I was very surprised when I googled covid and CKD to find out from reputable medical sites that covid causes CKD, AKI (acute kidney injury) , dialysis and even death to people who do not have CKD. You are more vunerable to any of these outcomes.
Some hospitals are running out of dialysys machines due to this problem.
They say 30% of covid patients develop kidney problems, even the young.
Another reason the protect ourselves properly when going out........
Here is a link to article from National Kidney Foundation and relation of kidney disease to Covid 19. kidney.org/coronavirus/kidn...
Kidney, lung and long term memory problems have been widely reported in the news since the beginning of the Pandemic.
I had Covid-19 in July of 2020 but don't blame my CDK on that since my eGFR was already 35. It didn't help my asthma any that's for sure.
You're right about protection when going out. I always wear two triple layer masks. Even so I'm just getting over another lung infection, I finished antibiotics last week. I take Prednisone which is probably making me more susceptible. I thought masking would stop flu and colds too but I guess nothing is 100% : )
Be sure to get your 3rd vaccine. I'll be getting mine soon, it's too near my lung infection to get it now.
If your GFR didn't change after you got covid, you are very lucky.Good for you for being well-protected!
I think that mainly applies to people who were hospitalized or were previously having dialysis. Only severe cases. My Covid was moderate, I was able to stay home with antibiotics and a nebulizer for breathing. At that time I was Stage 3B. I didn't go to Stage 4 until a year later.
Oh! Well that makes a difference. You were lucky indeed!It does apply to everyone though, if you read the medical reports from many reputable resources.
The Kidney Foundation states the info is for dialysis patients in Orangecity's post.
Here's another link ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Anyone with CKD or any chronic illness is at a higher risk of contracting Covid, BUT it doesn't mean their after affects will be any worse than anyone else with severe covid IF their Covid is severe. Everyone with Covid doesn't get severe Covid and even healthy people can get severe Covid.
I'd like to know what you are reading that contradicts what the National Kidney Assoc. is saying or what the National Library of Medicine is saying (which is a source physicians use).
Please post some of the links where you got that info. I would certainly be interested in legitimate sources with other information. AKI is NOT the same as CKD.
Here's another where the patient's recovered kidney function from their AKI by the time of discharge from the hospital following AKI.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/328...
A kidney injury isn't CKD. They don't continue to have kidney problems when their Covid resolves. I found nothing in legitimate medical journals to support what I believe you are stating.
It appears to me that research is finding instances that Covid induced AKI doesn't always resolve over time which increases risk for CKD or progression of it. For instance, the AJMC which publishes peer reviewed research, states: "The kidney issues in patients with COVID-19 are more severe than in patients with kidney disease not linked to the infection; COVID-19 layers on more severe AKI, more need for dialysis, and complicates a full kidney recovery before discharge. The factors contribute to a higher risk for incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) or progression of existing CKD." ajmc.com/view/study-illustr... I've read another report that Covid causes tiny clots to form in the bloodstream, which clog the smallest blood vessels in the kidney and impairs function. Throughout, I worry that this is another area that will impact growing transplant waiting lists.
I did misinterpret the "complicates a full recovery before discharge". I read it as a full recovery before discharge. I have Mild Cognitive Impairment from who knows what, I was just recently tested. I apologize for my misinterpretation of that article.
No problem, Sophiebun. I love your input on posts. I, too, misread or misinterpret things here and there. Keep on keeping on, Sohiebun! You've experienced a lot and have lots of great advice to offer!
If the acute injury is severe enough it can result in CKD. This happened to me after I was given high blood pressure medication.
Right, AKI is a different story. As you say, yours was from BP meds. Many people get CKD or AKI from meds like Omeprozale and even NSAIDS.
Higher dose vitamin D seems sensible as it protects against viral infections eg covid, and can help CKD markers as per links I posted a day or two ago
IIRC correctly, my RD said that 1 in 4 who have to go into hospital with Covid experience kidney damage.
