Hi, I had a routine blood test at my GP a few weeks ago and was asked to come back in a month to redo. When I checked the test results online it showed I had a creative level of 99 and GFR of 55. The notes said CKD stage 3.
I am due to have bloods taken next week to test again.
My main question is could this be a fluke low result? Is there anything else that can affect these readings? I don’t know much about CKD or GFR. I’ve tried googling but I can’t really find out whether results fluctuate much. I know you have to have had a low GFR for 3 months to be diagnosed with CKD.
Ps I am a 37 year old female who does not have diabetes or hypertension.
Thanks in advance
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En0u1209
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Hi and welcome to the community. GFR numbers are just a snapshot from the time the labs were taken. GFR does get lower as we age but you are too young for that to begin. Diet, exercise, and other health issues can affect the numbers.If you'd like to learn more about CKD and develop questions to ask your doctor, go to davita.com and register for a free, 90-minute, virtual Kidney Smart class. If time is critical you can go to kidneyschool.org and view the learning modules. Should you get a positive diagnosis, ask for a referral to meet with a nephrologist to help determine the cause. While diabetes and hypertension are the leading causes of CKD there are other ways.
There is no cure, but you can slow the progression by following a kidney-friendly meal plan, exercising, and depending on the cause, do everything you can to keep it under control.
The DaVita website will also provide you with ideas for recipes to use in your meal plan. On the hard copies of your lab reports look at your protein, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, and calcium. Those will be key indicators of where you need to make changes to your meals.
If you have more questions, please come back and ask. There are lots of knowledgeable folks here to help you and provide support.
Hi, I'm in a very similar situation. I went for my yearly physical in October and they called me afterwards and said my GFR was at 52. They redid it 6 weeks later and it was at 50! When I went on the website and pulled my prior years labs, I could see for the last 5 years they were trending downwards. At the beginning of 2015 they were in the nineties and by the end of 2015 they had dropped to around 70, And gone downhill every year since then. But since they were technically within normal limits because by lab standards they were above 60, it didn't flag them on the lab report and my doctor never mentioned it. So I've really been around 60 the last few years but nobody caught it until it dropped into the fifties. I'm going to see a kidney doctor the beginning of February. Like you I'm not diabetic and I don't have high blood pressure. I do have anxiety though with blood pressure spikes that go up when I get anxious, which from what I'm hearing now could still contribute to kidney issues. I would recommend pulling your prior years labs and seeing what exactly the numbers were to see if this has been going on a while or if it really is just Now starting. The important thing they go by is to look at the trend over a number of years not just a one time GFR reading. So when you look at say the last 5 years you can see if it's been going down for a while like mine house or hopefully it's just a one time thing maybe from dehydration.
In the UK we don’t have yearly physicals but I did manage to find a previous time I had my GFR tested on my medical records. In 2017 my GFR results were 60. Similar to your experience the dr didn’t flag it because it was just in the normal range.
Same thing with me four years ago. Surprise GFR of 59 for the first time at age 58. Creatinine was around 1.22 Then I found labs from 20 years before and creatinine was 1.11
Go figure. I'm hoping I'm just a slow drooper instead of a fast one.
You do not have yearly physicals in the UK?It’s only the most important thing you can do to take care of your health
Socialized medicine isn’t it great?
I worked hard , learn a skilled trade have great insurance and go to any doctor anytime I want , socialized medicine is a joke it will never come to the United States
I have the exact same thing going on, and I also have an appointment in February. I am not sure what to think. I stopped taking me GERD meds. I heard they are not good for the kidneys. My GFR was fine in February 2020. I had blood work when diagnosed with a bad UTI. In November I had my physical and now I dropped from 80 to 50. It’s upsetting. Good Luck to you.
Yes it could change in either direction, up to you! If you drink or smoke stop!! Change your diet to improve your situation, you can do it if you want to..google healthy foods for kidney patients , study it and adhere.
Hi, thank you for your reply. I don’t smoke and very rarely drink (maybe once every few months). I generally have a healthy diet and in the last 5 years lost 4 stone. I’m hoping maybe I was dehydrated when I had the blood test. I certainly had a cold and I’m not sure if that would effect the readings. X
I caught the 50 GFR myself on a blood test. Not one single dr mentioned it to me. I went back 2 yrs and I was at 58. I am in my 50s, no high blood pressure and no diabetes. I did smoke until last yr. I finally have an appt with the nephrologist next week. I have already done a bunch of research on davita and other websites. I have also started low sodium diet. Once I meet the nephrologist I hope I will have more guidance.
Hi all, just by way of update. I had my second blood test a month after the first and it still showed a GFR of 35 and creatinine level of 99. I am due to speak to the dr on Friday. I’m guessing they will do another blood test in another month and possibly a urine test to check for protein.
Does anyone know what happens then. Will it just be diagnosed as CKD and monitored? Or will they do further tests because the underlying cause isn’t obvious?
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