Is it possible to be at Stage 2 CKD with no protein in urine?

[Dkou]

Reaching out to those who have early CKD, curious to know if proteinuria (greater than normal ranges) was present when you were diagnosed?

Bit of background - Im a 28 year old male 6ft 2 in 82 kg eGFR has decreased to 72 at creatnine 119umol/l all other markers are in normal ranges. When adjusted for height and weight my GFR is 85.

last 3 months I have had significant weight loss, itching, confusion, muscle tightness. lateral dark line on finger nails, pain in kidney area.

Struggling to get a clear answer from doctors and specialists, just curious to know everyones experiences and what they went through.

[Nikjik]

Do ct scan maybe stone in ur kidney , I lost my left kidney because of untreated kidney stone . I had same problems like you .

[Dkou in reply to Nikjik]

Thanks Nikjik, I've had ct and ultrasound done already and it is all clear. no stones and they said the size of the kidneys are good.

[WYOAnne]

CKD is not usually diagnosed with a single test. Over time, the doctor looks at a trend of your creatinine, GFR, potassium, calcium, etc. And they do look at your urine to see if you are spilling protein or not.

I would ask your doctor to do an ultrasound of your kidneys. There could be a blockage or you could have a stone, cysts in your kidney, etc. My daughter has cysts in both of her kidneys and has caused her creatinine to rise above normal. She is not spilling protein in her urine.

You need to get attention because these are all "fixable" conditions. If you let things go they could cause damage to your kidneys or as "Nikjik" you could lose a kidney

[Dkou in reply to WYOAnne]

Thank WYOAnne, yes I've had ultrasounds and ct scans done on my kidneys and nothing was found. Unless is there possibilities of cysts being small enough to not show on scans?

[Marvin8]

I'm at Stage 3 with no protein in urine.

[Dkou in reply to Marvin8]

Thanks Marvin for your reply I appreciate it.

From your experience can you recommend anything that i should do to investigate? and should i be right to be concerned it may be kidney related.

My PCP and nephrologist are extremely dismissive however cant give me an explanation around the symptoms and why my creatnine has increased to higher levels than when i was heavier and training at the gym.

[Marvin8 in reply to Dkou]

Honestly, it could just be your chemical makeup, however since your eGFR is at 85, and if it remains in that territory, I would use the info as a wake-up call to take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet, exercise but don't go crazy attempting to be a pro body builder, and hydrate with a minimum of 2-3 liters of water a day. Everything in moderation, especially when it comes to animal protein since it's a bit harder on the kidneys. Again, don't drive yourself nuts. If your PCP and neph are being dismissive, demand that they explain why. What they're gonna talk about are reference ranges, but if you're on the borders, you need to get them to ease your anxiety. You're paying them big money, so you should feel entitled to push them just a little bit. This last time, my heart ekg was a bit borderline. Next time I see my PCP, I'm gonna do some homework ahead of time and push him a little bit. Presently, I'm trying to figure out why my CO2 levels have been high for decades. A radiologist once diagnosed me with mild emphysema when I was in my early 40's, but I was never a smoker and no radiologist since has ever mentioned seeing anything since then. Pulmonologist also wasn't too concerned, but of course, I needed to take an anti-depressant to get over the whole incident.

[Dkou in reply to Marvin8]

Those are good points Marvin8, im keeping positive and hoping that i can somehow reverse the damage ( i know everyone says you cant). With change in diet to a low carb almost keto plus intermittent fasting ive managed to get my energy back and return to work which is a good sign. Hopefully the creatnine will drop over the next 6 months my fingers are crossed. My urine is negative for protein on numerous occasions and nothing on the scans so hopefully if there is damage the kidney can heal itself.

[WYOAnne]

Good point Marvin8. Maybe it is a wakeup call to take real good care of your kidneys. Most of us do not know about kidney issues until...…..Now patients on this site have been able to stabilize their GFR by eating a kidney heathy diet, making sure my BP is under control, drinking plenty of water, exercising regularly, etc.

I would also see about having my labs done again in 3 months. Start keeping a chart/graph of your labs. It is easier to see a trend when you keep a graph and can see if lab values go up or stay the same.

Keep us posted

[Dkou in reply to WYOAnne]

Good points on the labs WYOAnne ive started requesting all my bloodwork with this scare.

If i didnt request my labs I would have no idea about my GFR and creatnine level. My docs have maintained im normal even with the symptoms ive experience coupled with the elevated creatnine.

[Bubreg]

Hi,

I was spilling 3+ proteins back in Dec.2018 and was referred to nephrologist who did some blood testing (which came back negative to Lupus, and few others tests). So he ordered biopsy which shows minimal change desise and that was it. Everything else, all of my other tests results were normal and by this day also. So since then I use prednisone off and on just because of proteins in urine. I am female 45years old. Currently on 5mg prednisone and will be next 4-5 months probably. I had 2 relapse when I stoped Prednisone in the last year. So not sure why am I spilling proteins, but I know that in the past I had UTI's and just recently I had 2 of them, just 2months apart.

Good luck to you!

[Dkou in reply to Bubreg]

Hi Bubreg, Thank you so much for sharing, im getting tested for lupus as we speak just waiting on my bloodwork to come back as I have had neurological event happen also and stiffness through my body plus frothy urine. Its so strange all this which is occuring at the moment. Im praying that change in diet plus intermittent fasting can give my body a chance to heal itself and at least give the kidneys a break.

[Bubreg in reply to Dkou]

Hi Dkou,

I was tested for lupus also and was negative, when I was spilling proteins my urine was very foamy. I hope everything goes well with you, I am sure that change in diet will help. I did change mine also, even though I was always a healthy eater, never drink alcohol or soda, but maybe not enough water. So stay positive and update again.