My doctor is concerned about my kidney function. Is this likely to be a side effect to PMR
PMR and kidney functions : My doctor is concerned... - PMRGCAuk
PMR and kidney functions
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Frustrate
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It can be side effect of prednisone.
In his talk last week Professor Dasgupta encouraged us to get our own Urine dipsticks in order to test kidney function? In my last consultation, he did say it was a side effect of Prednisolone. Good luck!
I have got Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3 since starting taking steroids. No one has bothered much about it, I only found out because I found it in my on line records.
So did I early days on high doses, but as I reduced the kidney function improved. CKD can also be an age issue as well - but then, what isn’t!
Hi piglette, I too have CKD at stage 3. I found out about this before my PMR diagnosis, and like you, no one bothers much with me about this. Dr doesn't seem concerned.
My doctor told me the result of recent test shows my kidney function is perfect - mind you I was only on a dose above 5 mg for about nine months and have been lower than that ever since (started at 15 mg, June 2015).
I did not know until reading this post that kidney function can be reduced by pred. 
It's never had any detrimental effect on mine! I have to have the creatinine checked regularly for my anticoagulant therapy.
Maybe it's my tea drinking which helps!!!
That fits here too! Drink it by the teapot-full ...
Haha a fellow tea Jennie.
The greatest fear over brexit is a potential lack of UK Tetley t-bags!! Covid has prevented our annual trip to the UK to stock up ... So a request for a care package has been sent to the daughter before there are restrictions to prevent panic buying.
Had to laugh this morning - headline in one paper about people panic buying xmas puddings. If they are in the shops - surely it is reasonable to buy them????
yes,purchase christmas puddings as they are available,just be sure to do this in a calm and orderly manner..no panic! tea is another matter....
I always get strange looks when shopping for the necessary in the UK: 3x 240 packs Tetley t-bags, at least 6 assorted bottles of Persil detergent (its different here), multiple bottles of Heinz salad cream, HP sauce, mint sauce, Colman's mustard (most don't exist here though mustard can be found in Innsbruck). Any cheese other than cheddar and Red Leicester which I only need to go up the road to Austria to get, bacon. Most of that is for himself - t-bags are mine 
Can I ask what your kidney function number is? I have gotten different opinions from different doctors so am confused on what you all are being told as far as numbers.
I don't know. I got results through a phone call visit and we were primarily discussing my elevated CRP and a couple of other things (Vitamin D, chicken pox immunity, ferritin and when we should show up for our flu shots). She ran through everything else very quickly to say that everything was normal, and I hadn't even known she'd checked kidney function. Our tests results are not yet available on line.
It is also treatment for a number of kidney diseases.
Thank you all for your help. I feel better knowing I am in such good company
PMR caused chronic kidney disease grade 2 for me.
Not sure you can blame PMR any more than venerable age ...
A normal egfr at age over 70 is 75. Stage 2 CKD has a range of egfr from 89% to 60%.
But I'm only a youngster!🤪
Like me - but the cells don't lie!!
Mt rheumatologist advised me that taking prednisolone late in the day/evening may affect the kidneys.
Think someone may have got their wires crossed! Except lots of people find being on pred means they have to get up to go to the loo in the night - but that can happen when they take pred at any time of day, not just in the evening. Most people on the forum take pred in the morning - loads are up in the night.
No, he didn't mean that I would go to the loo more - that's a given. He said that the kidneys would be adversely affected by taking steroids at night. However, having done some research I think the jury's out on this one.
It is certainly something I have never heard or read in 12 years on the forums and researching PMR/GCA and pred! I suppose it depends what you call at night - but the form of pred I use is taken at 10pm and releases into the system at 2am. I know several people who take their pred at night and have never had renal problems.
I've recently had a blood test and my kidney function said not normal but satisfactory...sure this is due to Pred and once off it kidneys should be okay again,
Anne
Age also has a lot to do with it - our kidney function falls off as we age.
I had a poor kidney function I was told it could have been because I hadn’t drunk enough. I went vegan and repeated the test 8 months later and it’s ok now.. can be a side effect of alendronic acid
After this months round of blood work I checked my results on the lab's web site. It is presented as a list of EVERY test I've ever had so was looking at all the results from last year and this shown as a bar graph with connected dots from one date to another. I hate the format. LOL But, I noticed my kidney function test was 80 back in Dec. then dropped to 56 in May, which puts me in the mild to moderate kidney failure category. My GP NEVER EVEN MENTIONED THIS TO ME. I had a 6 day round of Pred in Oct. and again in Nov. then again in March a 10 day round. So kidneys were fine in Dec. then down in May. PMR was diagnosed in June.
We were beginning our hot Summer so perhaps my water consumption was not up to par but wondering if that alone could be the culprit?
All sorts of things can affect the eGFR because it makes a lot of assumptions. Being slightly dehydrated after an evening meal with a lot of protein can make a difference!! If someone has a dodgy result they are supposed to check it some weeks later - and no-one worries really until there are 3 consecutive bad results.
The eGFR was trialled as a predictor in a study some years ago but it was only intended to be provided to expert doctors. Then someone (probably a non-medical politician) though it was a great wheeze to put it out as another screening test protecting us. The renal specialists were not amused - they knew they would be overrun by patients being referred who didn't need to worry as GPs and nurses jumped to conclusions because the computer said it was out of range ...
That is great news. My tests in May coincided with a May heat wave and I have a hard time transitioning from Spring water drinking to an ideal Summer intake of water. LOL Not really much of a water drinker. But so good to know it is probably not a problem. At 78 one has a tendency to figure OH oh, now what. LOL
And you have to add that often bloods are done fasting in the morning - and very often older patients are difficult to get blood out of because they are dehydrated anyway.
Mine was not a fasting blood test but I had been out running errands and didn't have water with me. I'm sure it will be fine next time. I do drink an apple cider vinegar tea in the morning with vit. C and a couple other things added so maybe that affected the test since I didn't drink anything after that?
Not specifically a reply to you Frustrate , but a general comment re kidney function. in our family we had a rather tragic lesson in how important it is that the elderly have their kidney function checked. My stepmother had a heart condition which she was told an operation would repair. She was over 90 at the time, living in the US. Yes, she had the operation, which was declared a success. She was never, however, able to enjoy her new-found vigour, her new lease on life, as it turned out the dye used during the procedure destroyed what little was left of her kidney function, and she spent the next year receiving regular dialysis. When another problem cropped up, that's when we (her powers of attorney) in consultation with her, told the doctors, no more. Palliative treatment only. NO ONE had thought to check her kidney function prior to the surgery.
My Renal function was ‘Stable’ at my recent blood test, advised to drink more water.
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