Hi there. I’m new on here and looking for some advice. Sorry for the long post.
I had my first kidney infection age 3 and was very unwell. Followed with them every couple of years.
I was very ill when I was 18 and was sent for a kidney x ray which showed my left kidney was 7cm and my right was 11cm. I continued to have uti’s in my 20’s but was told I would grow out of them.
I am now 49 and I must admit they have got less but I have times when I don’t feel right and send in a sample and end up on antibiotics for 7 days (3 days never clears it) I do home dip sticks and often have protein in my wee and leukocytes show up.
My GFR has never been above 70. In 2021 it went down to 53 but back up to 61 in 2022 and most recently it was 66. I have looked on the nhs app and it always says to be expected and no further action.
My creatinine blood levels are up in the 80’s and was 102 in 2022 and my urine albumin/creatinine ratio was 6.2mg.
A few years ago, I found I have high blood pressure and my triglyceride (fatty blood, i had to google it) were 3.4mmol in 2020 and was put on Ramapril to lower my BP. In 2022 my level was 3.61mmol or 319mg so I pushed to be referred to the lipid clinic. They wrote to my doctor and i was put on satins. Not had a recent blood test to see if it’s come down.
My cholesterol sits at about 6.4. I’m 5ft 5 and 11 stone so a little overweight but I walk my dog and do over 8,000 steps a day.
Recently I have been getting bad back pain along with bilateral elbow pain, hand and elbow stiffness so they tested my Urate levels for gout and it came back at 439 in September 22 and 433 in Jan 23. Nothing has been done about this??????? I also have a CT of my kidneys, and this is what it said.
Left kidney 7cm with scaring.
Right kidney 10.8cm with scaring
Bladder is thin walled????
Conclusion- Atrophied left kidney.
I didn’t know what to do as I feel if i get a diagnosis regarding my kidneys I could get advice and know how to get my uric acid, BP and cholesterol down and not have to take so many drugs.
The best advice I can give you is to see a renal dietician. Changing up a diet to protect your kidneys is proven to slow down the decline and, in some cases, stop the decline. A renal diet is very low in protein and especially animal protein. Eating red meats can raise your uric acid levels. If you cannot find a renal dietician, there is a lot of information out there on kidney diets. I lowered my extremely high triglycerides with eating more plant based foods, no meat at all and watching my fat intake. It was a drastic reduction. I was on a statin for a few months but that made me feel terrible so I stopped it. And my lipid levels still continued to drop.
There's reported links between cholesterol and kidney disease as well as the negative effect of statins on kidneys (link below). So better nutrition and lifestyle is likely the way forward rather than statin-driven medics. Personally Id suggest seeing a qualified Nutritional Therapist eg one that specialises in renal.
You say your urine shows protein, but you did not say how much. All urine contains protein in small amounts. Anything above trace amounts can be a problem.
Your alb/creatinine level is on the high side.
Yes your left kidney is a bit on the small side, which I think you are saying a doctor called it atrophy. Sone scarring on the kidney at your age is normal but should be monitored through the future.
With all the numbers, stats, you provided you obviously are under a doctor(s) care to have had so many tests and scans. But you do not report clearly what is their medical advice. Do they classify you as having CKD? Have you been sent to a kidney doctor?
You had a test that showed protein in urine in combination with high leukocytes. This general is a sign of a Urinary Tract or Kidney infection and would be treated with antibiotics. Again, what did your doctor advise??
Don't play doctor. We should ALL take a strong interest in our tests, scans, etc. And ANY question we have is a valid one. I can only say what I would do if I were you. I would have a new blood test to see what my latest Creatinine level is. I would have a new urine test and see if the protein and leukocyte levels have gone up, down or are the same. Based on those results I would sit with my doctor, and for any abnormal result, ask him/her how do we proceed? (antibiotics if it is an infection, dietary changes, appointment with a kidney doctor, schedule for when you should have next test and how often should the left kidney size be monitored, have blood pressure checked). By the way here is some information from the Kidney Organization about your kidney size:
If one kidney is small and the other one is completely normal, it is usually possible to lead a normal life without it affecting health. Having one small kidney can increase the chance of developing some health problems such as high blood pressure, even if the other kidney is normal.Mar 29, 2019
MorningThank you for your detailed reply
I saw a kidney specialist with private health care. He explained that I technically have only one working kidney which has been the case all my life (had a scan age 18 and it was scarred and 7cm) he has put my mind at rest as I'm going to have the odd abnormal results on a urine dipstick test due to the single kidney. It was great to get a definitive answer from someone.
I have a single kidney since 2017. My urine tests have been normal since then. I would question what this doctor means that you will have abnormal urine test because of only one kidney. I fully expect you can have abnormal blood tests (usually your Creatinine level will be above "normal" because you only have one kidney doing all the filtering). It almost sounds like the doctor is saying you still have the abnormal kidney and it is not doing the proper filtering job and allowing protein to be in your urine, even though the other kidney is working fine. But he is a specialist and I am not but millions of people have just one kidney and do not experience abnormal urine tests just because of that. It probably is the other kidney allowing things to escape into your urine.
Thanks for your reply. I may have worded it badly and forgot to mention that my working kidney is only 10cm and also scarred so not the full ticket either. It's done me well though for 50 years bless it.
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