I reckon I took a 10 point eGFR hit myself due to a bout of Covid (moderate)
If you know anyone in med school who hasn't yet plumped for a speciality, then tell them to get into Nephrology. It's about to become a boom industry.
Which reminds me .. I wonder what dialysis stock and shares are doing price wise. I've a few bob I've put by looking for a way to grow!
"Combined, Davita and Fresenius control more than 80% of the kidney dialysis market"
One wonders why anyone would seek the advice of Davita in attempting to stave off dialysis. Folks, get real here!
That would explain my 50% drop (20+ Points) in one year
Oh dear. That must have come as a shock..
Wow that is a huge change. All the best to you.....
I have not yet posted or commented on this group, though I've been following for a while. I am 74, CKD patient, holding at 40 eGFR, a drop of 10 points since I was diagnosed about 11 years ago.
I do have something to add to this discussion. My daughter-in-law was 37 when she had Covid. It was early in the pandemic, March of 2020. She was not even tested, since she did not fit the parameters for testing, sent home with an inhaler and told to come back if she got worse. She did get worse, was was quite ill for about 2 weeks, but did not go back to the doctor, thinking she could fight through it. She was unable to get back on her feet for another 2 weeks or so, and had never quite fully recovered. A few months later she began to feel very ill again, went to her doctor, who referred her to a nephrologist who was already treating 5 Covid patients with AKI. She is still in treatment, having round after round of medications they are hoping might cause her kidneys to begin working again. She's had a very difficult time, is on piles of awful meds that make it hard for her to function daily for some days after treatment. She's had chemical dialysis with almost every treatment. They just finished a course of therapy with the 3rd medication (I do not have names of any of them) and a week after her last round of the latest medication, at this moment in time her kidney function is around 60, which is the highest she's had since the whole thing began. She previously had no kidney damage at all. She is one of those who did not regain kidney function after Covid. The jury is still out on whether she will regain function or not. The course has been that within a month after she completes a round of therapy, her function drops rapidly.
I also have a daughter who has rheumatoid arthritis, and recently discovered that her eGFR, which had been at >90 in January, had dropped to 36 by August. She is 55, had no prior kidney issues. She had Covid in April, a mild-to-moderate case. But she was also taking a meloxicam for her arthritis and a hip condition for which she is going to need replacement surgery. They don't know if the meloxicam caused it, though she's been on that for a couple of years with no sign of problems, or if Covid was the cause, or possibly both. She has yet to see a nephrologist. They took her off the meloxicam, and are doing blood work every month. Her last eGFR was 40.
Just a couple of stories from the real world regarding Covid and kidney function.
Thanks for sharing these real cases with us. I’ve been watching this research closely for the past year. I, too, have had concerns that the COVID-related kidney issues may overwhelm the renal medical care system. I agree with Darlenia’s post; this may lengthen time on transplant waitlists …
Jayhawker
Hi Nana16, Rheumatoid Arthritis is known to cause damage to the kidneys and heart. Many autoimmune diseases cause CKD and heart issues. My mother had RA and I have Scleroderma. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 CKD with a eGFR of 28 and I have congestive heart failure as did my mother. A rheumatologist needs to follow patients for kidney and heart issues and catch them early. I hadn't seen a Rheumatologist for 5 years. My eGFR was fine the last time I saw a Rheumatologist, but I did have heart issues. Most people don't get to see a Neph. until they have an eGFR of below 30 but that shouldn't be the case. However, since your daughter has an autoimmune disease she needs to see one as her CKD may be treated differently than someone with CKD from the usual causes such as hypertension of T2 diabetes.
Best of luck.
Thank you. I will tell her about your experience. She's had RA for years, first diagnosed about 29 years ago, but she never got any care. She never had health insurance until recently, and what she has now is not very good, quite expensive and high co-pays. I am doing my best to try to convince her to get an appointment. Her primary doctor will give her a referral, but she is swimming in medical debt right now, and afraid to add to it. I already told her it's a matter of life and death for her to get the right care.
