Short of breath at 3a?

[oceansplash]

Hi,

I'm at 3a gfr 51-57 with proteinuria at 700 on average. Lately I've had a lot of fullness in stomach area and short of breath, and bad body aches. Electrolytes are basically good though low on sodium 2-4 pts. sometimes. Magnes. good. Both neph doctor and GP keep saying it's not my kidney disease. GP gave me a muscle relaxer which I don't like as it wipes out my memory. Is there any other blood tests I could order to get to the bottom of this. I feel like I'm functioning at 30%. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Mgt8]

Hi there,

I have been through kidney failure, and remember being at stage 3. It is very frustrating feeling tired and being told "you shouldn't be getting symptoms yet"

The answer of course is, well I am so what can we do about it!

Have you had your iron levels tested? It turned out, I was slightly anaemic so had a course of iron injections and it helped enormously. I learnt, never to accept that I "shouldn't have symptoms." Everyone is different and most symptoms can be addressed in some way or other at least to be relieved a little. So keep posting on here as a patient somewhere has always had a similar experience.

All the best...

Mgt

[userotc]

I assume you dont have the "normal" urine protein range for lab used and that the 700 is in units of mg/l ?. If so, that converts to 0.7g/l or 70mg/dL which is classed as High according to healthcheckup.com/general/p.... This link also includes "Hiccups and shortness of breath" amongst its symptoms!.

Maybe send to neph doctor and GP? In our experience with mum, they are useless!

Note we are concerned about my mum's (eGFR 76ml/min) increasing proteinuria according to 24h measure (latest 0.44g/24h) even though her total protein is only 0.08g/l ie ~9x lower than yours. Maybe you could ask for a 24h measure at the same time?

[barbara55109]

Anemia is common with CKD and causes shortness of breath. You should have standard blood work to look for anemia. I take iron 3x a day and my breathing improved.

[oceansplash in reply to barbara55109]

I am taking another blood test on Friday to investigate. The short of breath is on and off through out the day.

[jodaer]

If by fullness in your abdomen you mean belly bloating, then one cause of SOB could be the fullness is pressing on your diaphragm and that is pressing on your lungs and that could make you short of breath

[oceansplash in reply to jodaer]

Water imbalance??

[Michael__S]

I'd be surprised if those issues would show up on your bloodwork. I had my share of bloating/constipation/irritated bowel and the single most effective approach was food adjustment. Food like onions works well for me and are inexpensive. Things like kombucha and other type of fermented food can be quite helpful for gut health. Most of those can be done at home quite inexpensively.

I would place exercise in second place. Every little bits add up and don't try to overdo it. I used to train up to 10 times a week and after feeling like crap for nearly two years and a second surgery I started to feel better and the recovery was extremely slow. I could only exercise after eating my meal (some times after) and at quite a deliberately low intensity and would literally got for a nap after. I don't think everyone need that but using a heart rate monitor helped me better find that sweet spot (through trial/error not the working zone based of that 220-age formula). 4 months later I only exercise 3 times a week and I still avoid doing too much; the little baby steps added up still.

I also had success with lymphatic massage and various other type of massage. You can also do those to yourself but it'd be easier to judge its effectiveness if it's done by a qualified massage therapist.

[oceansplash in reply to Michael__S]

Thanks, I'm working on both diet and excersize. I also had my uric acid checked (ordered test myself). Just got results and just under high. This can cause gout and arthritis I've read. Haven't talked to doctor yet.