Anyone experienced rapid kidney decline?

Hi, @rocksology. That's certainly a lot to go through in such a short time — to see your kidney numbers change so quickly while also managing polymyalgia rheumatica, pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. I'm so sorry to hear you're going through all of this.

It sounds like you’ve been very proactive with follow-up tests and monitoring, which is so important. Did you doctor think your reduced kidney function is from an acute kidney injury? It looks like heart failure can cause an AKI, according to the National Kidney Foundation. https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/acute-kidney-injury-aki

my egfr has been dropping rapidly as well. I am 68 years old, and ever since I had covid in August 2024, my egfr has dropped. In the past 4 weeks, went from 22 to 20, and I'm currently on a 12 week regimen of 60 mg prednisone daily. I also started taking Protonyx, per drs orders for heartburn. I eat healthy, low sodium, drink lots of water, veggies, fruits, etc, and I can't bring my egfr up. HELP!

Two years ago my kidneys went from normal to stage 3a CKD in a day or so. I am 71 and was very athletic, got covid on a March bike tour, then months of long covid (LC spikes in systolic pressure), kidneys fine. Then in December I caught norovirus with dehydration from projectile vomiting and diarrhea, high temperature, and LC blood pressure spikes. My eGFR went from 73 before to 56 after, but decreased to as low as 39 the next summer. Nephrologists generally put patients on ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure (protects kidneys), even though my avg. resting HR was 120/70 (now 103/73); I can't tolerate them so am now on Jardiance, an SGT2 inhibitor that is for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease (none of which I have). It seems to have stabilized my eGFR to 42. One generally isn't prescribed SGT2 meds with an eGFR below 45, but there are exceptions. There is also some current research on Ozempic for people with Type 2 diabetes or CKD: https://www.kidney.org/news-stories/fda-approves-ozempic-type-2-diabetes-and-chronic-kidney-disease https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9263228/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-81973-z

I have membranous glomerulopathy, and I'm curious as to what the 'CKD test' is. I get regular lab work done to track my kidney function, but that doesn't include this test. Can anyone tell me what the CDK is/measures?

My 72 year old husband's kidney numbers have dropped recently. Six months ago his eGFR dropped from 59 to 52. He since underwent SBRT for stage 1 lung cancer, (5 radiation treatments over a 2 week period, and the last treatment was Oct. 1). He saw his cardiologist last week, who cut his Torsemide dose in half after seeing drop in eGFR . Last week he also went for his 6 month follow up with his nephrologist, eGFR now 32, BUN 40, Creatinine 2.12 BUN/Creatinine Ratio 19. Glucose, Sodium, Potassium, etc. are all normal range. PTH is 79. Nephrologist ordered a renal ultrasound for this Friday and started him on Calcitrol every other day, and took him off of Losartan. He hasn't been eating healthy meals much since his treatments, and I wonder if he's dehydrated, Is there any hope of raising his eGFR back to a higher number? Also, would anyone recommend the renal diet prepared meals that are delivered to the home (Mom's Meals, Magic Kitchen?) Thank you!

You should have the doctor do some research on the medication you were taking to see if it could be causing the kidney issue. I know I have had kidney issues in the past. I’ve been hospitalized because of diuretics. I used to take furosemide as well as spironolactone. I can no longer take them obviously. I am on toresimide right now with a very low dosage. I just started it and they’ll probably check my kidneys in a month or so. Good luck and I hope they figure out what’s going on because it’s not good when medication puts you into kidney failure!

@biowicks CKD test would normally be a blood test called Renal Panel which measures eGFR, creatinine and BUN among other things.

@maggieinfp

Interesting. Where I am, those tests all post as separate tests, not as many under the same umbrella.

@marsiey Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. It's always concerning when we see test results changing without a clear cause. You write that your husband has been going through different medical procedures related to his lung cancer, plus cardiology concerns. Any and all of those may upset his system to produce reduced eGFR. Medications, not eating well/enough, dehydration all could work together to lower his kidney function, not pointing to one particular thing.

It's always a great idea to eat healthy, no matter our medical concerns. Most of us will tell you diet plays a critical role in helping s be the best we can be relating to kidney function! Watch the potassium, phosphorous, calcium, sugar contents of things. Eat good protein, minimize stress, get moderate exercise when possible. Stay away from processed meats like deli meat, etc. And if he already has a modified diet based on other health issues, remember to include them!
Ginger