Does anyone have low CO2 readings on their labs?

[Bassetmommer]

Curious is anyone else has low CO2 readings on your labs? Mine had been at 22 for over a year and then this last lab, dropped to 19. (My labs in general were not great with some decline. My doctor was not too concerned and said to increase my sodium citrate that I take.

But, I was feeling really crappy for a while. However, once I increased my dosage, my symptoms have vastly improved.

Anyone else have this and if so, can you share any symptoms you had?

[Hidden]

Below is a list from medicineplus.gov on low CO2 numbers in blood labs. I had one blood lab with a high CO2 level about four months after my diagnosis but not since then. I usually don't bring it up with my physicians unless it happens two labs in a row, and since I was newly diagnosed with CKD I assumed it was due to CKD and I was still adjusting to the kidney-friendly meal plan. I hope this helps.

Too little CO2 in the blood may indicate:

Addison's disease, another disorder of the adrenal glands. In Addison's disease, the glands don't produce enough of certain types of hormones, including cortisol. The condition can cause a variety of symptoms, including weakness, dizziness, weight loss, and dehydration.

Acidosis, a condition in which you have too much acid in your blood.

Ketoacidosis, a complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Shock

Kidney disorders

If your test results are not in the normal range, it doesn't necessarily mean you have a medical condition requiring treatment. Other factors, including certain medicines, can affect the level of CO2 in your blood. To learn what your results mean, talk to your health care provider.

Regarding this last point about medications, you might want to use drugs.com to check your meds to see if any of those interact with your CO2 levels.

Best of luck

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, Mr Kidney,

My issue is I have acidosis from the Psoriatic Arthritis which causes high uratein the blood and/ or ureteric stones, which is what damaged my kidneys in the first place.. But I was wondering more about the symptoms people actually get from this situation of low CO2, or if there are symptoms.

Thanks.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Mr K. I have consistently high range CO2 levels in blood work but not out of range. I will watch it. I thought same as you, just related to CKD and diet.

[Marvin8 in reply to orangecity41]

I also have consistently high CO2 levels, but not out of the range like you....for many years. My primary isn't particularly concerned, but my neph says anything above 27 is high. As Mr. Kidney suggested above, it might or might not be indicative of an acid/base imbalance....like respiratory acidosis if you have lung issues. Unfortunately, the only way to know that is if you submit yourself to an arterial blood gas test, which is rather uncomfortable. Best is to keep an eye on things and look at the long term trends.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Marvin8]

Yes so true. We must keep an eye on blood work results and query the Doctor more. Keep reminding ourselves. We have to prioritize as get limited time for Doctor visits.

[Jamok]

I had a low co2 level back in February at 17.

I felt a bit run down and I was experiencing pretty excruciating pain in my side near ribs. Doctor wasn’t sure if this was muscular or possibly related to a kidney stone. I took a muscle relaxer and it really helped with the pain -In fact it completely disappeared pretty much overnight after that. After speaking with my New nephrologist we concurred it was most likely a kidney stone. Looking at the labs from that time everything was a little off, creatinine and GFR were definitely worse. My neph put me on sodium bicarbonate tablets. My last labs in July, my CO2 is back to 22 but my gfr has slipped by a few points to 14 so my kidneys definitely took another hit.😬

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Jamok]

Hi Jamok,

Thanks for responding and sorry about the stone. You said you were run down. Did it feel sort of like being hung over? Did you have any other symptoms? I upped my sodium citrate and it seems to be working. We will see when I go for labs.

[Jamok in reply to Bassetmommer]

I felt like everything was taking a lot more effort. I was leaving for Hawaii in two days and had to do some shopping and I really had to push hard to get it done. But I also had that pain in my side so that was a factor. Hoping for a better labs for you Bassetmommer🤞