Blood Test Results
Posted , 4 users are following.
I'm 74 and yesterday asked for a print-out of my recent blood test after my GP phoned me and prescribed Vitmin D3 for the next three months. It was only 27!!! The receptionist printed out the full report and I don't understand the results on the attached image. I was shocked to see the words "consistent with CDK3". If my GFR is "normal - no action" what is eGFR which says it's NOT normal?
Sorry to ask but just wondered if anyone on here knows as I'm worried. I've now got a bad UTI and I have been in a heck of a lot of groin/thigh pain for months now so much so I can no longer walk. I'm also shattered 
. Thanks in advance if you can help.
0 likes, 12 replies
LynQ sarah22500
Posted
Hi,
I'm 74 too! Vitamin D helps you to absorb calcium that is needed for bone repair and growth. As you get older, you often have an absorption problem for vitamns etc. This is oten because of diverticulosis which most older people have to some extent or to other problems. Also as you get older your kidney function declines somewhat. You don't say whay your GFR actually is, but it tends to decline slowly in most people so you probably have quite a long way to go before you need to worry. Ask your doctor what else your pain could be. it is possible that your Vitamin B12 is also low and this helps your immune system to prevent infection and may explain your frequent UTIs. Don't be afraid to question your GP is you don't understand anything. it's what they are there for. Good luck!
sarah22500 LynQ
Posted
Hi LynQ,
Thanks you for info but did you not see my attached image of my blood test results? I'm sure I uploaded them ok but even I can't see them on here at the moment!! Would you let me know if that report is visible to everybody or not please?
Thank you for this help,
Sarah x
MrsO-UK_Surrey sarah22500
Posted
Sarah, I guess that the reason your eGFR is marked as "normal" - no action" whilst it has added "consistent with CKD3", is simply because your eGFR is very slightly reduced, and this is a normal ageing process. Many people at the age you mention have some degree of CKD3, which, in itself, is not considered abnormal but, as I said, age-related. For instance, no consultant would be interested in seeing a patient with a CKD at Stage 3. The only concern would be if the test was to be repeated in the near future and the eGFR was found to have lowered considerably. If it remains stable at a slightly reduced level at the age of 74, you have very little to be concerned about. One tip though, is to keep an eye on your blood pressure and also your blood sugar as both can have a detrimental effect on the kidneys. I do see a renal consultant, but I only have one kidney, have difficult-to-treat high blood pressure, and my eGFR has reduced from the upper 50's to the 30's in the last 10 years, going from CKD3a to CKD3b. Hope that helps to allay your fears.
As far as the UTI is concerned, I both sympathise and empathise. I haven't had UTIs for very many years since my childhood when they were so frequent that it led to the kidney removal. However, I am at present experiencing resistant UTI's, starting with an E-Coli Infection, and that one morphing to a different infection. Now several antibiotics later, with one (Cefalexin) landing me in hospital with C.Difficile apparently, according to the A&E Dr due to a GP leaving me on the AB for far too long. Apparently, UTI's seem to becoming difficult to treat. I am now awaiting an ultrasound scan of my bladder and kidney and hoping that there is no bad effects.
With regard to your groin/thigh pain, that sounds totally unrelated to anything you have mentioned. If you haven't had blood tests for inflammation, ie ESR and CRP, do ask for them in case there is some inflammatory condition going on. Just a tiny thought in the back of my mind as it was the pain in the area you mentioned that heralded an auto immune inflammatory condition for me. On the other hand, it could simply be related to your hips - have you had a DEXA bone density scan?
sarah22500 MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
Hi, so sorry for late reply. Do you know I too have sometimes wondered about an auto immune inflammatory condition.
My right inner thigh pain started two years ago. It was so bad I was limping everywhere and eventually I was prescribed Lyrica. Then it went as suddenly as it came......
This year, January 1st, that thigh pain came back in the same leg. I took Lyrica expecting it to go but it didn't. By the end of January all I could manage was a short walk to the shops and back. The inner thigh pain was really sharp and burning. Really painful. In February the leg pain was so awful I broke down in tears in a supermarket and had to sit down and call a taxi. At the start of March I had to SOMETIMES use a mobility scooter to get aroung the shops but I limped badly all the time. At the start of April the pain spread to both thighs and both knees. I was in so much pain I was prescribed Morphine patches. Now, in May, I can't sleep lying down due to excruciating pain in both thighs, both knees and lower legs. The 10mg morphine patch hasn't helped one bit so I've drafted a letter to my GP saying I simply can't cope with this level of pain, I have another MRI spine scan booked for two weeks time. The first one was 2 years ago and that was quite bad....I have no quality of life whatsoever. I often think this is going to be my life now, going everywhere on a mobility scooter. I'm even - today - having to use a walker to get from one end of my lounge to the other. 'm not overweight, eat healthily, don't smoke and I'm not diaabetic. I'm seriously thinking of going to see a Chiropractor. I don't have funds for this but there doesn't seem anything else.......
MrsO-UK_Surrey sarah22500
Posted
Sarah, thank you for explaining THR in your earlier post - I'm not surprised how desperate you feel having to wait so long for surgery, if indeed it does turn out that it is hip surgery that you need.
With regard to your query about a possible inflammatory condition, have you had blood tests for inflammation, namely ESR and CRP? These can point towards inflammation going on in the body, but can sometimes be negative even with active inflammation. There are many autoimmune conditions that can lead to muscle/joint pain - the one I experienced caused pain bi-latterly in both groins, front of thighs, arms, so the hip and shoulder girdles.
MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
sarah22500 MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
Oh my goodness, I definitely don't want to start taking steroids. I haven't had those inflammation tests but if they're sometimes negative how would that condition be diagnosed? I have bilateral leg pain but that's it. No arm or shoulder pain. All I know is the pain has progressed rapidly from one inner thigh in January to now all my legs and it's excruciating.
MrsO-UK_Surrey sarah22500
Posted
Sarah, believe you me that if ever you were to get as immobile as I ended up due to permanent crippling pain and stiffness, you would take steroids. They got me out of a wheelchair and saved my eyesight. For those patients who don't present with raised inflammatory markers, this particular illness is a diagnosis of exclusion of other possible diseases, such as RA. Also, a short trial is steroids can be tried and if there is at least a 75% resolution of aim within a few days, sometimes hours, that is usually accepted as confirmation of correct diagnosis. There is no definite diagnostic test available at this time.
LynQ sarah22500
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hank1953 LynQ
Posted
Where did sarah mention that she had stage 3a CKD ? Hank
LynQ hank1953
Posted