Wondering when GFR goes from 16 to 21 if that is a good thing?

[Patch_mom]

Hubby has had kidney problems for the last several years.....he was in hospital for a total of 2 months during two visits last fall.....when he was discharged his gfr was 16.....after a few months of very careful eating it went up to 21...

[Hidden]

This is a good thing. I was diagnosed at a GFR of 32. Thirty-two months later I'm at an average of 51.

Whatever he's doing, continue.

[browneyes1999 in reply to Hidden]

What did you do? Mine was 54 dr did angiogram of kidneys contrast dye didn’t tell me the danger it went to 48! Dr said r kidney had blockage this was 2009! It stayed from 48, 44 40 48until one year ago I had total knee replacement and it dropped to 36, now it’s 33 and diagnosed with diabetes last October A1C 7 February A1C 6.4 ost 20 lbs excercise and diet no diabetic medicine yet! Am I doomed at 71 years old?

[Hidden in reply to browneyes1999]

Please forget the term "doomed." GFR fluctuates and rarely stays the same. When I was diagnosed at 32, I went back and collected copies of my previous labs for the previous two years. From the time I dropped into Stage 1 and stayed there until now I've averaged a GFR of 51. My last GFR was 54.

After the diagnosis, I met with an RD and I've stuck with my kidney-friendly meal plan and slowed the progression of CKD. The two leading causes of CKD are diabetes and hypertension. I have both and both are under control. My average blood pressure reading with medications is 122/72 over the last 30 days. My last A1c was 5.2. My next labs are this coming Monday.

I exercise by walking/hiking and bike riding. When it rains I use an machine indoors.

My Care Team knows I make all of my medical decisions after getting their best advice and they support that.

The best advice I can give is to stick to your plan, keep appointments, take your meds and learn all you can about CKD and keep a positive attitude. Don't get upset with one bad lab. It's the average over time that matters. If I can do, anyone can.

[browneyes1999 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[browneyes1999 in reply to Hidden]

It’s been 33 the last two labs October and this February!

[Hidden in reply to browneyes1999]

It's steady and not declining. Hang in there and stick to your meal plan, exercise and get diabetes under control. It can be done.

[Klove22 in reply to Hidden]

Where did you obtain kidney meal plan/diet? I have diabetes also. I do know that you need to eliminate as much salt as you can for kidneys. However, when diabetic everything "white" in diet turns into sugar. I'm "winging it". I'm supposing a meeting with a nutritionist will help?

[Hidden in reply to Klove22]

I asked for a referral and met with a Renal Dietitian. I brought with me my lab results for about a year and together we went over everything and developed a kidney-friendly meal plan. She told me before we started that I could go vegetarian, vegan or include fish and/or poultry. While I included a large number of vegetables I still went with poultry and fish. From diagnosis to that meeting I had found the davita.com website. They have a lot of recipes for CKD patients with diabetes. I also learned to curtail sodium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, and calcium. I started using their recipes and made adjustments for my own taste and vegetable preference. Once I met the RD I was limited to 8 oz. of protein each day. I was given specific amounts for daily intake of potassium and phosphorus and I was set.

There have been a few occasions when I've had to contact the RD and make minor adjustments to the meal plan. After my first two meetings the rest of the time we communicate via e-mail.

One thing I've learned is that this is not a diet. When you have CKD you have to make lifestyle changes and that's why it's a kidney-friendly meal plan.

[AndrewT]

Dear Patch_mom,

From 16 to 21 a Rise of 5- Did you have a Big Meal? It IS 'That Sort' of rise! Now if it were 16 to 326.... I really WOULDN'T worry about, a change, of Five, in fact this is a GOOD result😊.

AndrewT

[SadMad]

I find that mine fluctuates some. It depends on the time of day blood was drawn and hydration and other factors I believe. One lab might have it one thing and another lab could have a different value altogether. Doctors go by month comparisons and other labs.

[Marvin8]

It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

[lowraind]

Now, the goal is to keep the improvement long term. So many things can cause a shift, but when it is consistently improved, it is an even better thing.

[Sammi_n_Munk]

That’s an awesome thing. He should keep up with his current meal plan and drink water. His doctor could advise on how much is the right amount. Kudos! All the best to you both! God bless. 😊👍🙏

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

Congrats! Now keep up the good work!

[RonZone]

I"m at 14% and have been trying diet etc changes these last couple of months to see if I can scoot mine up a bit. Doing labs tomorrow, will see doc next week and find out if I'm doing any good or not. Since my kidney issues are from PKD, not sure if eating like a rabbit and drinking water like a fish will help me any. Guess I'll find out.

