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Author Topic: Blood Tests a cautionary tale  (Read 2371 times)

flutterby

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Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« on: May 23, 2023, 05:48:28 PM »

As part of health check I had urea and electrolytes done. There is a test called eGFR - when I viewed the tests on line which had been seen by my GP. The comment said stage 2 chronic kidney disease
I was at first shocked but as I’m a retired biomedical scientist I rang ex colleagues and friends who said not to worry. This test is not robust at the level of my reading and other labs would not comment until there was a much lower reading. Also not NHS guidelines
After seeing my GP who made a comment to say it was normal in my notes.
An HCA said she had a lady who had similar results to me and she was totally distraught - poor woman
This long post is just to say some comments by some labs should be taken with a pinch of salt
I would hate any of you lovely ladies to be upset
Flutterby x
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Flossieteacake

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2023, 05:51:05 PM »

Thank you for letting us know this. What a shock you must have had when you read that and thankfully all is okay with your kidneys.
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HellsBells

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2023, 08:52:59 PM »

This is really helpful thank you. I had a similar issue last year and I was so shocked! Didn't realise the issues. Interestingly the number has corrected itself this year!
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Suza

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2023, 08:54:41 AM »

Hi fluttery
I'm stage 3 Ckd and have been since June last year, same as you egfr was calculated by blood tests.
However after repeat tests my egfr was dropping.
I was advised to follow a low salt diet to take the strain from my kidneys
You don't say what age you are in your post but it's natural for egfr to drop 1% a year from the age of 40.
I'm 65 and my egfr is 48 so too low for my age.
What I would advise to anyone who has had this test is, if the egfr is unnaturally low, say under 60 I would use it as a wake up call,.don't ignore it, and do something to help your kidneys before it's too late
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flutterby

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2023, 02:37:50 PM »

Hi Suza I’m 70 and my reading was 83. Yes I agree that below 60 a comment based on this test alone would be valid
Hope you’re getting on well with your salt free diet.
Flutterby x
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HellsBells

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2023, 04:21:15 PM »

I had that reading - 83 a year ago - had some bloods done a few weeks ago and it was marked >90 so I guess these things can fluctuate & recover.
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Suza

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2023, 05:25:37 PM »

Hi flutterby and hells bells, I would say for your ages both of you have excellent kidney function and nothing at all to worry about.
It's all to do with trends, 2018 I had an egfr of 80, 4 years later it had dropped to 40, so something to worry about and try to stop the downward trend!
Keep fit and healthy both of you
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flutterby

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2023, 05:38:10 PM »

Thanks for your good wishes Suza
I’m going to pursue it with the lab as they need to look at the rationale behind their automatic comments
Flutterby x
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Kathleen

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2023, 02:01:39 PM »

Hello ladies.

 I am a great fan of a YouTube site called NutritionFacts.org. It is run by an American MD called Michael Greger and he reviews the latest research on all manner of food related problems.

 I recall a study that looked at the impact of animal and plant derived protein on healthy and unhealthy kidneys.
It transpired that eating beef caused the kidneys to hyper filtrate but the same amount of protein from soya didn't cause any harm.

I realise this is slightly off topic but Dr Greger's site may have other science based advice for keeping your kidneys healthy.

Take care ladies.

K.
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Clarella

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Re: Blood Tests a cautionary tale
« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2023, 09:55:21 AM »

That’s interesting Kath. I don’t seem to be able to process meat as well anymore
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