Concerns about kidney disease

[Run333]

I recently had my yearly physical .... I am 66 year old female.....with a additional microalbumine test I requested due to flank pain. All my tests came back fairly normal. Creatinine .7, BUN 17, GFR 90. My regular urine test was negative for everything ....But the micro albumin test revealed some protein in my urine ... in the high range. It shows microalbuminaria.... I am an emotional wreck... I have talked with Primary Dr. she is not concerned.... my Daughter is Dr and she knows my health anxiety and she is not concerned , my nephew is a Dr and he says .... get retest in a year .... I AM A WRECK.... should so be taking meds? What should so do? Help ease my mind please friends.

[B0xermad]

Hi Run333, I was the same situation 6yrs ago , protein in the urine and leaking out but it wasn't a major concern 2yrs on ramipril ,a biopsy was not nice but my body righted itself and I am off all meds and in a sort of permanent remission. Meaning it may or may not ever happen again. Diagnosis was Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (Glomerlaritis)think it's spelt like that.

[userotc]

Nephrologist and urologist also unconcerned about my mum's urinary protein despite rapid rise in past few years. She's almost 66 and CKD3. Urologist basically said some get this, others don't! We are trying to resolve via diet/wellbeing and appear to be succeeding based on yesterday's results though need to resolve some anomolies.

Happy to share figures if you want.

[BettysMom]

Stop worrying. You do not have kidney disease.

[RickHow]

First take a deep breath. All is not so terrible as you worry about. You kidney results for a 66 year old are perfectly NORMAL. The average egfr of a person over 60 is 89. And with each passing year it gets lower. You are at 90 egfr at age 66. Your Creatinine level is great. You have various doctors tell you all is well. You should be jumping for joy. Now about the microalbumin. You say it is on the high side. You do NOT say is you mean it is on the high side of the normal range, or it was reported as ABOVE (higher than) normal. Everyone has albumin in urine. The "normal" range is less than 30mg/g. You say yours was on the high side. But you are not clear if over 30 or just approaching 30. I assume you simply mean it was on the high (normal) side. Remember we all have protein in our urine. That is normal!!!I have no idea what in the world you are worrying about. All is well.

[Run333 in reply to RickHow]

Thanks for your great support .... my micrialbumin was 2.8 (normal range 0-1.9 and my albumin was 108 .... I do not have diabetes or other disease. I do not drink enough water .... which I am trying to get better at.... I am a runner .... 50 years now and over 100,000 miles on my feet... my worst disease is my anxiety disorder. My daughter feels that this result is not an issue ... since I have never had a microalbumine test I have no reference numbers of my own .... and (I requested this test not my Dr.) my regular urine test did not show protein) I was imagining my ache in my side might be a kidney issue. My daughter says micro protein can be there for many reasons .... dehydration, my exercise, a recent virus etc etc but it is hard for me to not catastrophize the situation. 3 Drs have told me not to worry and just retest in a year. It remains worrisome for me though.

[GoodHealthIsAJourney]

I understand how our minds can get carried away if we let them. Your daughter (doctor!) is right - micro protein can be there for many reasons. Kidney disease is not diagnosed until after THREE tests in a three month period. Yours could have simply been due to dehydration, recent antibiotic use, intense exercise, etc. So why don't you compromise with your doctor and ask for another microalbumin test in 3 months? Make sure you're well hydrated, and don't do any intense exercise for a couple of days before the test.

I know it's easy to say "don't worry", but please realize you have control over your thoughts. Please don't be offended, but have you ever considered talking to a therapist? Our minds are so incredibly powerful, and I'd love to see you take control of yours! You're smart, active and healthy. Don't let your mind take you down! ❤️

-Stephanie

[Run333 in reply to GoodHealthIsAJourney]

Thanks for your positive upbeat post .... ironically enough I AM a licensed therapist ...🙄.... and I do seek out therapy ... I have had an extremely stressful last 2 months ( which I also know can contribute to test results) ... I would never be offended by such an excellent suggestion as seeing a therapist .... truly my worst medical condition is my anxiety ... and good people like you help so much when I reach out.... thank you for supporting this old anxious lady... you are a good good person! <3

[GoodHealthIsAJourney in reply to Run333]

Ahhh, kindred spirits! 😍 My worst medical condition is also my anxiety! I have sooo much respect for you as a licensed therapist. I can only imagine the stress that comes naturally with that job.

