Egfr, is it a 100 accurate

[Tempest1]

Hi, I had recent kidney function test after a high creatine reading, it was 123 umol but after only a week it dropped to 80 umol . I was diagnosed with dehydration as urea was over 7.5 then dropped to 2.4 in that week also after I increased my water intake. I was not drinking enough I have to admit.im in menapause so have night sweats. I live in UK. I had water sample checked, all normal. My concern is egfr is 72 . For my age ( I'm 55 , female, no health issues, no medication for anything, blood pressure normal) it should be over 90. My weight is 76 kilos. I should be around 70 kilos so a little overweight. I'm 5 foot 6 and half inches tall. My GP says I'm fine all within normal range. anything over 60 in egfr is fine How when my egfr should be over 90. Is the egfr only a ideal estimation of a ideal 55 year old female of ideal weight and height ?? I know kidney function can't be a 100 percent at 55 yrs so I am worring for nothing. My egfr 5 yrs ago was 79, I was 5 kilos lighter then. So it has decreased in 5 yrs. Is this just age related. I would appreciate some clarity on egfr.

Thanks

Anne

[Marvin8]

Using today's eGFR calculation equations, serum creatinine eGFR can vary as much as 30% in either direction. Not many folks like to talk about that, but I suggest you do some research on the subject. An alternative to creatinine based formulas is to use cystatin-c, but cystatin-c can easily be thrown off by even slight thyroid issues. If you know you have no thyroid issues, I'd use the combined creatinine/cystatin-c equation for the best estimate. As for the other variables, just remember that the calculators assume an "average" build for your gender, age, height and weight. Calculating one's eGFR is really a messy business, yet so many worship at its alter. It's why most nephrologists simply look at your trend of creatinine (NOT creatine).

[userotc]

As you say, eGFR is below what is should be at 55 kidney.org/atoz/content/gfrBut I suspect it would not take much to improve it via improved nutrition and wellbeing. For best results, you could see a qualified Nutritional Therapist that specialises in CKD and provides a personalised approach. If that's not possible for some reason, you might ask again on here and/or do more research. If the former, please provide more details eg re how much water you drink. But I stress that a personalised approach is best.

Doctors show little/no interest at CKD<3 or more as they have little/nothing re drugs etc. I know it's wrong (as WE can do something) but sadly it's common. My mum wasnt even told she was ckd3 which subsequently contributed to her kidney cancer imo!.

[Tempest1 in reply to userotc]

Hi,Apparently in UK if egfr is over 60 and everything is else is normal on blood work, urine sample . No medication for anything. Then you are fine. I guess people will be walking around with some decline in kidney function without ring aware of it. My doctor said everything is fine as no other indicators of anything kidney related. I even paid for ultrasound on kidneys. Both appear normal. So I guess I'll try to loose a bit if weight and eat a bit more healthy. Thanks for your reply. Anne.

[userotc in reply to Tempest1]

We are also in UK. My dad's eGFR was 64-66 a few years ago (as youve indicated, no alert from docs) and my mum's was 36 after her nephrectomy 5+yrs ago. Following a fairly radical improvement in their nutrition and lifestyle that we managed, their latest eGFRs are ~105 and 60 respectively.

They are aged 69 and 67 resp.

[Tempest1 in reply to userotc]

Hi,

I only used to drink three to four glasss of fluid aday. That's including tea and coffee, both decaf. In that I have now upted it to 8 cups of fluid aday, both water, tea and coffee, decaf. My results improved in a week hence the dehydration diagnosis from my doc. He said if I had kidney problems the results would not improve that quick in 7 days. So he isn't concerned as all other bloods in normal range. Water sample normal. Ultra sound which I had also ( forgot to mention that) normal also.

[userotc in reply to Tempest1]

Id suggest eating more than "a bit" more healthy tbh and that could help weight loss. Re fluids, did you realise that tea and coffee reduce the value of drinking water?

[Tempest1 in reply to userotc]

, No i did not know that tea and coffee reduce your water intake. Its decaff i drink for both . I thought that was ok? Thanks for the info. I will take your comments on board

[userotc in reply to Tempest1]

Decaffeinated coffee does not hydrate you as well as water, English tea even less so. And you need 1.5+ l/day of hydration. Note adequate hydration is only part of overall nutrition and lifestyle improvements which most/all need nowadays. The UK is one of the worst!

[rabbit01]

No Anne it is only an estimate. In fact the e in egfr actually stands for estimate. Don't worry about the odd result in isolation. It's the overall trend that's important. And yes our kidney function naturally decreases with age so the amount of creatinine in your blood will gradually increase as you age. But other things like exercise and when you last ate will affect the blood test. Your egfr is absolutely fine. Don't get stressed about it as certainly in my experience stress will damage your kidneys.

[Tempest1 in reply to rabbit01]

HI,

Thanks for that reassurance. I know alot of people on here are from the USA where everything is double checked and analyzed. Claiming on health insurance etc.. I know we do things different in the UK . My GP implied that he would be referring everyone over the age of 50yrs with some form of Kidney Disease relying on egfr readings. So i guess i should take something from that as everything else is normal. I will try to get my weight down a bit as i know in easy to loose it as we get older.

[barbara55109]

All blood work is simply one point in time. What you have to look at are trends over time. That doesn't mean tests are inaccurate. They are just a single point in time measure. Lots of things impact test results. Too much water, too little water. Recent meals, exercise, health and more. It's the trends that are important, especially with GFR.