Newly diagnosed

[Tory1001]

Hello everyone, im new here im a 44 year old woman who is clueless, ive been told I have a eGFR of 56 kidney disease stage 3 by the doctor, been put on statins even though my chlorestrol is normal range, told to take omega 3 fish oil and get on with it, I have recurrent water infections that keep coming back, from this site I understand I need to up my water intake and look at my diet, any help would be greatly appreciated, not sure if its something I should be worried about or I can just carry on as normal life.

[orangecity41]

I was diagnosed at CKD stage 3b according to my eGFR and other blood work ( sodium, potassium, and phosphorus). I was put on appropriate diet. Your eGFR can vary. Look at your previous eGFR results. Ask your Doctor if a CKD diet is appropriate for you, or ask for a referral to a renal dietitian. Welcome to the forum, where you will find support and information on kidney disease.

[Bassetmommer]

HI Tory, The answer is yes to get on with your life, but there are some changes you should look into. Get a referral to a renal dietician. Get educated on CKD and the various things you can do to stay healthy. The National Kidney Foundation has a ton of information. Drink water, eat clean and stay away from junk food, processed foods, and anything with lots of additives and salt. Cut down on red meat and learn what protein does to the kidney. Learn what your lab results mean and make sure you have them done a least twice a year or more. There is so much you can do to help your CKD but it takes some work. The fact that your doctor dismissed this is not a good thing. When caught early, CKD can be very manageable but there are many factors that play into that management. You were put on a statin even though your do not have high cholesterol, and you accepted that. Doctors are throwing people on stains now for prevention. But don't just accept medication without understanding why you are taking something. Ask your doctor for a referral to a nephrologist. And really think if this doctor has your best interests.

[Darlenia]

Hi Tory. Kidney function, as well as the rest of one's body, steadily declines as one ages. The rates vary somewhat based on age, sex, and race - please see the tables in the link below. I've noticed that there is a fair amount of debate among doctors as to how to weigh normal aging against the lab numbers. (Recently, a friend of mine told me her mother passed away at age 100 with a gfr of the low single digits which illustrates that dilemma-the low numbers may be "normal" for a 100 year old but not for a 20 year old, etc.) Yet, in my opinion, it's always a good idea to slow the decline when you can. Personally, I would prefer my gfr be a bit higher than what you submitted, and I would look into ways of doing that including seeing a nephrologist and dietician. kidney-international.org/ar...

[Tory1001]

Thankyou so much for all your replies, I've been researching, and am changing my diet to avoid process foods and red meat and drink plenty of water with a bigger intake of certain fruits and veg like a renal diet, it was so much info when I spoke to the doctor it was hard to take in all the info at once, ive been monitoring my bloods since sept as ive been having bloods done each month to check my levels, so keep a check on the NHS app, I think I have to re educate myself on my eating, on a whole I eat healthy but didn't realise certain foods are harmful to your kidneys, I would rather take the natural approach to help my levels than pop the pills, ive been told I have to wait 3 months on nhs for a kidney scan to rule out anything else, I will keep an eye on this web site as everyone's stories are so helpful for a newbie like me lol.

[Hily]

Statins can cause urine infections. Urine infections need dealing with as thy can cause Kidney problems. So do need to be sorted.You need to drink liquid, not necessarily just water.

[Tory1001]

Hi Hily thanks for your reply, thankfully the urine infection is under control now after several rounds of antibiotics, I have now up'd my water intake by several pints a day more and feel so much more better for it, its just the unknown of if and when the next stage of ckd will kick in, hopefully it will be delayed as taking positive steps to slow it down by diet and liquid, feel doctors are not concerned at all so perhaps I shouldn't be either my egfr is 56 with my creatinine level 104, I don't fully understand what ckd means for me, ive had 4 blood tests to show the same result over a few months.

[slainte76]

Hi Tory, Can you tell me is your creatinine level of 104 measured in Umol/L or is it another unit? I am very confused about my own results which were measured in mg/dl I think but when I converted to Umol it seemed ok! I ask because you are the same age as me. Thanks!

[Tory1001 in reply to slainte76]

Hi its a total minefield isn't it, yes I've just double checked and the latest test results came back 105 UmolL and the range for my age is 45-84 I have no other real heath issues linked to ckd so unsure why I have it, I keep a eye on my test results on nhs app have found some doctors don't disclose the results so least I can't check previous results easily. Have you been diagnosed with ckd ?

[slainte76 in reply to Tory1001]

Thanks so much for replying. I haven’t been officially diagnosed, but I’ll go back maybe this week for a retest. Kind of don’t want to go but suppose I need to face the music.