Hi Nana16, Most of us with an autoimmune disease usually have at least 3 or 4 other ones, some diagnosed, some not. Usually Sjrogen's, Raynauds, Celiac, etc.
Autoimmune diseases are hereditary so it's no wonder your daughter has at one. RA is very serious and can progress to serious disorders in organs, not just joints. Many think it's just like osteoarthritis, but it's more like Lupus or Scleroderma. They can all be life shortening autoimmune diseases. If she can't afford medical care and lives in the US, see if she can go to her County Hospital. I used to go there for free care. It wasn't the best care, but it was some care and I am still here to tell the tale : )
My mother and I saw the same Rheumatologist before she died. Our Rheumatologist did many studies on RA and my mother took part in one for an IV medication that helped her immensely. It may be a routine treatment by now, that was about 10 years ago. I forget the medication name. She was hospitalized overnight to get the IV, and got it every 6 months.
Your daughter should at least be taking Prednisone for inflammation and an anti-inflammatory diet. Please urge he to see a Rheumatologist. PCPs just aren't trained to handle serious rheumatological diseases. They can diagnose them, but they aren't up on the new treatments. Your daughter may qualify for Medicaid or even Medicare if she is disabled and needs to go on SSDI.
Best of luck to both of you, and you're right it is a matter of life and death.
She does have a rheumatologist and has been on a course of methotrexate and prednisone. Since her drop in kidney function he's doing labs every month. He just tapered her off prednisone for a while as her inflammatory markers were low. She eats a mostly plant based diet, and doesn't eat sugary foods, has lost 78 pounds in the last year and a half, working to get her body weight down to keep stress off her joints, as well as improve her general health. She's exercising too hard for her kidneys at the present time but I think I have convinced her to take it a bit easier on herself. And yes, our family is full of autoimmune disease: MS, scleroderma, Goodpasture syndrome, and many others. We have no county hospital here in our very rural area, and our county health doctors were over their heads with my daughter very quickly. She is getting good care now for her arthritis, and hopefully soon will have a good neph. Thank you so much for caring!
That's good she is tapering off the Pred a bit. And congrats to her on the weight loss, it will be easier on less Pred.
I hope the lower Pred. doesn't make her kidney inflammation worse. My Neph. put me on Pred. to make my eGFR increase. It helped quite a bit. Stage 4 up to Stage 3. He was very helpful.
I'm semi-rural and there is a shortage of Rheumy Dr. here so I haven't see one in 5 years since moving out of the SF Bay Area. I really need one. My Oncologist, Neph. and PCP all put in referrals for a year now. No calls for an appt. yet. I got in to see Neph. and Cardiologist and Oncologist within a month of a referral. Rheumy must be a good field to go into since they are in short supply.
It's sad that there are so few rheumatologists around. The practice where I have my GP and cardiologist doesn't have one, so they have to refer to another clinic, thankfully only about 35 miles away. I live in rural IL. My nephrologist is headquartered about an hour and a half away, but he comes to a town near me 2 days a week, so when I see him, I see him very close to home. When I needed an oncologist and a surgical specialty I was referred to Mayo Clinic, which is 6 hours away, but I had a very good one there, no longer need to go back and I'm cancer free for almost 20 years now. My daughter has a rheumatologist who seems to be keeping on top of things with her, so I am grateful for that.
Another note: I also have a couple of autoimmune diseases that have been diagnosed, Hashimoto's with high antibodies, and Celiac disease. Probably have a couple others that haven't been diagnosed yet. None of those were diagnosed at the time I saw the nephrologist, and he did not test for an autoimmune cause. I do have a cardiologist now, and he's keeping a good eye on my heart. GP is watching my kidneys after nephrologist referred me back to her, and she's doing a pretty good job of keeping on top of all of my issues.
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