Latest blood test results show kidney issues

[Alexa5000]

Hi - thanks to everyone who has been of support in the past and for so many incredibly enlightening posts!

I had a full blood test two weeks ago and have just collected the results from my GP.

Unfortunately they failed to do B12 and iron and no T3 /T4. They said teh lab would only do them( T3/T4) if they thought there was a problem.

9 months ago I increased my dose of Levo after a 4 year battle with them.I increased from 100mcg to 112.5 ( doc recommended trying 125mcg but I felt awful so halve the 25 mcg every day)

TSH is now down from 2.62 to .82. I a feeling much better on the higher dose but am wondering if it is still a little high? I have the occasional totally unaccustomed dizzy spell ( one resulting in a fall causing a broken finger)

Additionally when the results came back doc asked me to repeat renal test in 3 months, with no explanation as to why ( just a letter)

Looking at my results My creatinine levels at 86 umol are stated as abnormal as are serum phosphate at .79. I have no idea what this signifies!

Has anyone else experienced this?

I am keen to remedy anything if I can , however minor,at an early stage rather than waiting 3 months for problems to possible progress.

Thankyou

Alexa

[TupennyRush]

Hi there

My creatine levels were abnormal before I was diagnosed but came down after about a year and a half. It may be that your undergoing over 4 years under dosing has caused the issue.

Do you have results before current and can you see if it's moved?

Otherwise I'd suggest that the three month review would seem to be the right way to go although I know it's frustrating 😤

If you don't already make sure you drink plenty of water and cut down tea and coffee to flush the kidneys. Hopefully your results will normalise once you've been on the right dose for a few months.

Good luck

[Alexa5000 in reply to TupennyRush]

Thanks for great advice, I will definitely try and drink more. I assume that my levels were normal in previous tests as low levels have never been flagged up before.

I guess I will have to wait till next test to see if they normalise, I was concerned that the levels appeared low just as i seemed to have got my levo to the right dose.

Thanks again - have a great weekend

[bluebug in reply to Alexa5000]

The problem with only having some things measured is that you don't know whether you have an actual kidney problem , or it is just showing you have inflammation, a chronic infection or are under medication. Normally if you have one of the latter 3 then some other measurements indicate this e.g. ferritin level, CRP, ESR.

Also don't presume your levels where "normal" in previous tests. When some doctors realise that you, the patient, are interested in what is being tested they know you are going to be looking at test results so decide to flag up abnormal results this time.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Alexa5000 This website is good for finding out what lab test results mean

labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

[Clutter]

Alexa5000,

TSH 0.86 indicates adequate medication although it is impossible to tell whether it is optimal without T4 and T3 testing.

[Alexa5000 in reply to Clutter]

Hi - I think that is the next route to take. I am going to have T3 /T4 tested privately.

Thanks very much!

Alexa

[bluebug in reply to Alexa5000]

Go the whole hog and get your B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D tested at the same time.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Vitamin and minerals levels are very important, but standard NHS thinking, doesn't at the moment seem to recognise this. You will see, time and time again on here lots of information and advice about importance of B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D.

a year ago on one of your previous posts your Vit D and b12 were both very low. Are you supplementing, if so do you know if it is enough ? They need checking. If you are supplementing b12, then you may need the "active b12" test to see if you are using it. Sorry don't know much about that. There are others on here who can advise

If you can not get GP to do these tests, then like many of us, you can get them done privately

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Blue Horizon - Thyroid plus eleven tests all these.

They also offer an active b12 test

vitamindcouncil.org/tag/aut...

[Alexa5000 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thankyou very much thats all really useful advice. Normally they test B 12 and Ferritin but for some unknown reason didnt this time! Vit D is now fine as they did at least test that....I will look into active Vit B 12.I have been supplementing, but as you say I dont know if its enough without testing.I am planning to get T3 and T4 done at Blue Horizon so will check that out then.

