Sudden rapid drop in eGFR from 100 to 35

[Diane95]

Hello, I am worried sick about my mom, she had normal GFR of 100 in June then she started having kidney disease symptoms and went to the doctor in mid-July and found out that her GFR decreased to 45. They thought something was wrong and redid the test a week later and found GFR dropped even lower to 35!

She has an appointment with a nephrologist but it’s in early September- they wouldn’t give us anything earlier. I am very worried and confused because I was under the impression that kidney disease develops gradually and sudden drop in GFR is due to acute kidney injury which needs immediate attention, but it seems the doctors aren’t taking this seriously and she has to wait over a month to be seen. Do you think it’s safe to wait over a month or should I take her to the ER? I am worried her GFR will keep rapidly decreasing and she will go into kidney failure while waiting for her appointment. Thank you so much in advance for your help.

[Michael__S]

I am no medical expert but I believe that an appointment with a Urologist could prove useful and might be able to identify the cause, hopefully the wait time is shorter. Or at least rule out a few possibilities. If it turns out to be a blocked kidney (hydronephrosis) then it is said that permanent damage can takes close to two years to be significant but the fine print says that most people don't have symptoms and it appear to be how it went for me. I recently passed a MAG-3 renal scan and not much function is left on that kidney. The time between diagnosis and surgery was a lot more than a few months as there was a backlog of surgeries due to Covid.

Did you had any test/imaging performed? Embracing a renal diet in the meantime is likely to improve her quality of life. kidney.org/nutrition

[Marvin8]

With that quick a drop, I'd want to run another renal panel get a kidney ultrasound sooner rather than later. If it's an acute injury, they need to address it quickly.

[drmind]

It wouldn't hurt to go to the ER to allay your fears and to get confirmation that your mom's condition can wait a month. It's crazy but my first nephrologist has it on his on call message to go to the ER if a major problem existed. I went to the ER and found out this nephrologist was overdosing me on new BP meds given my age and history. Going there may have saved my life. It also let me know that I had to change nephrologists as soon as possible. Please let us know how things go whether you do the ER or not. We're here and we all care. And, we're all learning something new everyday.