How can I stabilize or improve my eGFR?

@belabaliw Seeing your eGFR drop can certainly be unsettling. What we want to look at is the trend of the numbers, not always a one-time result. How have your lab reports been doing in the last one or two years? What is the cause of your kidney disease? The two most common underlying reasons are diabetes and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Working on stabilizing either of these conditions may help you slow down a decline in kidney function.

When we have bloodwork drawn, these are several factors that can come into play. Among those are your level of hydration/dehydration, your general health [cold.flu/not feeling well] and even the machines used to analyze those samples.

As a chronic kidney disease patient, we realize soon enough, that our diet plays a very big part in our success. Watching sodium, potassium, phosphorous, calcium, and protein intakes are important. We become great label readers! The following organizations have diet and nutrition information you may find useful:
-American Kidney Foundation https://www.kidney.org/nutrition
-DaVita Kidney Care https://www.davita.com/diet-nutrition
-Fresenius Kidney Care https://www.freseniuskidneycare.com/recipes-and-nutrition

Also, taking a stroll through our discussion threads here on Connect in the Kidney and Bladder Support Group will give you an idea what fellow members are doing in their diets and eating plans.

Feel free to ask any questions!
Ginger

I can relate! But my BP is generally in the range of 115/75 give or take. I do not take BP meds. I just posted a topic about exercise and creatinine. I understand as Ginger noted, GFR fluctuates and there are many factors in play. But my general history is a gradual decline. I'd also like to know the lifespan without dialysis or kidney transplant as GFR steadily reduces. What would cause a huge drop or can one guestimate that kidney function gradually declines over time and age? For example, I'm 65. My GFR is 25. Can I assume I have 10 years before I get to a GFR of 15? I'm healthy and active.

@mrainne I am on PD dialysis, having started it at an eGFR of 14 last September. My prescription is a light one, in that I do one bag a day of fluids. There is a theory that starting dialysis at a higher eGFR may help preserve kidney function a bit. For me, I made the decision to start because I was feeling so poorly, with the combination of kidney disease and blood cancer treatments. Through diligent diet and lifestyle monitoring, I was able to slow the decline on kidney function for well over 10 years.

I hate to say this, but we cannot assume anything as far as kidney function. While you are healthy now [yeah! for you, by the way!] it could be a long time before there is a need for additional treatment/dialysis/transplant. In the worst case scenario, you get sick with a sudden infection or injury, your kidney function could tank on you, and you wouldn't see it coming, no matter how diligent you are. We each work hard at keeping ourselves as healthy as possible, on all fronts of our life. Diet, moderate exercise, stress reduction, no smoking, all play a very beneficial role.
Ginger

Ginger, you always put things in perspective. So appreciated! We do the best we can with what we have. And yes, many things happen out of our control. That takeaway is to be grateful today, no telling what's going to happen tomorrow.

I would agree the two major elements to my success in raising my GFR is diet and exercise. My diet is low in sodium, sugar, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. That means focusing on foods that are high quality proteins such as vegetables, fruit, poultry and fish. I usually cook everything myself to control seasoning ingredients. Also, everything in moderation such as 1 banana per week (these are very high in potassium), nuts such as cashews (I eat raw), etc… I advise meeting with a renal dietician who can establish a diet regimen that fits your situation. Exercise is also important because blood flow through your kidneys is important to ensure proper profusion. I go the gym regularly and focus on the cardio circuit. Lastly, I meet with my nephrologist every 4 months with a blood draw every 8-12 weeks. I have improved my GFR by 10 points and been able maintain this for past 5 years. Hope this helps.

I also believe diet/exercise plays a big role in our kidney health. My biggest challenge remains getting physicians to order regular bloodwork testing
( every 3-4 months). Even when I convince them they order labs that don’t re-test the things I was out of range in the last time like protein and phosphorous. Not very useful in helping me determine if my efforts are helping me. Sooo frustrating. Dr # 3 now. I shared the testing regiment strongly suggested by my renal dietician. No go.

Thank you for that input. Now I am determined to cook my meals to control spices and definitely see a renal dietician to exactly help me plan best possible dishes to stabilize or improve my eGFR.

@flow

I typically see a nephrologist every 3 months. In between, I also meet with my PCP. I make sure I get bloodwork done every 6 to 8 weeks. When there is a difficiency with the labs, I create a spreadsheet showing each difficiency and its trend and go over with the 2 docs. But that is just me. It really pays to be proactive with getting frequent lab results. If possible, get your eGFR for both creatinine and Cystatin C.

@collegeprof I do the same thing, keeping a spreadsheet! I have one for my renal team, another for my oncology team. And I take both of them to all appointments. They use different labs to process the samples; my oncology labwork is done right on the premises at the cancer center. More than once we have referred to these sheets. I also keep a small notebook that is filled out at each appointment, and indicates vitals plus any other procedures. Most months I have a "bloodbuilder shot" from oncology, and that will usually affect my labs pulled about 10 days later for the dialysis clinic. It's a big balancing act, and understanding our role in being own best advocates for health is important.
Ginger

Thank you Ginger and college prof for your replies. I’ve been made to feel like a “ difficult patient” by Drs for wanting that frequent bloodwork, so it’s nice to hear that it’s justified.