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Reduced kidney function after sepsis.

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elee12
elee12

Hi I have joined here for some much needed advice please!

I am a 27 year old female , in August 2016 I was rushed to hospital with sepsis and was very poorly ! It is unknown how I got sepsis , although whilst being treated in hospital I has severe left sided kidney pain and could barely move! I was told I had a kidney injury.

When I left hospital my GFR and creatinine were all in range. GFR over 90. The back pain went off after 2 weeks of being discharged from hospital.

November or 2016 I was still having checkups with dr and I complained of the back pain I experienced in hospital returning but not a sharp pain this time just a dull ache. He did some blood tests and it came back my gfr was 60 & creatinine 101.

This blood test was repeated 4 weeks later (I was advised to drink lots of water ) my results this time was that my gfr was 59 and creatinine 103. I had 2 water infections after these tests and my back pain continued over Xmas and new year. I didn't drink any alcohol over the Xmas period.

I have recently had another blood test (January 2017 ) my GFR is now 56 and my creatine is 108.

I still have the back pain and blood in my urine when dipped by dr and now my periods have become erratic with regular spotting through out my cycle ! I have been referred to the urologist as urgent and will be seeing him on Monday (20th Feb)

I would like to know if anyone has had the same experience and if I should be worried ? I am a healthy 27 year old with a young child I work in the hospital and am able to access my results so I have seen that my gfr was not low prior to sepsis.

0 likes, 19 replies

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  • elee12
    elee12

    Posted

    I also forgot to mention that I had an ultrasound of both kidneys in January and there were no problems reported other than the appearance of my kidneys were not that you would expect of a 27 year old and that they presented as my gfr did. They wasn't juicy kidneys they were small and shrivelled.

  • helen54849
    helen54849 elee12

    Posted

    Hi,

    Did you have blood sepsis or was it in the urine can I ask? The fact you had any sepsis would have knocked you for 6 and then with the UTI's as well no wonder your GFR has taken a knock.  Any infections can cause a GFR to drop as can some antibiotics and other medications. Once everything has cleared up and you are sure that all is well have the tests repeated, you may find that they return to normal as they were before you have been through this massive bout of infections and such.  I would try not to worry until you have the repeat tests to see what is what.  My kidney issues were diagnosed with a biopsy as nothing showed on the scans but you are seeing a specialist urgently so things are going in the right direction.  Do keep us posted on your progress x

    • elee12
      elee12 helen54849

      Posted

      Thank you for replying smile I had blood sepsis but still don't know how I got and fell ill very very quickly over night with no sign of infection before hand. Whilst I was in hospital my gfr went down to 55 but on the day I was discharged 2 weeks later it was back up to over 90. I don't understand why it then dropped in Nov again and is stil low. I am very anxious about seeing specialist on Monday and am hoping for answers but I doubt I will get them on my first appointment. That's interesting about biopsy as my ultrasound didn't show anything either x

    • helen54849
      helen54849 elee12

      Posted

      Hi,

      Its really good that your GFR recovered, it will certainly have dropped due to the infection, blood sepsis is very serious and will take its toll on your body.  What did it drop to in November? it could be that there is still a trace of the sepsis still lurking or you may have had an infection or virus at the time of the test only you will know that. Please let me know how you get on with the specialist on Monday, as you say you won't get answers on the first appointment.  It will probably be a plan of action and what they will do next, all very good as they will investigate fully and you will at some point get an answer.  I have had two bisopsy's and many best guess diagnosises! my first one came back with nephrotic syndrome and thin mambrabe disease, over the years this was changed at various guesses to various other thiings lol.  Then I had another biopsy and they came up with alports even though common signs of this are if you are male, have eye issues and deafness! and is genetic (no one else has this as far back as we look, although it can skip a generation) I have none of these so it has been decided that have have the rarest form that you can get which is typical of me.  If you have meds and they give a list of side effects mine will be the complete opposite, I am on steroids you are supposed to have a moon face and eat loads my face has stayed fine and I don't eat everything in site and I am still a skinny mini.  You will get sorted don't fret unless you have to its a waste of precious time x

  • holley95735
    holley95735 elee12

    Posted

    Hi, are you sure your creatinine numbers are correct.  Normal is 0 - 1.03.  Maybe you meant 1.08, not 108.  You're seeing a urologist and if he feels you need to be seen by a nephrologist he'll most likely make the referral.  Good luck.

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey holley95735

      Posted

      holley, those blood test norms that you are quoting sound as though you may be in the US.  Here in the UK, blood test results are interpreted differently, so 'ellee12's' creatinine and eGFR results would be categorised as CKD3A here, just below what would be accepted as normal.

  • rocky31676
    rocky31676 elee12

    Posted

    Can you explain the sepsis you had .... what kind of infections or STI ? 

    Kidney injury is not common, it the cause is infections, then it it better to remove the cause. 

    You seem to be on the normal-borderline on GFR and creatinine. 

     

    • elee12
      elee12 rocky31676

      Posted

      I had blood poisoning from an unknown source , I certainly didn't have an STI and all my urine tests were clear and chest X-ray during my stay in hospital.

      I'm not sure about creatinine all I know is that my blood tests said 108 and previously 101 and 103. GFR is currently 56.

      Are my creatinine and GFR normal? As when I look online it says CKD 3 which is worrying me.

    • helen54849
      helen54849 rocky31676

      Posted

      Hi,

      What was the cause of your CKD and what stage are you at if you don't mind me asking.  Its interesing to read other people stories and experiences smile

    • rocky31676
      rocky31676 helen54849

      Posted

      I dont have CKD yet. But i am interested and reading a lot about it cause i am at risk from the infectious conditions i have involving autoimmune disorder called HSP. 
    • helen54849
      helen54849 rocky31676

      Posted

      Hi,

      It is all very interesting.  I very much hope that you never develope CKD its not all that fun and that of course you keep well. smile

  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey elee12

    Posted

    elee12, you have already been given lots of helpful advice from others, particularly from Helen who has a wealth of experience with kidney issues.  I, too, have had a life-long experience kidney-wise.  How unfortunate that you should develop sepsis - apparently it can occur through having the most innocuous cut in the skin, even just from an insect bite.  The important thing is that it was diagnosed timely and you were treated accordingly.  The kkdney results when you left hospital were excellent but the slight decline since could just point to some ongoing effect of the sepsis on the kidney function.  The important thing now is to be well monitored to ensure that the function stabilises but it sounds as though you are in good hands with the imminent urology appointment and hopefully onward refferal to a nephrologist.  Good luck on Monday.    
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