Why is CKD Stage 3A downplayed? Am I over reacting to be concerned?

@nycmusic true—probably why they don’t pay it much attention..but we can, at the very least, do things to stabilize our kidney function .

My blood work numbers have been rising and tanking over the last year. My eGFR is now 58 and two years ago it was in the high 80s. I asked my doctor about a Nephrologist and she said it’s an inaccurate test and basically blew me off. I’m 76 and want to be as healthy as possible.

I am going through the exact frustration. Need to find a more proactive plan and professional to help me. Why wait until I need dialysis? The graph trends of my lab results are bad.

Im 73 with heart disease and ckd with a egfr of 30. Three years ago it was 80 and dipped to 60 for no apparent reason. I am mostly retired and want to travel and enjoy my final years. watching diet and controlling weight. Work out 2 days/week at a fitness place and walk 3 days/week. Drinking tons of water and liquids, cut back on protein, especially red meat. Feel great...hoping for the best. Im totally not impressed with the nephrologists, they dont have any real magic patients! Keep the faith, do all you can to stay as healthy as you can!

@robertbitterli certain heart medication can impact your kidney readings. Look up your medication and see how it affects your kidney. I had the same problem.

@gingerw I also wanted to reiterate that CKD 3a can raise your risk for kidney cancer. Sometimes it is the other way around and the tumor comes first in younger people. I swear I felt fine pretty much until late menopause at 56. Then I turned 59 and had a retinal detachment end of Jan. 2025 followed by 2 other eye surgeries. I turned 60 and still ok. Lots of stress at my job. Tired after work and on weekends thinking it's my weight and age. Then bam! Find out I have been living with 6cm tumor for years in my left kidney! I feel like every person with CKD should have a screening ultrasound of their kidneys. Most women are asymptomatic, put up with fatigue. Usually have comorbid conditions, like me! Everything causes fatigue the older you get. If my tumor had been found a few years ago, less than 4cm or smaller, I would not be walking around with only 1 kidney now with stage 3 ccRcc. It could've been removed and saved my nephrons. That kidney still worked, gone now. I know it is blessing, I am not sicker. I am sick enough to get disability "compassionate allowances" . The 5 year survival rate drops at stage 3. I wish I wasn't unemployed now. I wish I didn't live in this state or this country where killing immigrants and Iranians is what they budget for, instead helping citizens and supporting medical research. I feel if you don't have a million in the bank, you won't be able to retire or live if you get sick. Not a good day, im sorry Ginger.

@jlferro1 I did go to a Nephrologist, a kidney specialist. I have never been to a neurologist in my life. Prayers.

My GFR has gone down to 25-30 around the time I had to have a 2nd liver transplant. After my 2nd TP in summer of 2017, my kidneys started improving and has hovered in the 50's. So things improved but my doctors have not said much.

CKD Stage 3 is “downplayed”. I think this is sad. When signs of CKD are first detected that is the time to start learning about it and taking steps to prevent it from worsening if possible. This is my story.
My CKD is due to diabetes and maybe a short period of hypertension. Those are two of the most common causes of kidney problems. In 2005 I had a pancreas transplant. During the evaluation I was told that I had mild to moderate kidney disease. There was no mention of CKD or a stage #. I had the pancreas transplant and it was like my own personal miracle. For the first time in 40+ years my diabetes was controlled. My A1C test went from double digits (13) to normal (5.3)! During the years that followed I took the remarks about kidney disease to heart.
I learned everything I could about CKD: stages, eGFR & kidney function labs, hydration & renal diet, dialysis, kidney transplant….. Knowledge is power! In 2008 I self referred to nephrology. I found out that many people don’t know they have CKD and aren’t referred to the attention of nephrology until they are in Stage 4 or worse. At that point it may be too late to turn things around or slow the disease down.
In 2016 my eGFR was bouncing between 14 - 42. My nephrologist proclaimed that I was probably mainly Stage 4 myself. He told me I would need dialysis &/or kidney transplant at some point. “It was not a matter of if but when”. I decided to pursue a simultaneous pancreas kidney transplant (SPK). I was evaluated for this and was told I didn’t need another pancreas transplant but I was approved and listed for kidney transplant “inactive”. This means I was a bit too healthy for “active” listing. “Active” listing requires an eGFR of less than 20. My eGFR had settled into the low 30’s. I have stayed there since then. This past March the transplant team delisted me completely. I have been too healthy for too long to be on the transplant list at all! This is a good problem to have. I was assured that if my situation changed I could return for reevaluation.
The point is when you find out you have CKD you need to find out the cause, learn about it and do everything you can to slow the progression to a worse stage. In my case I was able to improve from Stage 4 to Stage 3 and put off dialysis &/or transplant; at least for now.
I thank God for the care I’ve received from my PCP, endocrinologist and nephrologist. I am part of this team too. It is hard work to take care of one’s self but well worth it.

67 and my latest EGFR slipped to 31 from 48 in Feb. of this year. And all my nephrologist says is you're not taking ibuprofen, correct? Then he asks what I need him for. 🤦