eGFR is between 70 and 80 and no protein in urine

[Khayat1]

Hi, I've accidentally came to know that my kidney functions is below the normal level 4 years ago. My eGFR fluctuates between 68 to 80 depending on when I take the test if I am dehydrated or not. My potassium level as well is between 4.3 and some time it goes up to 5.5. I have gout which is between 420 to 470 again depending on the test time. The doctor said nothing to worry about just drink 3 litre of water per day and reduce your protein intake and that's it. I am 32 year old. I am trying to eat healthy I guess. Regarding the cause, the doctor said it can be because an infection or something happen to be when I was kid because all the tests are fine. My first question, do I have to worry? Second, is it ok if I take the uric acid fluch supplements to reduce the uric acid. Note that even the gout was discovered accidentally during a check up I was doing. I did not suffer from any gout pain.

[Bassetmommer]

HI Khayat,

I have high uric acid from another diseases called psoriatic arthritis. It raises uric acid levels and mine was over 11 at one point. I too do not have gout. I started having uric acid kidney stones which I kept passing for many years. Many of them were very large. It has scarred my kidneys.

I have concerns that your doctor says all is fine. Your potassium level at 5.5 is not ok. That is very high and dangerous.

I am not familiar with the reading you gave of 470. I am used to a ph level. So I do not know how high your uric acid level is.

Drinking water is good. But there is more you can do. Do not drink beer, eat less meat in general which is good for the kidneys and watch for foods high in purines.

healthline.com/nutrition/be...

I am not trying to scare you but I think you need to see someone else about this. Saying that it is from an infection or something from when you were a kid is dismissing you. You said you did not have gout pain so how did they know you have gout? Also having such a difference in your GFR is a sign something is not right. You are at stage 2 level for CKD. Doctors won't do anything until you are below GFR 60. The thing with labs is you need to look at them over a period of time. Is there a pattern of decline?

Be your own advocate and do some research on your labs.

As far as supplements, messing with your PH levels in your blood can be tricky and should be done with a doctor monitoring the levels. I am against all supplements until they are cleared by the doctor.

[Khayat1 in reply to Bassetmommer]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I had kidney stones before and I took medication and its all fine now. Regarding the potassium, it's not always 5.5. Normally it's around 4.3 which is within the normal range.

Regarding the cause, I saw three different well respected doctors and they all said the same thing, it might be something I had when I was kid.

Regarding the gout, it's based on the uric acid test I did.

I do tests on monthly basis just to make sure everything is stable. When I am dehydrated the eGFR result go down to 68. But normally its between 76 - 81.

I don't drink beer.

I will try to see another doctor just to be on safe side.

Thanks again for your reply

[RickHow in reply to Khayat1]

I am not a doctor. Take all your advice from them. But I must say I do not see what you are even worried about. This entire egfr classification system puts so many people into a category of having some stage of "CKD", when in actuality everything is fine. Think of moment. On a blood test, how do they report your egfr level. Basically if it is above 60, it is not reported as a "problem" on blood test results. You said, I believe, in a NON FASTING test you get about 80. You doctors are not worried. More than one. So why are you. Yes you had one category on a blood test that was high, one time, but you now report it is about 4.5, normal, most of the time. ANY category in blood work can appear in the above or below normal level one time. If it is alarmingly high then do another test in 2 or 3 weeks and see if you are getting this result again. Probably not. And you have multiple doctors telling you it is fine. Certainly we must all be our own advocate, but we also at some point must take a look at ourselves and the tests. Is it wise to just shop for another doctor, and then another, until you find one that says "this is bad"? Or to just trust your doctors, look at your blood tests (not the once or twice a category may be high or low), and common sense will show you, and your doctors, if there is a problem

On gout, etc. My elderly father had severe gout. Very painful. A lot of swelling. He was ultimately give a steroid medication, once a day, and the swelling and the pain went away.

[Khayat1 in reply to RickHow]

Thanks for your reply. After reading it, I must say you are right. I will keep doing tests regularly and I will stop the panicking.

[kumar2333]

Hi Khyat1,

I am also in same position as u are my GFR is also also varying from 70 to 80 some time it was 100 for 3 months but dropped to 73, my recent GFR is 73.

I don't have protein in urine.

I am 32 year old male.

Dr told to closely follow up.

Recently my uric acid went high Dr has prescribed some medicine's for that.

[Khayat1 in reply to kumar2333]

Thanks for your reply.

[aoalabi]

Hi khayat. With current classifications. You only have CKD if you have a gfr <60 and/or you have evidence of renal damage in form of proteinuria or on medical imaging. Anything short of that is not CKD.

Regarding Ur uric acid levels we usually don't do anything unless there has been an episode of gout or suggestion of uric acid nephropathy.

That being said elevated uric acid levels are also usually found in patients with metabolic syndrome and can be used as marker for increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

I would say dont panic. Go back to ur health care provider and ask for a albumin creatinine ratio and a renal USS just for completeness.

Focus on lifestyle changes. Cut out junk and processed foods as much as you can, exercise cardio and weight training, stay hydrated - doesn't mean drink the whole house. Lol.

Hope this helps.

[Khayat1 in reply to aoalabi]

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I will ask my doctor to request the tests mentioned in your reply.

Thanks again for your response. It's very helpful