Confused about urine creatinine

[Pollyerrington]

Hi, I had some tests done recently. I'm really confused. I hope some of you can shed some light...

My urine creatinine is 27.66 mmol/l

Urine protein creatinine ratio is 3.6mg/mmol

I've looked in so many places but can't see anything about the urine creatinine levels other than those done per day.

Does anyone know what a normal level is for the urine creatinine test?

Gfr is 59 and creatinine in my blood is high (96 umol/l)

Gfr has decreased and creatinine increased year on year for 8 years now.

I'm female, 6ft tall, 38 years old.

I have quite a few symptoms (fingers and legs swell very easily, I have restless legs, tired all the time, low iron, flakey skin on nose and scalp which started about a year ago, urinate quite a lot in the evening)

Can anyone help me? I'm really confused!

I also know that gfr is based on an average body surface of 1.76 metres square, because I'm tall my body surface is 2.1 metres square - I've heard this can lead to not being diagnosed properly. Does anyone know about this please?

Thanks in advance

[Pollyerrington]

I also forgot to mention I've been getting really light headed when I stand up. It's gradually become worse over the last couple of years. It's now happening a few times a day. A few weeks ago I fainted for the first time. Hope someone can help me please!

[BarronS in reply to Pollyerrington]

What has been your rate of decline and have they identified the cause of the continual decline in GFR?

Getting up and having light headiness could be an issue with blood pressure. Are you on any BP meds or have issues with blood pressure?

Have you had an echocardiogram done to check for any heart issues such as leaky valves or any issues with enlargement of the heart?

[Pollyerrington in reply to BarronS]

Hi, I've been diagnosed with postural hypotension. Blood pressure is fine but drops when I stand, which I was told is well known in CKD.

Heart is fine. I've had various ecgs.

Gfr has gone from 70 to 59 in small drops every time (2009 to now)

I'm having a scan of my kidneys soon. I'm not overweight, don't eat red meat/high fat or salt, not diabetic. I exercise regularly. So no obvious causes for CKD. So confusing!

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

Did you have a 24-hour urine collection done? I know my doctor does that along with a blood draw with a renal panel when I turn in my sample.

Are you in the US? I know it varies if it's a regular urine sample or one that was collected over 24 hours also.

Regular urine sample protein should be 0-20. In a 24 hour collection anything below 80 is normal.

Creatinine in urine normal is 11-20. 24 hour collection normal is 500-2000.

These are the parameters from my lab. Your lab could vary if you live in Canada or the UK and measure differently.

I think you need to speak with your doctor or his nurse and tell him you are confused as to what these tests are showing. Make a list of questions similar like you have in this post. Always check with your doctor and then you will get the correct answers.

None of us are medical experts and can only speak from our own experiences. We live in different parts of the US and the world.

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted

[Hidden]

Polly, consider purchasing a copy of the book, "Coping with Kidney Disease" by Johns Hopkins MD/Professor, Mackinzie Walser. Explains a lot, including your questions. I bought my copy used from an Amazon.com vendor.

[vimrogers]

This may sound silly but, do you drink lots of water as this is good for kidneys to work harder providing your not on a restriction drinking more may bring your bp up too.

[JimVanHorn]

You may already know this about postural hypotension. In our heads we have two lobes that form our brains. In between these lobes is a valley and with the flat top of our skull this forms a blood sinus. Blood normally fills this sinus from behind the forehead where it drains back behind by the top of your neck. This bathes your brain and when there is not a lot of blood in it anyone may faint. When you move you head forward and backward quickly the blood leaves this area and you can faint. Low blood pressure makes this problem worse and postural hypotension means there is not enough blood in your brain sinus when you stand up. It is not a form of anemia, but has to do with your blood volume and blood pressure. Everyone on blood pressure medicine has this problem from time to time. When you wake up from sleeping you should sit on the side of the bed for about 15 seconds before you stand up.

As your creatinine increases, your GFR decreases, this is normal for kidney disease. My creatinine was 5.7 and then I went on a renal diet and in 3 months my creatinine was 3.6 . So a renal diet is our "medication" when someone has kidney disease. If you need a diet see a renal dietitian for yourself. In the USA we use blood creatinine for calculation our GFR. Urine creatinine is not as accurate. Sometimes kidney disease can be caused by bacteria in the urinary tract or may be hereditary. Thanks for the questions and I hope I have helped you.