Rats, my creatinine is 1.5, not so good....

[ICLori]

(I'm sure you already know this, but just in case, creatinine in the blood is a measure of how healthy or sick the kidneys are. A normal level for a woman would be about 1.0 or below, and if you reach about 1.6, that's kind of pushing it, that shows that there has been a bit of damage to the kidneys.)

Just did my labs recently and my doctor called me and said the latest reading is 1.5. Now, that's not too far from what it has been - the last decade or so, it's been running 1.1 to about 1.3, depending on my state of hydration. And the 1.5 could be explained away by dehydration, too. But...it might be from the CyA. CyA is known to sometimes induce damage to the kidneys. Now, in the studies, none of the patients showed any nephrotoxicity, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen to me - it's happened to other patients who have had high doses of CyA for transplants.

Sooooo...I asked him what then...if the next set of labs comes back 1.5 too - he said we'd look at reducing the level of CyA. I would imagine if the damage continues, I would then stop taking CyA altogether.

Hmmm. Oh, well. I don't seem to have the best of luck, sometimes...

Blessings,
Lori

[ICNDonna]

I'll cross my fingers that the high level is a temporary thing.

Donna

[ICLori]

Thanks, Donna, I'll drink tons of water to make sure I'm really hydrated (that can affect the test levels...) I'm going to be kind of sad if I can't tolerate this higher dose or have to go off it altogether.

Blessings,
Lori

[Imustpee]

That's high? 1.5? I thought that was normal? Mine was 1.3 2 weeks ago and I feel really good...but at UCLA in July it was 3.7 and in Feb it was 5.3....I was really sick then, now I know why...gag...I hope you feel better soon...:)

[ICLori]

Yup, it's considered more or less chronic mild renal insufficiency for a woman at that level.

Normal levels for men can be up to 1.5 (anything over 1.5 for them is renal failure, either mild or whatever) and for women, up to 1.3. So a reading of 1.5 is mild renal failure, which is not serious, but which means that over 50% of my...glomureli? I forget the spelling - are not working. Over half of my kidneys are now dead, in other words.

It's a different thing with acute kidney failure - it's different from chronic, which is more what I have. I guess if you have a level of about 8, you are in big trouble. So anyway, that gives you an indication of how high the numbers can go.

1.3 would be still within the range of healthy, but 1.4, would put you into the mild chronic renal insuffiency (renal failure) category. Stage 1 of the disease. You don't actually go see a nephrologist or anything until you are in Stage 3 or 4 of it, which is much worse, I think.

Anyway, don't worry, 1.3 is fine. And your levels earlier were from acute kidney failure, which was temporary and now your kidneys are fine again.

Blessings,
Lori

[vm]

I'm with Donna - crossing fingers, toes - anything to help get those next labs back in the normal range - or at least to what has been normal for you. Try not to get too upset until those next labs come back, OK? I know - way easier said than done, but we'll all be pulling for you and hoping this is just a fluke. :kissing:

[Imustpee]

Yes, even tho my left kidney was so bad for so many months most of the function has returned altho not 100%...The first thing my uro asked me when he called with the results is " Lesa, how do you feel?" When I told him I felt pretty good, just very weak ( I am doing P.T. to build my lower body and core back up) that's when he told me it was 1.3...he wants another test in Dec and a renal ultrasound, just to be sure...I love my uro...he is so caring..I really would love to work with him...well, off to work,,,got to teach those little kids how to play the piano! :)

[ICLori]

Thanks, Kim. Lesa, your uro does sound like a great doctor! I really like my urogyn I'm going to now too, I think he's a great doctor.

Blessings,
Lori

[IcyAngel23]

Sorry to hear about the labe results. I'm having troubles of my own too. My headaches are getting worse and I'm not sure I can stay on CYA much longer. The drs don;t know if thr CYA is causing the headaches or not but I had to get a brain scan and tons of test done to rule out other stuff. Hope everything works out ofr the both of us. I'll know in a few days on my tests too.

[ICLori]

Wow, Kristin, that's terrible - I hope the brain scan and other test don't reveal anything serious - I'm sure it's just some weird side effect from the CyA - it's possible that they might be able to reduce your doseage and then still retain the benefits you've gotten from it...I hope so anyway...

Keeping my fingers crossed for you...

Blessings,
Lori

[BeachBaby]

I'm pulling for you too Lori!!! It does sound borderline, but you seem to be well educated about the effects, etc.

This may be a silly question, but can certain things affect the levels, and they are actually normal? You know when you have a pap and it is suspicious, but it turns out it was so close to your period onset, it is likely the reason and fine on a repeat one...stuff like that.

I wonder if your levels can be tweaked, so not so high, but not back to the low you felt wasn't helping. I am not making much sense here, but I am hoping that like other blood tests this one can also be easily "off" due to certain conditions when the blood was drawn...like the hydration issue.

In any event, it still sounds like you are onto a good Tx for you and hopefully just keeping watch will be enough for this.