How can I improve my creatinine levels?

Hello @mycancer Chemotherapy can sure take a toll on the rest of the body while launching its battle against cancer. It can throw all of our blood numbers off and has an affect on our kidneys and liver as well.
Your creatine of 1.32 is higher than the normal range. It can reflect some kidney damage but that number is used in conjunction with the Blood Urea Nitrogen level (BUN) and the Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is the best indicator for kidney function.

Just being off the chemo should help bring the creatinine level down and possibly help your other kidney numbers to improve. There are some things you can do to assist in lowering creatinine. But again, the other 2 numbers BUN and GFR play more of a significant roll in alerting to possible kidney involvement. From experience I’ve had some fairly alarming numbers over my treatments and thankfully, all are back within normal ranges again. Our bodies are remarkably resilient.

Some of the means to lowering creatinine are:
-Drinking plenty of water! Aim for at least 64 ounces or more per day.
-No alcohol products
-Eat less red meat and for right now, less fish products.
-Add fiber to the diet. Beans are a good source of protein and fiber
-Food with lower potassium levels right now would be healthier for you, avoid orange juice which is high in potassium.
-Also try not to eat too much excess protein, though that’s a conundrum because if you have cancer and you’re on chemotherapy, it’s important to have an adequate protein intake daily.

May I ask what type of cancer you’re being treated for? How far into the treatment are you? Did your oncologist tell you how long your chemo break will be?

I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I have been getting chemo for 2-3 years I have beat the cancer using chemo and a natural path My last 2 cat scans show no cancer. With the kidney results i have been off the chemo for 4 weeks. We are waiting for the next cat scan They might cut the chemo dose lower But we need to lower the no.s on the kidney Thank you for the info KEN

Requesting information concerning light chains - Lappa Lamda ratio and interpretation and/or significance of results

Hello @mycancer Chemotherapy can sure take a toll on the rest of the body while launching its battle against cancer. It can throw all of our blood numbers off and has an affect on our kidneys and liver as well.
Your creatine of 1.32 is higher than the normal range. It can reflect some kidney damage but that number is used in conjunction with the Blood Urea Nitrogen level (BUN) and the Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is the best indicator for kidney function.

Just being off the chemo should help bring the creatinine level down and possibly help your other kidney numbers to improve. There are some things you can do to assist in lowering creatinine. But again, the other 2 numbers BUN and GFR play more of a significant roll in alerting to possible kidney involvement. From experience I’ve had some fairly alarming numbers over my treatments and thankfully, all are back within normal ranges again. Our bodies are remarkably resilient.

Some of the means to lowering creatinine are:
-Drinking plenty of water! Aim for at least 64 ounces or more per day.
-No alcohol products
-Eat less red meat and for right now, less fish products.
-Add fiber to the diet. Beans are a good source of protein and fiber
-Food with lower potassium levels right now would be healthier for you, avoid orange juice which is high in potassium.
-Also try not to eat too much excess protein, though that’s a conundrum because if you have cancer and you’re on chemotherapy, it’s important to have an adequate protein intake daily.

May I ask what type of cancer you’re being treated for? How far into the treatment are you? Did your oncologist tell you how long your chemo break will be?

Hi Lori

I'm confused about the 1.32 mg/dL creatinine level you say is higher than normal. The reason I'm confused is Mayo's own website says the upper normal limit is 1.35 mg/dL. So this person would still be in the upper normal range according to Mayo Clinic, right?
My provider states an upper creatinine level limit of 1.17 gm/dL for an adult male. The obvious differences between these two providers are very concerning to me because I just tested at 1.31 with my provider.
So I'm wondering who is right? What do you think?
Thanks,
Russ

Hi Russ, The creatinine levels that experts consider to be normal can vary among different hospitals and laboratories. That may explain the differences you’re seeing with your clinic vs what Mayo has on their website.
Mayo Clinic has an upper limit for males at 1.35 and 1.04 for women.

My local clinic has a different parameter with the high end at 1.11 for women. I was bothered initially when I’d see my numbers vary between both clinics. It was a non-issue.
Our creatine can fluctuate daily. Hydration can change those numbers, among other things. Also taken into account with the health of your kidney would be the BUN and GFR numbers.

Creatinine is a byproduct of normal muscle function. It is a metabolite of creatine phosphate, which the muscles use as an energy source.
The greater someone’s muscle mass, the higher their creatinine levels. For this reason, males tend to have higher creatinine levels than females.
From my experience, with your 1.31 you can relax…if you were at Mayo, you’d be in healthy range.

By the way, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! May I ask what brought you to our forum? Are you concerned about your kidneys or just wondering about your creatine numbers from a blood draw?