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There are 2 concepts that you may wish to remember, acute and chronic. Acute kidney disease involves typically an injury, and many times can be relieved or even perhaps return back to normalcy. Unfortunately, chronic kidney disease cannot, but can be controlled to some extent over time with fluids, diet, and exercise and avoidance of large amounts of salt, phosphorus, and potassium. Chronic kidney disease or CKD is typically the result of long term diabetes, hypertension, and some others. Water is your friend as you want to avoid dehydration. When examined fully, try to set up a team of doctors and medical advocates such as a nephrologist, PCP, dietitian, and others. Pay close attention to this forum as there will be others trying to help, especially our terrific mentors.
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@collegeprof You are absolutely right in your response! Kidney function and daily life are closely tied together.
@jodyschmidt First, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Seeing a dramatic change in numbers is concerning for anyone, to be sure! I hope you read the response from @collegeprof and the education there. There are a few other factors that can result in differing values than you normally see. Your level of hydration at the time of testing [dehydration is not a good thing!], your immediate diet and what you have eaten, time of day, even the different testing machines used to process your blood samples can all play a part.
High blood pressure and diabetes appear to be the leading causes of chronic kidney disease. Controlling those health issues can go a long way to keeping your body healthy, but it can be a constant battle. Doctors seem to gloss over those concerns. My chronic kidney issues are from a rare autoimmune disorder. There are also genetic or lifestyle factors that can play into it.
When you go to the nephrologist next week, you may hear a lot of new words. If you have a second set of ears [friend, spouse, partner, family member] to go with you, please do so. Ask questions, take notes. If something is unclear, ask to have it repeated. Write out any questions you have ahead of time. All of this will be a new experience, so take a deep breath. You got this! And, remember, we will be here to answer questions as we can. We are not medical professionals, but we do have experience to share, and support to offer.
Ginger