white toenails

[viwi]

70 year old male with a few health problems but ride a bicycle 20 miles almost every day.

In November 2022 my feet and ankles swelled up and my toenails turned white. I had a metallic taste in my mouth, dry skin, bubbles in my urine, and I lost the hair of my outer eyebrows.

I felt good until late March. At that time my energy level went down, my kidneys started to hurt, I didn't feel well, and I had nausea at times. These problems got worse in April.

I changed my eating habits several times, not sure if that helped but in early May my feet and ankles went down and a few days later I started to feel better. My May 19th blood work was good: eGFR 111.5, Glucose 102, Creatinine .7, Potassium 4.7, nothing too high or too low. My Urinalysis was good too: everything was Negative or None Seen.

I'm not feeling that well lately, maybe it's because I increased my carb intake (started eating oatmeal and bread again which I previously cut back on). I don't know.

Anybody else with kidney problems got white toenails with swollen feet and ankles? Maybe it's my hypothyroidism or anemia, or something else.

[Chris2023]

How were your liver enzymes?

[viwi in reply to Chris2023]

My liver enzymes were all within norms:

AST 23 U/L 1 to 41 U/L1 - 41 U/L

ALT 13 U/L 1 to 43 U/L1 - 43 U/L

ALP 40 U/L 40 to 130 U/L40 - 130 U/L

[Chris2023 in reply to viwi]

While liver enzymes are in normal ranges, ALT is usually higher than AST. Your AST/ALT Ratio is 1.7 which could indicate something going on with your liver or biliary system, which could cause cause white toenails, so it is worth asking your doctor about these enzymes. And make sure you tell them about your toenails!

It could be something as simple as low iron or anemia.

[Minniemang]

get the thyroid levels rechecked, some of the could be from that

[viwi in reply to Minniemang]

Thanks. I'm going to see my doctor in a few days, I'll see what's what.

[CatOnACloud]

Reynauds also can cause white toenails.

[viwi in reply to CatOnACloud]

Thanks but I'm pretty sure that isn't the problem. I'll see what the doctor says.

[Darlenia]

All I can say is that your creatinine is amazing - so it's likely not your kidneys.

[viwi in reply to Darlenia]

It certainly is up there, I feel blessed. In the 11 years I've had my eGFR checked it's only been below 100 twice, once in the 80s and once in the 90s. So indeed, I guess it's not my kidneys.