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Im having signs of kidney disease and was just curious what symptoms were for others.

Posted , 4 users are following.

deedra97082
deedra97082

Im short of breath, chest hurting on left side and down my flank. Bp stays high. Some days i have trouble peeing. Dizzy. Just generally feel bad. I was in icu for 3 days last week because my bp dropped way to low,dehydrated,pottasium low and found out im anemic. But did lots of heart test and my heart is good. Help if you can please

0 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • marj01201
    marj01201 deedra97082

    Posted

    Deedra,

    I'm in Stage V and am experiencing many of the same symptoms you're experiencing:

    1. Normal BP (now-it used to run low)

    2. Anemia (hemoglobin 5.6 when untreated; I take an iron supplement 3x a day and just began EPO injections last month so feeling much better now)Before EPO injections I was winded, light headed, mild headaches, and weak

    3. Left and right flank pain sometimes

    4. Dehydration problems sometimes

    5. Elevated potassium sometimes

    6. No problems eliminating fluid and no fluid retention

    I'm on a low potassium diet (2000 mg daily) and take a potassium binder. That keeps my potassium in check most of the time. All other electrolytes are in the normal range without treatment. I also adhere to mild fluid restriction, i.e., 60 fluid oz a day. I just drink water--no other fluids.

    When my BP was low and my anemia was not as effectively treated I, too, felt poorly much of the time. But now that my BP is in the normal range and my anemia is under better treatment I feel quite well--and that's with an eGFR of 11-12. I'm very thankful for that improvement in how I'm feeling on a daily basis. I do exercise daily. I walk 2 miles a day and complete a 30 minute workout on my elliptical machine a day. Exercising really helps me feel better. It also helps a lot with stress management.

    Marj

  • Guest
    Guest deedra97082

    Posted

    Deedra

    If you were recently in hospital for your low bp etc and in the ICU your kidney function tests would have been done automatically.

    So good news you dont have kidney disease if you wernt informed.

    Its unlikely you would suddenly go into kidney failure and more likely your other medical problems are the reason for feeling like you do.

    Good luck

    • deedra97082
      deedra97082 Guest

      Posted

      Hi Jane, thank u for your response. Yes i was in icu for three day for low bp and dehydration,anemia, low potassium and and infection some where. The dr mentioned kidney disease to me but kinda left it at that because i was there for other reasons, I assuming. She emailed my blood work to me. Of course when i saw all the highs and lows I wrote them all down and looked each one up. And my blood work is showing early signs of kidney disease..my bun high in the 30s and my creatine high as well along with a others also pertaining to kidney disease. So then i of course got worried and decided to look up kidney problems and symtoms. And i have nearly all of them. Ive been thinking it was my heart. Dr said it wasnt, so now im at a loss.
    • michael22502
      michael22502 deedra97082

      Posted

      As I said before Deedra, if in doubt speak to a good nephrologist. Do you have one? Do you mind me asking what creatinine numbers are currently? Mine are 133 in UK metrics and 1.5 in US metrics. The hospital is very happy with these figures.
    • michael22502
      michael22502 deedra97082

      Posted

      Hi Deedra. I take back I said in an earlier reply. If your creatinine level is 1.99 then that is cause for concern in my book. The good news is you've been alerted early on and have a good chance of stopping the disease in its tracks with the right care and attention. Sorry to be a broken record but my nephrologist at UCSF hospital in San Francisco was brilliant. You deserve to have at least some of your concern and tress around this alleviated. I'm just puzzled by your doctor/s are not being clear with you about whether you have early stage CKD or not. Admittedly I'm saying this from afar but it sounds like you may not be getting the information you need and deserve. I would be assertive and demand to know the real scoop from the medics.

       

    • deedra97082
      deedra97082 michael22502

      Posted

      Thank u for your response..im going to have to see a better dr and get this checked out more for sure. Found out last night this hereditary
    • marj01201
      marj01201 deedra97082

      Posted

      Deedra,

      Thanks for sharing your creatinine level with us. I agree with Michael, you definitely need to see a nephrologist. With appropriate care you'll begin feeling better and very likely be able to either slow or halt the progression.

