Can somebody tell me why CKD stage 3a or 3b is no big deal?

@maggieinfp I am curious where this information came from? I see the citations numbers, but not what they refer to? Is this AI generated?
Ginger

Yes, AI but similar info on the Internet. Just pointing out that stage 3 is not uncommon, though certainly should be watched, especially diet.

I have stage 3a CKD (and/or AKI, nephrologist is not sure yet). NSAIDs are bad for GI tracts and kidneys, and acetaminophen (Tylenol) is safer. Make sure you drink enough water. My creatinine blood levels ramped up from years of normal on 1/24 after getting norovirus. As of 9/24 protein showed up in low levels in urine, but high enough that it indicated that kidneys couldn't filter proteins from my blood well enough (eGFR 32). Risks without treatment are progression to stage 3b in which diet changes start (low potassium, phosphate foods and others) and possible damage to heart from proteins and other unfiltered crud. My GI tract can't handle ACE (Lisinopril), so, I just started Jardiance, an SLGP2 drug to lower my (always normal, not even pre-diabetic) glucose but flushing it out my urinary tract, give my kidneys a breather, and hopefully lower my creatinine levels. Other than the norovirus, I have zero risk factors for kidney disease, but sometimes things happen. I'm learning more about kidneys than I ever wanted to know (but still useful). Even with stage 3a or AKI one really needs to see a nephrologist.

Yes, I have discussed this with my doctor. I was alarmed and asked what about stage 1 and stage 2? The measurement of eGFR and creatinine indicate CKD at 3a or 3b for me. This might be a good thing as I am trying to modify my diet to better my health as a result.

First of all, ibuprofen is the worst medication to take for CKD. Nothing with Nsaids should be taken with kidney disease. When I was first diagnosed with kidney stones I was told to take 800mg of ibuprofen every 6 hrs. That is what helped my CKD to escalate. That was in 1997. I am now Stage 4 Severe but am told that everything is fine as long as I stay away from salt, high potassium foods and ibuprofen. My GFR2 value is stable at 29. BUN 44
Creatinine 1.80 Uric Acid 8.8. I had an excruciating gout attack waking me up from a deep sleep. It lasted 2 days. So it seems something is getting worse. But none of my doctors seem alarmed.
You also have to be careful with diuretics as this can cause potassium and uric acid to go wacky.
I also have grandparents and great-grandparents who died of kidney disease.

@tntwo99 I watch my potassium levels while on diuretics. Like you, I took Alleve type meds for many years, and stopped in 2015. My kidney disease is a rare chromosomal abnormality, but I am sure taking those NSAIDS all that time didn't help!

Watch your intake of shellfish, pork, purines and processed meats, to help your gout situation! Here is what Mayo Clinic has to say about a gout diet: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/gout-diet/art-20048524
Ginger

Thank you for the info. My nephrologist is actually from the Mayo Clinic. He has been the first one actually to address my concerns.

Stage 3 is a big deal

Medicine is gummy. Sometimes it matters more, what you don’t take or eat, than what you take

@mucho
Greetings! You should know that not all stage 3 CKD progresses to stage 4. I suggest you review your diet and hydration practices.
May I ask your age?
A GFR below 60 might be quite concerning, for example, in a 40 year old, but less concerning for a 75 year old.
Continue to get monitored.
Our kidney function declines slowly beginning at around age 40, and continues a slow decline throughout our lives. Who knew?
Do not despair, I was shocked to find out I had stage 3, but with lots of work and research, I have clawed my way back to stage 2. How long can I stay there? Who knows? I am 75 and my doctor discussed this with me at length and is not concerned but insists on monitoring.

I have been part of kidney discussions here for a few years now so I am surprised to just be seeing this thread today. I am not seeing some of my experience here so I thought I'd share. The short version is that I am very fortunate that my health care providers have been very proactive and the chronic kidney disorder they discovered has been mostly been put under control.

Long version: My primary care medical professional, a PA, referred me to a nephrologist after looking at annual tests she'd ordered ahead of a routine physical exam I had when I was 68. She noted that my creatinine had been slowly rising for a few years and was now approaching 1.0. It took a few months and many tests for him to sort out what was wrong. A kidney biopsy was the turning point.

My biopsy was evaluated at my clinic's lab but then sent on to Hennepin County Medical Center for further testing. That lab forwarded my biopsy to the lab at Rochester Mayo's Nephrology and Hypertension Department where a pathologist (who happened to have published on the disorder she found) concluded that I have a rare disorder called immunotactoid glomerulopathy (ITG). I started reading the medical literature (I have still have access via the library at my old job) and learned that there are three types of ITG. Seventy percent of ITG patients also have lymphoma and 30 percent also have myeloma. So this is an immune system malfunction. My immune system was producing what I surmise are non-usable immunoglobulin G and lambda sidechains which end up being deposited on my kidneys (the pathologist used electromicroscopy to see these unique deposits). The deposits physically block my kidneys from being able to filter waste. They seem to be permanently attached or replaced as fast as they are displaced.

The hematologist I saw next had me tested for both lymphoma and myeloma and found no evidence that I have either one. (That result means I am one of about ten people in the world known to have idiopathic ITG--I've met three of the others through the ITG Facebook page.) I think he decided that just in case these results were false, he'd recommend I have treatment for lymphoma (since more ITG patients have that) with Rituxan--which failed to slow the progress of the ITG. Next, I was treated with Velcade/dexamethasone, which I found to be a common first treatment for myeloma.

My creatinine improved but the other troubling symptom, raging proteinuria is still problematic. Unfortunately, I developed peripheral neuropathy from the Velcade so that treatment was halted. I have been monitored now for almost three years. My numbers have slowly worsened so I am thinking treatment with a newer anti-myeloma med is likely to be recommended at my next appointments.

I believe that I have benefitted from aggressive evaluation and treatment, while I was in Stage 2, after my primary noted rising creatinine and referred me to nephrology. BTW, I am now also seen by a Mayo nephrologist who has published on ITG with the pathologist in his department who diagnosed my kidney problem.

My local nephrologist puts me at Stage2/3A since I don't easily fall in either category.