22 year old with possible CKD. Confused, worried, and seeking advice, experience, guidance, and opinions. Possible stage 2/3A CKD patient.

[Healthylivin69]

I am a 22 year old male with a creatinine of 1.7 (March) on my last blood test. 1.54 (February) and 1.4 (September) prior from 3 different labs. Last GFR was 51 from the 1.7 creatinine level. I am 5'8" 174 pounds and I am a bodybuilder. High protein diet, used to use heavy supplementation (protein, creatine, bcaas), and worked out twice a day. Last BP readings of 102/60, 102/66, 105/62, 111,70 and yesterday was 110/70. Heart rate around 48-55 bpm. No diabetes or hypertension. No blood or protein in urine after two dipstick tests. I had an Ultrasound that was taken and came back normal I had a 10.9 right kidney and a 10.7 left kidney.

I am now instructed to do a 24 hour urine test and a follow-up blood test day of urine return. Saw my doctor yesterday and he is not worried at all and said he is optimistic it is not CKD.

My protein in the urinalysis was 4.0<mg/dl (normal is 5.0 - 24.0 mg/dL) and my creatinine was 110.mg/dl (normally 20.00 - 370.00 mg/dL). Both very much within normal range but I also cut out meat since hearing this so that probably why my protein is low on this urinalysis. I did not fast and ate two high protein meals before the 1.7 creatinie blood test that was a week back and was on accutane. I had not fasted for any of the blood tests.

I am not convinced, I am very worried from everything I've seen and read. It seems like my gfr has decreased from 73-63-51 over last 6 months. Pain in front/side mostly on left but seems to move to groin and switch sides. Unsure if its kidneys or anxiety induced. It started the day I found out about the 1.7 result but has not gone away. It does come and go. No real back pain. Sometimes I see foamy urine but it mostly dissipates within a minutes time. Sometimes foam stays. I am very worried and scared. I am extremely healthy so i do not understand what is going on. Any opinions, advice, experience would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time,

Andrew

[Charlene_Coxhead]

High creatinine is really come in bodybuilders and high protein diet. When your in stage 5 predialysis you have to cut back that a lot on protein then dialysis starts and you need 1.1gram per kilo of you expected weighttry not to worry as it might not be as bad as gfr of 51. Try and think of it as glass half full rather than empty which appreciate it's really hard at this time.

Most kidney transplant people will only get 50 if they are lucky with the new kidney.

My got was gfr2.5 when I started dialysis. It's normally between 8 and 12. This gives you a rough idea to compare to your. I last 19 years and first diagnosed at gfr of 20. I carried on living a full life. Martial arts instructor in the Kwon do where I was a second can black belt, and solo skydive. Don't let this disease take over. Make small changes like low sodium diet, no dark colas, reduce coffee and limit takeaways and ready meals but pretty sure you have a healthy eating plan. Stay well hydrated too.

Hope the 24hour shows good results and maybe talk to you doctor about high protein diet as have you spoken to him about it.

Hope I've not overload you with stuff,I know it's scary and I was in denial for a while and that's very natural.

Good luck and we are always here to help

Take care

Charlene

[Healthylivin69 in reply to Charlene_Coxhead]

Thank you for the response Charlene. It is great to hear you were able to live a full life even with the diagnosis. I am a bit depressed at the moment and hoping its just a false reading. But I am realistic and know my levels are showing CKD. I have started moving towards a vegetarian diet. Limiting protein and increasing my water intake which is around a gallon a day.

Appreciate you story and advice and hoping to hear some more encouraging stories and advice/opinions.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Healthylivin69]

Hi Healthy,

You are on the right path to protecting your kidneys with more plant based foods and more water. Lowering the protein might be wise but you can enjoy things like chicken and some fish. There is protein in so many things that we aren't aware sometimes how much we are consuming. So not using additional product is a good choice.

Getting diagnosed with CKD can be life altering. But there is so much you can do to slow down the progression. Many of us live full adventurous lives even with stage four and five CKD. Let us know how things go with up coming labs. I bet you will see an improvement.

[Healthylivin69 in reply to Bassetmommer]

I went to the ER last night with abdominal pain and they took a CT scan, urine sample, and blood test. My creatinine went back down to 1.4 and my urine and ct scan were normal which is great news.

So it’s great that it went down in about a week. But I’m still confused if it is CKD or if it’s just my muscle mass

[steve680]

My suggestion is to stop the heavy supplementation for now (it sounds like you have). I would also suggest eating a low-protein, low-sodium, low-fat mostly vegetarian diet (vegan if possible), i.e. limit the meat. If you already have some kidney damage, high-protein diets can make it worse: mayoclinic.org/healthy-life... Monitor the GFR and see if it improves. Usually foamy urine means that your kidneys are leaking protein, but see what the doctor says. Also, if you're a heavy drinker I would cut back as that can cause foamy urine. I would also make sure that you're well hydrated before you're next blood test as that can cause high creatinine (and foamy urine). It's good that you're doing a 24-hour urine test as that should give you more information. I would also discuss with your doctor any and all medications you have taken recently, including over-the-counter medications, as some can cause kidney damage. Hope this helps.

[Healthylivin69 in reply to steve680]

That does help. Thank you so much for the reply. My levels dropped back down to 1.4 and 3 tests had no protein or blood in the urine. We will see how the 24 hour test goes. I am moving over to a lower protein diet. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond

[ReidB]

I'm also a bodybuilder and been lifting 25 yrs and was diagnosed with stage 2 ckd 3 years ago. The biggest difference is I'm twice your age (47), but I did the same thing with high protein diet and took lots of supplements for 20 years. First and foremost is stop the creatine, trust me I used to doubled the doses on it with creatine and pre workout supplements. I tapered down on the protein intake but I do have a shake every now and then. I too thought I was healthy but didnt know my kidneys was gonna take a hit like they did. Luckily for me my GFR has been in the 60's the last 4 years and stable. My creatinine level is always a little high 1.3 or so and could be from lifting and being muscular. I cut out alcohol, and only drink water majority of the time, and try to eat alot of fruits and vegetables daily. I've had every kind of blood and urine test a kidney doctor can give and nothing major has come up yet thank God. Personally I wouldnt worry too much i think you will be fine, but listen to your doctors advice. Good luck

[Healthylivin69 in reply to ReidB]

That’s interesting. Do you ever think that you don’t have CKD and your blood test is just showing High Creatinine levels because of your muscle mass? I’m just confused because mine is 1.4 but I’m 20 and have no signs except High Creatinine. I cut down protein and my BUN went down drastically to 13. So I lowered protein and the drop happened. My doctors don’t think it’s CKD. I on the other hand are not optimistic. But I had a good ct scan, ultrasound, and 3 urine tests all clear and normal.

Everything I read says CKD. I believe it but I’m researching to find if it isn’t. I’m seeing a low GFR and a high creatinine which says Stage 2/3a. But everything I’ve heard from Doctors, mom, girlfriend, friends say it’s not. But I’m just lost. Trying to find the answers myself online and I’ve got conflicting results. I’m really confused

[ReidB in reply to Healthylivin69]

Yes my Doc did mention that my labs creatinine could be a result of my muscle mass.