GFR dropped 5 more points and I don't know why.

@csage1010 It sure can be disheartening when we expect one thing, and get another! There are a couple of different reasons you saw a big change in your numbers. One has to do with your hydration and general overall feeling at the time the blood draw was done. Another has to do with the actual machines running the blood sample. If it is a different machine than has been used in the past, or recently recalibrated, you might see a difference. We usually do not know if there is a different machine. In general, our medical team is going to look at the trend of the numbers.

Have you been able to talk to your dr yet, about the weight loss and new results?
Ginger

@gingerw Hi Ginger, that you for replying. I just got a note through the patient portal from my doctor that my numbers had gone down. I didn't mention in my post that I am on an antibiotic for a UTI, Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. Is it possible that could have effected my numbers?

That should say "thank you for replying"

@csage1010 Oh, definitely! Anytime we have a change in our health, it can unbalance our system. Taking an antibiotic can cause upset in our digestive system, and if you were advised to "drink lots of water" that can actually send our numbers down a little bit! I recently found that out. If I was in your shoes, I would relax, and look more towards the next labs, to see if the trend is still there. Remember, eating healthy, quality exercise, all help us keep our kidney health as best we can.
Ginger

Thank you. I'll try to relax, sometimes it's difficult.

how you can have accurate abdominal ct scans , ultra sounds and mri's done for kidneys without using dye. pictures are never clear. why hasn't someone invented safe dye since this essential way of evaluating kidney disease. just reading blood work not enough. don't understand what's going on with medical chemistry when ckd is fairly common. any thoughts welcome

There are certainly significant risks with contrast dyes. However, presently, there are no alternatives. I suppose it boils down to a risk/reward situation. The risk of reduced kidney damage in the short term (hopefully ONLY short term) vs the need to know what is going on in your kidneys, heart etc.

Dye risk isn't short term. If you have damaged kidneys, it can do them in that's why doctor's don't permit use of dye to already failing organs. I agree with with mike206, more money is made from continuous dialysis than from a permanent fix. At least it seems that way.
Just reading blood tests for years as the patient's kidneys deteriorate doesn't make any sense. It does make dollars, though. By now, a safe dye should exist for a disease that's so common. It you can make a gun that works from a printer, surely you can invent a dye that doesn't delete the kidneys. I think all kidney disease patients should press their doctors for this invention. If we don't put the pressure on,
who will. Surely, not the dialysis company millionaires.

I did just read on the mayo clinic website about a newer gadolinium-based contrast agent (called gadolinium group 2) that seems to be safer for kidney patients. It came from an article about Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.

@csage1010 My oncologist had talked to me about this agent. But last time I needed a scan that is best done with a contrast, we decided in my best interest that we would go "no contrast". I was already below 30% eGFR and we didn't want to risk anything. The technicians were pretty awesome people, had everything set up, and understood my insistence to see the orders!
Ginger