[horsie63 in reply to RonZone]

Ron my damage is due to high BP for years, now controlled. I walk 30 min a day, have had no meat in months, do everything I can yet my eGFR continues it's downward trend. I'm almost ready to say screw it and eat whatever I like however, the loss of appetite and nausea keeps me from eating most anything so there's that. The thought of food sometimes just makes me gag.

[RonZone in reply to horsie63]

I've heard of others who have similar symptoms as yours. Loss of appetite, nausea etc. It's odd how different people have different experiences. My eGFR is at 5.8 now, but I have no problems with loss of appetite or nausea. In fact. I've been working to eat less (mostly plant based but with an egg occasionally) and lose weight so that once I start on Periodontal Dialysis, the weight I gain on that will put me back to "normal". I'm currently at 152 lbs. I figure I'll probably gain about 20 lbs on PD. I'll find out as I go a long.

I really feel for you guys who can't eat. As for your eGFR continuing to go down. Mine has done the same over the past two years until my Neph said it was "time" to start PD before it became an emergency situation, which I would like to avoid. I go or an ultrasound tomorrow with the PD catheter surgeon, and will arrange for the surgery sometime in July. Then start PD once that heals up. So I'm "there".

But I'm glad I was able to kick the dialysis can down the road as far as I did with the CKD diet stuff and walking. So I encourage you to keep hanging in there with it. I can't help but believe that even if it hasn't stopped the progression of your kidney disease, it has at least slowed it somewhat, as it did mine. Keep us all posted on how you're doing as you go along.

[horsie63 in reply to RonZone]

I'm currently at 17 and my neph just referred me to the transplant center. Waiting starts now I guess. I just wish I didn't feel like crap most days.

[RonZone in reply to horsie63]

Hey, if it helps, it took me two years to go from 17 to where I am today. And since I'm older than you by a good bit, mine probably faded faster because of my age. So if you keep up the work on the CKD diet and walking, you can probably kick the dialysis can down the road another 4-5 years hopefully and by then have a transplant lined up! That would be a good plan to shoot for anyway.

Now the flip side of that is that if you feel like crap already, you may not want to push it out that far and continue to feel bad every day. That's a tough call to make. You would need to decide whether to go ahead and learn how to do nocturnal HDD at home with ALL that goes with that (it's a tad complicated, but many do it now an feel much better because of it during the day). That could be the best option for you until you get a donor, since you said you can't do PD. It's all totally a personal call based on your situation and how you feel. I'm sure your medical team will advise you best. But YOU get to make the call. Talk with some of the folks on here doing Nocturnal home HDD and get a real grasp on the reality of that life. That might help you make your decision.

[horsie63 in reply to RonZone]

No, I can do PD and want to put that off for as long as possible.

[RonZone in reply to horsie63]

Ahh, ok, so you CAN do pd. That's what I'm going to do as long as it lasts, then I will make a decision on what I do after that based on my health situation at the time. My brother had a heart attack while on PD so never got a transplant. With family history of heart issues, i could face a similar outcome. I'm getting prepared either way. So you could start on PD, then make a decision to switch to HDD later if you don't get a transplant first. So you have all the options open, which is GREAT. That includes just bearing with it every day with the support of all those folks on this site, until you just can't do it any more and decide to start dialysis, unless you get a transplant first, which could happen!

[horsie63 in reply to RonZone]

Yes, and thank goodness my PCP and nephrologist are on board and understanding. We've discussed dialysis and given my very small size he recommends PD. I'm not sure my arms are big enough for a fistula or graft. Think thin 12 year old size person...lol

[RonZone in reply to horsie63]

Ok, I can recommend some items to add to your diet that will put some meat on those bones. I've found that a lot of Little Debbie cakes are low sodium and low potassium! Who knew! ??? Not healthy, I know, but they might had a few pounds to your tiny arms! But yeah, PD sounds like a good plan for you while you wait for transplant. I'll pray that you get on the list and that a new kidney is yours in a short amount of time once that time comes and that if you have to do PD, it will just be for a short time. I would much prefer younger folks like you get kidneys before us old geezers.

[horsie63 in reply to RonZone]

I'll check into the debbies. I do love ding dongs but hadn't eaten any in years. You aren't a geezer. You're only as old as you feel...and some days that's run over on the hiway old...lol.

[RonZone in reply to horsie63]

Well, now ding dongs are chocolate, so they might be a tad high in phosphorus. So don't want to get you into trouble! And yeah, I have my "road kill" days when that's exactly how you feel