This has got me really down with this stage three numbers.

[Butchga62]

I am so greatful for this site. I have posted before about my number dropping. The use of trimeterene and the fact it can give a false positive. But my numbers in 2018 were like 55. I wasn’t on blood pressure medicine then. My doc called last night to give me some lab results. She said my hemoglobin dropped under 10. My liver enzyme was up a hair and my filtration rate was 42. It seems like it’s dropping and I am scared to death. I read all these post of others number going up. I literally scratch my skin until it bleeds and have seen a dermatologist and nothing helps. I know this can be related. My blood pressure seems to be ok with me taking half of the medicine so. I don’t know what else to do. I know I’m not the only one worrying. Please help.

[orangecity41]

Here is a link to a National Kidney Foundation article on nutrition and CKD stages 1-4. This might be of some help to you. kidney.org/nutrition/Kidney...

[userotc]

Personally I'd ask myself if medication is helping, doing nothing or making matters worse. If either the last 2, consider a natural approach.

[Hidden]

I know it can be frustrating and scary and I feel for you.

You should speak with your doctor about the scratching, it must be driving you crazy and there are treatments that are safe for us.

How is your BP, is it under control with half your meds? Are you leaking protein? A hemoglobin of 10 is not THAT low, but just the same talk to your doc about what you might do to raise that, I will help with overall energy levels and definitely with your mental state. When mine was low I felt awful.

Having your gfr drop 13 points in 4 years can be alarming; it may just be the course of your particular disease but have you tried speaking with a Renal Dietician, or embarking on a CKD diet; with low protein, sodium, and potassium etc, you can find some good resources at the NKF site orangecity41 posted below.

I find if I feel in control, it really helps with my fear. So maintaining a strict diet, exercising regularly, drinking lots of water etc, makes me feel like I'm in the driver's seat. It is only anecdotal but I was able to raise my gfr from 19 to 42 over the course of about 6 months with a diet change alone.

Take a deep breath, and think about what you can do to change the course of your disease.

Hang in, you've got this.

[Butchga62 in reply to Hidden]

Thank You. Sandracee. I know I’ve got a lot of work to do. I have consulted a dietician and hopefully she will help. My blood pressure seems to be ok with just the half. One pill was pulling off too much fluid leaving me very dehydrated. The itching could be just nerves. But I am bound and determined to get the 42 number to 52. Thanks for all the encouragement. ❤️❤️

[Hidden in reply to Butchga62]

You can do it. It's really hard at first but then it just becomes part of what you do to stay healthy. Take care and best of luck, report back or PM me if you need to vent or need encouragement!😘

[RickHow]

Don't get too overly panicked. A egfr of 42 is right on the borderline of stage 3a and 3b which is MODERATE kidney disease. As regards the skin itch this usually (not exclusively) does not occur until stage 4 or 5. The itch is caused because the toxins are not being flushed from the body and can be caused by infrequent urination, high blood pressure, fluid retention. If you notice the skin itch is more in the morning hours that could be infrequent urination (when you wake during the night have a glass of water, see if that helps) and during the day be sure to stay hydrated. There are medications that supposedly help with this problem but I don't know much about them. One is low dose Sertraline. Ask your doctor.

Now about your hemoglobin level. It is only one point below normal range. But I'm surprised your doctor did not tell you what to do about it. When mine dropped my doctor had me start taking over the counter iron supplement of 325mg two times a day. He had me start on just once a day for a couple of weeks then if well tolerated to advance to two times a day. It can be known to bother your stomach and intestines so he advised me to eat a few crackers, or slice of toast, or even a couple of pretzels when I take it and I have had no proble, tolerating it. Now you say your liver enzymes increased, but you did not say if they stayed in the normal range. CKD (although not generally at stage 3) can affect liver test results of AST and ALT. But broadly generally speaking it causes these levels to be slightly lower. But with or without CKD liver enzymes are not the exact same every time you get a test. So to be "up a little" as you say I would not worry about, especially if still in normal range, and wait to see if they are stable with the next test.

I would ask the doctor to do blood testing again in 4 to 6 weeks and see the results. It is not surprising that you got a lower egfr this time, but just as easily you could get a higher one next time. You really need 3 months worth of testing to make a determination on all these things (egfr, liver enzymes, hemoglobin).