GFR dropp 19 points 63 to 44 in less than a year

@gingerw ~ Thank you for the heads-up. And yes, I'm one of the lucky ones without diabetes. I will be seeing my Primary again in February and will check with her about the Cystatin C testing, just to cover all bases. ^_^

I saw my radiology oncologist today and he took a blood draw to test for signs of diabetes which is what he's thinking is the problem. We talked more about my kidneys and diabetes than we did about my tumor or lack of tumor. Now that radiation is a month ago. Made me feel somewhat at ease since he seemed to really care. No word about nephrologist.

@jeffh Good for you for getting this bloodwork done! It may offer you some answers to concerns you have been having. It must have felt good to be able to speak to him! When will you get the results and consultation? Are you continuing to get in to see a nephrologist?
Ginger

Thanks Ginger. I should get the bloodwork results in a day or two. I wasn't able to reach the referral person at my clinin (holiday) but will call and bug her tomorrow to try and expedite getting into a nephrologist. I'll post here what the blood results say. He gave me his personal # (I think) to call him in a couple of days. It was reassuring to speak to an experienced doctor (60 yrs old) and get his feedback. He might just say I should see a nephrologist. Who knows.

@jeffh ~ So glad you are feeling a bit more at ease. I asked my Primary if she would refer me to a nephrologist. She told me she could handle my case, being that I'm only a Stage 3a at this time. So, I asked the Urology PA I'm working with (for Interstitial Cystitis) if she would refer me. She thought that might be a good idea and sent a request to a local nephrologist who had been recommended by a dietician I once saw. My point is that if you believe you would feel better seeing a specialist, you may need to advocate for yourself and push the issue. Good luck!

Thanks. I'm pushing to get the nephrology appt ASAP. That seems to be stuck a bit but I keep pushing. I guess since my eGFR levels had dipped under 60 in the past, I guess I have been CKD stage 2 for a while. If the 44 I got recently holds up, I'd just cross over into stage 3B. Maybe more liquids and more exercise (I've missed it the last few months due to radiation) will move the number up.

@jeffh ~ Like you, I've been missing physical activity and definitely need to start moving! We took a cross country RV trip for 6 weeks last Fall and I couldn't do my normal exercises. When we returning, the holidays (including my 70th BD - a big one!) were upon us. I'm just not beginning to start up again. But I've lost so much muscle in the meantime, I feel I have to start from scratch again. And that's disappointing, to say the least. I hope that we both can add more water and get back into moving, so we feel better.

Absolutely. It's just all this stuff happening seemingly at once. But I've been on blood pressure meds since my late 50's (I'm 66 now) and around that time found out that I have afib. And I deal with those and if I have CKD stage 3, I'll have to deal with that too. I need to see a nephrologist to get some questions answered. In the meantime, I have to get back to my life and not let the anxiety take over. And that's what I'm trying to do. I hope you start feeling better soon.

My eGFR was 37 and I got up to 53/last month. This month blood test shows I have dropped to 41.
feeling discouraged.

@jeffh ~ thanks! I have to admit that getting back into a regular exercise routine when dealing with different physical limitations if proving to be harder than mind over matter. LOL! I hope we both make some good progress! ^_^