      My creatinine was 1.9 for close to 5 years. I did have problems with both anemia, low blood pressure, and high potassium at that point which needed treatment. So I was put on a low potassium diet and began treatment for the anemia. Other than that I saw my nephrologist every three months to monitor my renal function. It remained very stable for five years. I suspect it would still be stable had I not become sick with walking pneumonia a year ago.

      So, definitely get to a good nephrologist. You'll feel better with effective treatment and will hopefully find that your renal function can be stabilized🐶

      Marj

    • michael22502
      michael22502 marj01201

      Posted

      Hi Marj

      Sounds like your walking pneumonia didn't help. Do you mind me asking where you're at now?

    • Guest
      Guest deedra97082

      Posted

      Hi Deedra

      So this is a bit like chicken and egg...which came first?

      Was it the kidney prob that knocked everything else out that landef you in ICU ?

      First you need to discuss everything with your Doctor to get an idea of what is causing what and a referral to a nephrologist asap .

      Kidney disease is often found as a result of other illness or routine blood work.

      My mum went into acute renal failure after a bout of gastroenteritis. She had no idea her kidneys were poor until that time. Now 15yrs later she is waiting for dialysis and I have just found out im CKD 3b due to routine blood test.

      Hope you get some answers soon so you at least know where you stand.

      Good luck!

    • marj01201
      marj01201 michael22502

      Posted

      Michael,

      My creatinine is 3.4-3.6; it's not totally stable. It was 4.2 after I recovered last February. Anyway, I'm now in Stage V. I was at very low Stage IIIB with creatinine of 1.75 before I got sick.

      I had hoped for more rebound but my nephrologist thinks this is where my kidneys are essentially stable at this level. So I'm preparing for the inevitability of dialysis now. I'm planning to try PD dialysis. My nephrologist also just talked with me about pursuing transplant eligibility testing. I see him again in January. At that time I'll begin the transplant eligibility testing. 

      I no longer have problems with low blood pressure. I have not had problems with fluid retention. I've got pretty severe anemia but that is under effective treatment. My only other issue is potassium. So I follow a low potassium diet and take a potassium binder. With that treatment my potassium is in the normal range. So I'm really feeling pretty good. I'm still able to work full time. Overall, I seem to be doing well.

      Thanks for asking!

      Marj

    • marj01201
      marj01201 michael22502

      Posted

      Micheal,

      My creatinine has improved from 4.2 immediately after I recovered from pneumonia last February to 3.4 for the past 6 months. My creatinine was 1.75 before I got sick--Stage IIIB. I'm now Stage V. I'm not yet on dialysis. I'm actually feeling quite well: no fluid retention, normal blood pressure without meds, electrolytes in the normal range with treatment for elevated potassium only (2000 mg potassium daily and I take abpotassium binder), and severe anemia that is under effective treatment.

      Thanks for asking🐶

      Marj

    • deedra97082
      deedra97082 Guest

      Posted

      I ended up in er with low bp of 70/40,dehydrated,stomach pain. When they did my blood work my potassium was low,anemia,and she mentioned kidney disease but since they thought it was my heart, they didnt seem concerned with that. She said it was all from the higher dose of bp meds with duretic that messed me up. I have always had very high bp. And my dosage was wearing off by time i got off and would be high again. So my dr increased dosage a little and added a duretic. I took it for a month before my bp started dropping low. I watched it for seven days and it just kept getting lower. Now its back up to high even with the low dose of bp medicine. They emailed my test results and i studied every bad thing on it. And it all kept saying kidney disease. Since it runs in my family i read up on it. Only to realize that i had every symptom and had for a good while. I dont have ins at the moment so im panicking a little. Next month i will tho, so hopefully i wont have to wait to long before i really know what s going on.
    • marj01201
      marj01201

      Posted

      Sorry--didn't intend to post twice. It delayedvoosting my first reply🐶

  • michael22502
    michael22502 deedra97082

    Posted

    Hi Deedra

    I received a new kidney three years ago but prior to my kidneys failing my symptoms were as follows: edema (swelling of ankles and feet). twice as sensitive to the cold as normal, being spacy, severe pain in the joints of hands and feet, fatigue etc. As someone else said on this thread looks like you do not have kidney disease. But keep checking your creatinine level anyway. Also, I assume you have a good nephrologist. If not then get one! Hope this helps, Michael at

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