Feeling awful

[Cathy12156dsrjad]

GFR at 36. Stage 3b. I pulled a muscle. Very painful. I have been taking muscle relaxers and Tylenol. Never had a pulled muscle to hurt this much. Could this much pain and taking meds make me feel this terrible. Weak, nauseated a little, and very tired. Thanks for your help!

[Hidden]

Until you are able to get an appointment with your physician, put a hot towel or hot water bottle/wrap on it and leave it on until it cools. If it's a leg keep it elevated. Don't strain it any further but repeat the procedure until you are able to see your doctor. Did your physician order the muscle relaxers? If not, stop taking them until a physician advises you. Remember, pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong.

Be sure to tell your physician what you were doing when the first pains arrived.

[SN23]

Praying for you.

Take care,

🙏💕🌸

[Cathy12156dsrjad]

I’m sorry. Pain is ok. My question was mostly asking about being tired. Is being fatigued at stage 3b normal?

[steve680 in reply to Cathy12156dsrjad]

Yes, someone in stage 3B could feel fatigue. Go over your lab results with your doctor, especially your hemoglobin level. Ask your doctor if your anemic and whether there's anything you can do about it. The kidneys play a vital role in making red blood cells, and impaired kidneys sometimes don't secrete enough of a hormone that stimulates red blood cell creation. Depending on the severity of the anemia, doctors can give you a shot of the same hormone that your kidneys make and you should have more energy after that. However, due to side effects, the anemia has to be pretty severe, but your doctor can tell you more about that. Also, I would advise to talk to your doctor re your choice of painkillers. This reference says:

choosingwisely.org/patient-...

"Over-the-counter Tylenol (generic acetaminophen) is often the best choice for people with high blood pressure, heart failure, or kidney problems.

"However, high doses of Tylenol can damage the liver, so take the lowest dose you can to get enough pain relief.

"Never take more than 4,000 milligrams (mg) a day. That’s equal to twelve 325 mg pills.

"If you have kidney problems, do not take more than 200 mg a day. And take it once every 12 hours to limit the risk of side effects."

Hope this helps and you start to feel better.

[Lbw62 in reply to steve680]

What we've been told is a hemaglobin of 11 or above is to dangerous to get the EPO injection. My daughter is in end stage and has labs done every one to two weeks. Based on her hemaglobin levels she either gets a 4mg or a 10 mg EPO injection to help her Anemia. Muscle and joint pain are issues she deals with daily, but manages with rest and low activity level. Wishing all the best for you

[Cathy12156dsrjad in reply to Lbw62]

Prayers for u and your daughter!

[steve680 in reply to Lbw62]

That's correct. What is your daughter's GFR? I've had erythropoietin administered to me when it was first discovered that I had CKD and I was very anemic. I was stage 4 at the time and I quickly improved to stage 3B, mostly because I was also put on a strong dose of blood pressure medications. That's the number one thing that will improve your GFR - address the cause of your kidney disease. It takes about 2 weeks after the injection to start noticeably feeling better (at least it did for me). However, the doctor won't try to normalize your hemoglobin level as it could have adverse side effects, such as heart attacks. The exact target numbers for hemoglobin vary for male and female.

[Lbw62 in reply to steve680]

At diagnosis her gfr was a 3, today its 6. She takes 2 BP meds twice daily. Along with a plethora of other medications. Hemoglobin today was 10.8 so 4 units of EPO, the good news though is that we're decreaseibg predisone to 5mgs daily from 10 mgs daily. Laxity 40 msg daily but we'll keep a close eye on creatirine, today it was 8 down from 11. The cause of her ESkD is an aggressive form of IGA. Only cure is transplant! So while we wait to find a donor we do weekly to biweekly labs and watch her levels. Trying to hold off on dialysis as long as possible! Wishing all of you the best.

[Cathy12156dsrjad in reply to Lbw62]

Definitely in my prayers!

[steve680 in reply to Lbw62]

Thanks for sharing that. I hope your daughter's GFR improves. My GFR is currently at 14 and my doctor is pushing my heavily to get started on dialysis but I don't have a lot of symptoms, mainly fatigue. However, I just walked briskly up three flights of stairs and was barely winded. I too am trying to hold off as long as possible on dialysis.

I think I need to find a new nephrologist and/or get a second opinion. I don't like my current doctor's "bedside manner". My previous nephrologist retired and I sort of got stuck with him as a replacement; I didn't pick him. I also don't think my current doctor is doing enough to manage my current medications as my dosage of Hectorol was too low based on my lab results. He doesn't like having his opinion questioned, as I get the old "I've been doing this for 40 years" routine. I think it's one of the doctor's main duties to adequately explain things to the patient or at least tell the patient where he/she can get more info on certain things. He basically told me that CKD is a one way path to the dialysis chair one your GFR is below 15, and I don't necessarily agree with him. Based on case studies I've read people have improved from stage 5 to stage 4 and even stage 3. Also, if I don't like the doctor I tend to avoid him which isn't good either.

[Lbw62 in reply to steve680]

I'm sorry, I do love her nephrologist. Yesterday I questioned Prilosec and a potential further damage to kidneys. She stated there is little research to support it but agreed to try another reflux med, bit not discontinue it all together because if the predisone. Transplant team stated that her kidneys won't repair due to cressents from the IGa. Crohn's has played a part in her kidney damage as well. I'd be very interested in hearing about the studies you've found demonstrating improved GFR from stage 5 to stay 4 and 3.

We live in the US in the Bee England area. Where are you located (you don't have to be specific).

Wishing you the best outcome possible!

[steve680 in reply to Lbw62]

Thanks for your best wishes; I appreciate that. There was a book written by a nephrologist (Mackenzie Walser, M.D.) about the very-low protein diet as a means to slow progression of CKD, though not all doctors agree on that. Some doctors just say that low protein will minimize side effects of CKD but not slow it down. The name of the book is "Coping with Kidney Disease, A 12-Step Treatment Program to Help You Avoid Dialysis".

I'm not familiar with the Bee England area, but I also live in the US on the west coast (California).

[Granny401]

Okay first I want you to know I'm not a medical doctor. If these symptoms persist though call your Dr. and get in to see him or her. Chronic Pain alone can make you feel sick. Coupled with CKD this may be another reason for your symptoms. Your Dr should be able to advise you on what the best course of action is to resolve these issues.

[Granny401]

Fatigue is most likely from the muscle relaxants. They make you feel sleepy. However you may have other things going on with your kidneys again. Its best to check with your Dr. who can examine you and get testing to find out what's going on. As far as fatigue with stage 3b kidney function there is a good web site called Davita.com and it has much kidney related information on it. As far as I know, early stage CKD doesn't have much if any symptoms. Most people don't even know they have an issue. Later stages of kidney disease do have symptoms as indicators of poor kidney function. Please check out the web site Davita.com it's really got some good stuff in it.

[Cathy12156dsrjad in reply to Granny401]

Thank u. Very informative for my situation!!

[Frankie24]

I did not experience any noticeable fatigue till I got below 16 %, into stage 5, I believe it is different for everyone, however I agree, muscle relaxants will cause fatigue.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

oh yes fatigue can be a symptom of CKD at stage 3. It is caused usually from being anemic, as people have said. My solution as prescribed by my doctor was to take OTC iron. Simple and easy and made all the difference. But talk to the doctor. It is well worth finding out if you are anemic and fixing it. You will feel sooooooo much better.

[Gmagolf]

I don’t know. But muscle relaxers make me feel awful and so drowsy. Hope you feel better soon.