercise more and have put on muscle, but I'm also fearful that that will raise my creatinine levels. Of course, we don't want to lose muscle mass, do we? Doc also wanted to put me on a low dose of an ACE for as a preventative for blood pressure, but I didn't want to suffer from the notorious ACE cough, nor did I wish to see my GFR go down as so often happens when starting these drugs. So instead, he prescribed an ARB. Then all the ARBS were recalled due to having carcinogenic ingredients. What the heck to do, right? So I decided to punt and wait til my next appointment in a month....just to see where I'm at. Sorry for rambling, but I do hope my experience has given a little insight. Ooops, I almost forgot. In addition to kidney size, doctors are equally interested in the degree of echogenicity of the kidneys which they see on the ultrasound as well. In America, you need a diagnosis in order to get an ultrasound, so my doctor wrote "kidney disease" on the test order sheet. The ultrasound technician then sees this and writes it on THEIR sheet, gives you the test, then forwards to a radiologist. Radiologist sees KIDNEY DISEASE written all over the place before they even take a look at the ultrasound, so they're biased to begin with and my psychological downward spiral begins. Diagnosis was "slight echogenicity consistent with mild kidney disease" and that was it.

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toMarvin8

Thanks Marvin!

orangecity41 profile image
orangecity41

I was diagnosed at CKD level 3b My kidneys are different size too. One is 10 and other is 8. I am on a prescribed renal diet and exercise routine. The progression of CKD has slowed down.

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply toorangecity41

Well orangecity41 u are stable then and what about your GRF?

Thanks ..☺️

orangecity41 profile image
orangecity41 in reply toFatiooi

In my case the eGFR goes up and down. My doctor tracks it by average for yearly decline.

toeragthecat21 profile image
toeragthecat21

HI IM CHRIS AND HAD TRANSPLANT 2016. THE TIPS I CAN GIVE YOU ARE REDUCE OR GET RID OF RED MEAT AND REPLACE WITH HADOCK NOT COD .ITS A MORE HEALTHY FISH..KEEP WATER DRINKING 1AND HALF LTR TO 2 LITR A DAY..AVOID PAIN KILLERS!! KEEP WEIGHT AT AVERAGE LEVEL.BMI..AND THE BEST THING TO DO IS DO A LOT OF THIS...😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Fatiooi profile image
Fatiooi in reply totoeragthecat21

Thanks toeragthecat21! Yes this is the key to slow down further deterioration 😊

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