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Do I have Kidney Disease at age 20?

Posted by studylife @studylife, Oct 9, 2016

Hi. I've recently been diagnosed with Hypertension at age 20. While I was going to different doctors, I had quite a lot of labwork done. I'm 6'4 200lbs. I've always had a very lean/muscular build growing up, but i've recently started gaining a little bit of weight. The results of my blood work were never a concern to me until a few weeks ago when I started to look into it. My first creatinine level was 1.2, and 5 months later I had more blood work done and my creatinine was 1.32, The second creatinine level was most likely affected by dehydration, NSAID use the day of the draw, and the fact I had been started on lisinipril/hctz prior to that. So i'm guessing my baseline is about 1.2. My egfr was 77. My question is, is this indicative of kidney problems? None of the nurse practitioners mentioned my creatinine level to me. I assume the high levels are from lean muscle and a high intake of protein? I eat like a horse, but i'm not like super muscular.. Just kind of lean. I worked out a TON in highschool, but not so much since I graduated 2 years ago. I'm really worried about this, because I plan to start back at the gym soon, and I don't want that to affect my creatinine? I guess i'm more worried about when I get older and start working out more, because my creatinine will only go up from here, and this will just cause my gfr to fall as I get older. I guess as I get older, say into my 40's and 50's I will lose muscle mass and gain more fat, so that would drop my creatinine and raise my GFR? is that right? ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED. I've been so worried about this that i'm not sleeping or eating. I also had a urinalysis the day of the blood draw that I was dehydrated, and it had some protein in it. I got a repeat the next week and it was clean. Thank you so much for any replies.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 9, 2016

Welcome to Connect @studylife. I certainly hope you don't have kidney disease at age 20, but I applaud you acute awareness of your lab work. I'm tagging fellow Connect members @predictable @rosemarya and @xottawan to see if they may have some experience to share.

Here's some information on understanding BUN (blood urea nitrogen) test and creatinine https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/creatinine/tab/test/ @studylife have you spoken to your doctor about your concerns about your creatinine levels?

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2 replies
studylife | @studylife | Oct 9, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "Welcome to Connect @studylife. I certainly hope you don't have kidney disease at age 20, but..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Welcome to Connect @studylife. I certainly hope you don't have kidney disease at age 20, but I applaud you acute awareness of your lab work. I'm tagging fellow Connect members @predictable @rosemarya and @xottawan to see if they may have some experience to share.

Here's some information on understanding BUN (blood urea nitrogen) test and creatinine https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/creatinine/tab/test/ @studylife have you spoken to your doctor about your concerns about your creatinine levels?

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@colleenyoung I have spoken to my doctor about it, didn't seem to concerned. My BUN levels were 13 the first lab draw, and 14 the second time.

REPLY
xottawan | @xottawan | Oct 10, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "Welcome to Connect @studylife. I certainly hope you don't have kidney disease at age 20, but..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Welcome to Connect @studylife. I certainly hope you don't have kidney disease at age 20, but I applaud you acute awareness of your lab work. I'm tagging fellow Connect members @predictable @rosemarya and @xottawan to see if they may have some experience to share.

Here's some information on understanding BUN (blood urea nitrogen) test and creatinine https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/creatinine/tab/test/ @studylife have you spoken to your doctor about your concerns about your creatinine levels?

Jump to this post

Thanks to Colleen for thinking of me. My first response would be to discuss your concerns with your primary care physician. Of course, I would make certain that your serum Cr levels are outside of the normal range for the laboratory that performed the analysis. Review with your physician all medications, including supplements, that you are taking. There are many possible causes for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and all of them should be excluded if your physician is at all concerned. Your levels are not very high, as you know, but if subsequent follow-up reveals increasing levels, then a thorough evaluation is required. Referral to kidney specialists is not usually indicated at these low levels of creatinine, but your concern is justified if they go up. I have personal experience (and I am over 4X your age) with CKD, with levels of serum Cr around 1.6 to 1.8 over the past 5 years or so, but with no distinct upward trend. I have had ultrasound exams of the kidneys, and recently underwent cystoscopic examination. My nephrologist has been ordering tests over the past two years to exclude every possible cause of CKD, and we are left with possibly mild hypertension as a possible explanation. My BP is normal now on no medication. I have no symptoms, and the plan is to get checked annually. You have a long life ahead of you, and you are correct in wishing to protect your kidneys from damage of any kind. Only a thorough evaluation and sustained follow-up will ensure this. Good luck! One last thing: Make sure your protein intake does not exceed the recommended levels!

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