Have a great weekend

Alexa

[startagaingirl]

Hi Alexa, I am newly diagnosed with hashimotos's and am hypothyroid. But as part of diagnosis process my GP ran a whole battery of tests when I reported fatigue. I have a recent cancer history so they are very attentive & responsive with me fortunately. Part of this was a set of kidney function tests, I also got the please repeat report due to raised creatinine & urea numbers. This set showed an apparent 30% reduction in function and they are still testing to get to root of this, have just given in an early morning urine sample for testing for proteins. I am (relatively!) young, fit and healthy so no obvious reason. Anyway I had Blue Horizon tests done and discussed with GP a couple of days ago. When I queried that I had seen studies linking reduced kidney function to the general slowdown in metabolism and all organs and could that be the cause of my apparently reduced function he agreed that would be a "reasonable assumption" to make. It will be interesting to see how these tests change as thyroid levels come under control. Time will tell.

[Alexa5000 in reply to startagaingirl]

Thankyou, your advice was very helpful.Sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with Hashimotos, I was diagnosed 18 years ago and like to think I lead a very active life, still working and am pretty fit approaching 65.I was very afraid it would be a life sentence to begin with ..... so good luck!

Best wishes

Alexa

[startagaingirl in reply to Alexa5000]

Hi Alexa - my serum creatinine was 90 (range 45-84) so a bit higher than yours. GP didn't seem too concerned- I think they were just watchful due to my recent history. Should have said, phosphatase is one of the measures on liver function rather than kidneys. I don't have an issue there so can't help with that one and what might be affecting your liver - usual culprits aside!

I am not worried by diagnosis - just happy that I now have the knowledge to address it before it had the potential to be too much of a blight, unlike it appears a lot of unfortunate members of the group who didn't find out early. I am already feeling a lot more energetic and more like myself through using supplements and a small dose of levo. Long may it continue to improve!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Gillian

[humanbean]

When doing research be careful whether you are reading about creatine or creatinine. They are related but are not the same thing.

According to wikipedia :

Creatinine is a breakdown product of creatine phosphate in muscle, and is usually produced at a fairly constant rate by the body (depending on muscle mass).

Source : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creat...

[startagaingirl in reply to humanbean]

Hi - my blood results showed raised serum creatinine. You are correct it is a breakdown product of muscle (part of normal cell renewal in the body the same way we refresh skin etc). It is cleared out of the body by the kidneys. A higher than expected level in the blood (or serum) is interpreted to mean that the kidneys are not clearing it as fast as expected ie the kidneys have a lower functional level than expected.

[WhollyAligned]

Hi Alexa, hope you're feeling well. Just to shed some light on a couple of things for you. Great to see you've had some wonderful supportive replies already. I specialise in kidney health and your creatinine level in isolation is not a concern at all. What is more interesting in that regard is to get a protein to creatinine ratio urine test (PCR) and to ask what your GFR is - this stands for glomerular filtration rate which is a more accurate expression of current kidney function. Phosphate is commonly tested in kidney issues as it also regulated by the kidneys - the kidneys do a lot for us including maintenance of healthy bone mineralisation so often calcium, phosphate and vitamin D and sometimes para-thyroid hormone will all be tested. 0.79 phosphate is fine. Keep your kidneys well by avoiding processed foods and fizzy drinks. If you have your full lab test results for kidney function I'm very happy to take a look at them for you. Keeping your blood pressure healthy is also important for the kidneys as the tiny filters (glomeruli) can get damaged by high blood pressure.

[Alexa5000]

Hi, thankyou very much for getting back to me with such a helpful reply, it is very reassuring.I have looked at my blood test results and the GFR rate looks like MDRD= 58ml/min/1.73 ( previous test it was 71,(but that wasn't a fasting blood test)

There dont seem to be any results for a PCR test

Happily my blood pressure is pretty low and I do try and stick to a healthy diet - hate fizzy drinks!

Thankyou so much for offering to look at any lab tests - I will take docs advice and go back in 3 months and see where that leads, though I do fee reassured that there is hopefully nothing to worry about!

Have a good weekend and thankyou again.

All the very best

Alex