Steady decline in GFR

[Xcskirunride]

I am a 48 year old very active health conscious woman. I found out I had CKD almost a year ago. Still not sure what's causing it. Have an appointment with a new Dr. Feb 12th. My Gfr was pretty steady at 44 and the last 3 months has been declining 4 points per month. It's 32 as of my last test. For the last 5 years I have eaten a mostly whole food, vegan, gluten free diet for other health reasons. I excercise regularly also. In your very knowledgable experiences, has this happened to anyone? Does it slow down or is going to keep on heading south. At this rate I only have 8 months left of kidney function. I drink very rarely and did have some wine a couple days before my blood work. Has anyone noticed alcohol having an effect on your GFR? I would appreciate any advice and experiences shared.

[steve680]

Yes, alcohol is toxic to the kidneys and can accelerate the decline in kidney function, but as a light drinker, this might not be an issue for you. To be on the safe side, I wouldn't drink alcohol until you can stabilize your kidney function.

I would strongly recommend that you see a Nephrologist at this stage if you aren't already. Do you know what caused your CKD? Was it diabetes? Was it high blood pressure? Treating the cause of your CKD is the most important thing you can do to slow down the progression of kidney disease. Have you had a kidney biopsy? This will tell you what's causing kidney damage and may also help in the treatment of your CKD.

[Xcskirunride in reply to steve680]

I have been going to a Nephrologist and I have had a biopsy. The doctor has ruled out a lot of different things such as auto immune diseases and lupus. He says he susspects I have acute and also chronic kidney disease. Not exactly sure if he means it's coming from 2 different sources or not.?? We are looking into Familail Medditrean Fever because I have most of the symptoms of it. I did a genetics test which tested for 17 strains of the 140 strains that exist. They came up negative, but to further diagnose it, I have to get the inflammation down in my kidneys before being started on some meds that will only be effective if I have the rare disease. But my numbers are going down.

The Dr I'm going to see on the 12th is a Urologist. Because I have pain in my kidneys pretty consistently now for a couple years, I've been told it may be related to a bladder issue. Any information on kidney pain and failure would be greatly appreciated also. I've read so much that I shouldn't have the pain that I do with the stage that I'm in, and am also told this by the nephrologist. But I 100% have cramping in my kidneys when urinating, and they feel swollen and sore a lot. Hurts to lean back in a chair or twist my body. I've been working out and very active since I was 18 and know the difference between muscle pain and other pains. Very self aware of my body.

I feel like everything, the referrals, the appointments, the tests, waiting on results is taking so long and have not really gotten too far yet as to why this is happening. I feel like I'm running out of time and it's getting scarey.

And thank you so much for your reply!!

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Hi,

There are differing opinions about drinking wine with CKD. And it also depends on what medications and other medical issues you might have as such as high blood pressure. But personally, I too will have a glass (less than five ounces) of red wine once in a while.

Your labs can be affected by being dehydrated.

Since you eat well, and take care of yourself, I would make sure you find out what might be causing the decline from your doctor. You said you had other health issues, so is there a connection there? Please review with them all your medications, even over the counter like ibuprofen, supplements and teas, and see a renal dietician. Let us know how it goes with the new doctor, which I hope is a nephrologist or kidney specialist.

webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/new...

kidney.org/news/kidneyCare/...

[Xcskirunride in reply to Bassetmommer]

Thank you for your response. Those are great articles. I used to drink moderately to unwind after long days and the reason for stopping was high blood pressure. It's the only thing that brought it back down to normal. And I don't like taking perscriptions for things I can cure naturally. So I wonder if my body/kidney function reacted in an aggressive way because of having a few drinks last week. I hope to get new blood work with my next appointment and hope for an improvement.

[Frankie24]

I agree, at 40 I was a vegetarian who taught exercise and dance, ran in marathons, did not drink or smoke and was the overall picture of health, except one day I was told after a routine test that I had PKD. You should check further into what might be causing this decline. I am now on dialysis 19 yrs. later.