I think you and I are in a similar position. All my blood work came back fine, but I had an abnormal amount of protein in my urine. After spending a couple of months kicked into high anxiety mode (my default!) I saw a nephrologist and did a lot of my own research. I told my doctor I wanted lab work done every three months (my insurance will pay for it), and so far, my numbers have all been good. I'm going back for my third set of labs next week, a week before my 60th birthday. While I may not be officially diagnosed with kidney disease yet, that will not change the lifestyle changes I have made. I now focus on a diet that is easier on my kidneys, and I'm feeling good. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right?

Keep close watch on your blood pressure and blood sugar (two biggest causes of kidney disease), and maybe follow up on other causes of your flank pain if it persists. With your numbers, having pain would definitely be an anomaly. Most people with kidney disease never feel pain.

I'm so glad you've joined us here! There's so much to learn in the this group, and folks share some great resources. Please keep us posted?

(And you're NOT old! I'm not - so how can you be? 😜)

[RickHow in reply to Run333]

I think you might also consider a different approach since you have such anxiety. Let us suppose your are absolute correct. That all the doctors are wrong. That the blood tests are wrong which currently are showing your kidneys are functioning perfectly. That in fact you DO have CKD and some protein in urine because of it. So lets look at that way. Then you would be Stage TWO CKD. (In fact an egfr of 90 is the very top of Stage 1, so you are borderline stage 2). Stage two CKD is considered MILD KIDNEY DISEASE. NOT AT DEATH SENTENCE. NOT TERMINAL. So what would you have to be anxious about???? The average life expectancy for a woman with Stage 1/2 CKD is over 18 years. And that is only if they do nothing about it. There are so many steps to slow your progression, and in fact it can be that those at stage 1 and 2 NEVER advance to even stage 3. And imagine the new drugs developed in that 18 year period. In fact very recently is a new drug that has slowed progression of CKD but 40 to 50 percent!!!! But you are a person who assumes the worst. So lets see. 66 plus 18 or 20, you will be about 85 years old!!!! Even without CKD that would be a life well lived.I know from where I speak. I am 72 year old male. I am stage 3b CKD, with one kidney, and now have stage 4 Cancer. My days are VERY numbered. I don't spend the days left living with anxiety, even about something so serious, for many reasons. WHY? WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO? WHAT CHANGES? I would just waste the value of each day.

[Run333 in reply to RickHow]

Rick, Thank you, Thank you THANK YOU......what an amazing asset you are to this community! Ever thought of being a therapist? Or MY THERAPIST? Truly you are my reality check and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your “kick in the butt” words to me ....we will chat again along the way .... I need your wisdom in my community:)!!!

[Run333]

We are twins from other parents ..... I feel exactly as you .... I have ordered 2 books to better understand Kidney disease and a cook book to start eating better .... although my anxiety always pushes me to look on the negative side .... my logical (therapist) side tells me that this test result is perhaps a good message .....time to examine my diet and water intake ... trying to control my worry and stress (which is so so hard! As I age these are ever more important. I have always exercised, never drank or smoked, .... but now I need to be even better with my diet (which is terrible) and fluid intake. I feel like I have found a new best friend in you <3 thank you so much.

[WYOAnne]

I tell everyone on this site that a single blood or urine test does not make you a chronic kidney disease patient. Those of us with CKD have been tested many, many times to get our diagnosis. Blood tests showing your creatinine, BUN, Sodium, potassium and urine tests have to show a trend over time - usually over 6-9 months.Your creatinine and BUN are fantastic! and your eGFR is spot on for your age. I have had a kidney transplant and my creatinine and BUN are not as good as yours.

Stop worrying, take a deep breath and just be glad for the health that you have! Count your blessings!!

[Run333 in reply to WYOAnne]

Thank you for your encouragement.... I hope that I haven’t unintentionally minimized the seriousness of what many many of you are going through dealing with your disease. My anxiety might stem from how this disease has indirectly affected people in my family. I have a niece that has kidney disease... she received a living transplant from her mother ( my sister-in-law). It has been a difficult journey for her ... she is just 31. I also have a sister who died 6 years ago ... 10 years after her kidney transplant, she suffered from polycystic kidney disease, her son donated one of his kidneys. She suffered greatly but was not able to quit smoking and live the healthiest of lifestyles and her life ended early at age 58 probably due to her poor life choices. I am sad she suffered so and my heart aches that she had these difficulties..... I guess these circumstances and my own anxiety disease get the best of me and I often become overwhelmed with the small things instead of looking at the big picture. I appreciate all of you and your willingness to reach out and calm my fears.... bless you.