As I've recently found out I have GFR on the low side, but do not yet know what it means in my particular case, or if it means anything in my case; I've also learned a bit about the test and about kidney disease.
It appears that a lot of people have a low GFR (but not necessarily kidney disease). It can have a number of causes, and Lyme might be one.
I am curious how many among us chronically ill with Lyme have a low-ish GFR, and how many have had it further investigated and if so, what have you been told/had done?
To calculate your GFR, take your Serum Creatinine (which is listed on labwork when you have bloods done) and enter it into this calculator:
You then just enter your sex, race and age and it calculates your GFR for you.
Perhaps you could just post here, when you've used the simple calculator, what your GFR is, and what your age and sex is, so that we can get a better idea of people's GFR's in different age groups.
DLL
Posted by Nori (Member # 8983) on :
What does GFR stand for?
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
It stands for Glomerular Filtration Rate.
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
I can see this is a very exciting topic for most
Anyone? Anyone?
DLL
Posted by alliebridge (Member # 9103) on :
Mine came out calculated as: 75 ml/min/1.73 m2
I don't know what it means though.
Posted by lymie tony z (Member # 5130) on :
Hey there liver,
I don't think it's cuz folks are'nt excited about this topic...however...who has been tested lately and have their blood tests handy?
I'll keep it in mind when I go to gastro at end of month.
We(lymies) have a good understanding that lyme affects internal organs...with special attention to the kidneys....whether it's the filtering of toxins or cystic form of disease....
What we don't know is why!
Hope you get some feedback on your poll.....zman
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Thanks for your responses.
I am just interested in seeing of generally, we as chronically ill (infected) people have lower than normal GFRs.
Some of us get our bloods done monthly while on abx, which is why I thought that perhaps there will be a few who do have their blood work on hand.
DLL
Posted by johnlyme1 (Member # 7343) on :
My Serum Creatine during my IV blood draws were from .9 to 1.2 but most of the tme at 1. this gave a range from 78 to 89 on the GFR. What is a good GFR?
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Very interesting.
"Normal" is around 100+ depending on age and sex.
I think it may be the disease itself which throws it off.
Reference Table for Population Mean GFRs From NHANES III1 Age (Years) Average GFR 20-29 116 mL/min/1.73 m2 30-39 107 mL/min/1.73 m2 40-49 99 mL/min/1.73 m2 50-59 93 mL/min/1.73 m2 60-69 85 mL/min/1.73 m2 70+ 75 mL/min/1.73 m2
Posted by alliebridge (Member # 9103) on :
This means my level would be ok if I were over 70 years old.
Unfortunately, I'm in my 30s. Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Having a low GFR is confusing because you can be perfectly healthy apparently and have a low number. But, having asked a couple of friends with Lyme what theirs was, it was low also, so I think that it does not necessarily mean that we have diseased kidneys, but that the Lyme is doing something to keep the numbers down
I AM NOT A DOCTOR, and was only asking out of my own curiosity here.
Posted by liz dobell (Member # 8078) on :
Hi there, My GFR came up at 88 (based on blood tests taken a month ago) - so i guess i'm on low side too for my age (27) was your GFR much lower than this then?
hope you sort out any worries Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Hi,
Mine, 3 weeks ago, was 67. I'm 37.
Posted by Squeegee (Member # 7219) on :
Mine is 79. I am a 56 year old female.
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
So, so far we are all 'below normal' level. Why?
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Does anyone else know their Serum Creatinine and/or GFR levels?
I am finding it very interesting that so far everyone who replied has a below normal one.
Posted by sandygf (Member # 3516) on :
My GFR is 70.22, should be much higher at my age of 50.
I will have it checked again in a month or so.
Sandy
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
my GFR is 56 and 81 within a 6 month period taken every 2 weeks.
On all the lab slips I have saved my average creatine at 1.1 and dips to 0.8
But it says on the lab slips that the normal creatine mg/dl range is 0.5-1.5. So according to whoever makes up these numbers my kidney function was always within normal limit.
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Dana,
So do you mean that your GFR has gone up in the last six months, to 81 - or did you mean a flucutation between these numbers, not necessarily going up, but up and down?
Even 81 is not within normal limits unless you are perhaps over 80 years old.
Just had mine rechecked, and it has not budged. Still on 67. I am now waiting for some other results also, but had an Albumin Creatinine ration test, which apparently was OK. So, fingers crossed, this does not mean doom and gloom.
Posted by cantgiveupyet (Member # 8165) on :
On my labs that were run in April my creatining serum was .8
my GFR calculated to be 90 ml/min/1.73 m2
im 30 years old so this is low.
there is a note on my labcorp test that says if persistent reduction for 3 months or more and is less then 60 defines CKD and greater to 60 may also have CKD if evendence of persistent proteinuria is present.
My kidneys and bladder are heavily involved with lyme...
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
I'm bringing this one back up because since I did this thread, my kidney function has gone down another 10%, to 58 (GFR=58).
One is expected to drop 1% per year on average. In the last year I have dropped 18%.
I still have not been seen by Renal specialist, but hope to be able to soon.
I don't know if Lyme has caused it, genetics or whether the treatment for Lyme itself has caused or contributed to this. I hope to find out soon.
I don't want to stop Lyme treatment because I don't want to be ill with Lyme, but I also would like to keep my kidneys....
Does anyone else here have chronic kidney disease?
DLL
Posted by clpgotlyme (Member # 7875) on :
I am 46 and mine is 82. No wonder I feel older! Cindyu
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Got an appt with Renal Specialist on Friday. Hope to get the scoop then.
Anyway, it's interesting that virtually all of us so far have a lower than normal kidney function.
Posted by vachick (Member # 8353) on :
Mine was 94 when I had my blood taken a few weeks ago. It has been lower in the past. I am 43 years old.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
Hi DLL, I just did that calculation because I had copies of my blood work handy.
In January the GFR came out to 63 but in May it was 76.*
I'll get new results this week, now I'm curious how much this number fluctuates.
Good luck with the Renal specialist. Please let us know the scoop and I hope it's a good scoop.
*I am 49, those look like pretty low #s to me.
(My dad had kidney disease in his later years. At some point they noticed he only had one working kidney and realized the other was slowing down. They had no explanation other than perhaps the other one never worked, maybe the years of BP meds with diuretics in them, or perhaps the blood supply was nicked during his by-pass surgery years before.) Posted by Thereminator (Member # 8324) on :
Hey DLL...as you know Im 48 and my static GFR is 96,so Im close to normal on that reading.
Do you think your kidney malfunction is from Lyme,ABX or both? Alan
Posted by pingpong (Member # 13706) on :
.
Assess glomerular filtration rate of the kidney
I resurrected this thead so the gfr can be had at the link provided to do so.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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![[hi]](graemlins/hi.gif)
My GFR came up at 88 (based on blood tests taken a month ago) - so i guess i'm on low side too for my age (27) was your GFR much lower than this then?![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
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Alan