Anyone experienced rapid kidney decline?

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!

@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

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?

@biowicks CKD stands for chronic kidney disease. I’m not aware of a test called CKD (or CDK). The tests for kidney function as @maggieinfp said is a Renal Panel. She described it really well. The most common part of that is the eGFR. It stands for estimated glomeruler (sp?) filtration rate which reflects the overall kidney function. Another valuable test is a Cystatin C test but is less common than the eGFR.

@gingerw , thank you. It sounds like a lot of things to juggle as far as diet. Have you heard of anyone trying Mom's Meals or meals from The Magic Kitchen (renal diet prepared meals delivered to the house)? Is there any hope of kidney numbers going up again (even a little?) I'm Really looking for something positive. Thank you!

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 discovered my CKD at stage 3. I went into the hospital for cellulitis in my wrist/arm. They diagnosed me with gout. The medicine I was put on, said not to take with kidney diseases! The pharmacist went to bat for me too! I went from top of stage 3, to the bottom of stage 4, which I’ve stayed at! I am now “that” patient who questions everything and reads all the literature on the medications.