Anyone with CKD can give me answers or advise?

Posted by sallylynn @sallylynn, Aug 23, 2023

Hello. End of second week of July I got a yeast infection. OTC Montistat 1 day oval. 2 days later felt improvement. Several days later, symptoms of UTI. Waited few days. Called Clinic. Went in for labs. Confirmed. Recommend do another round of OTC treatment. I did. RX prescribed Cefpodoxime 5 days, 2 pills a day. However, before I started RX, suddenly I got these skin sensations: prickly, pins& needles, itchy skin random. Even my eye lids & inside my ears. Last night my breasts were tingling.Comes and goes. I have NO rash. This is been going on for near a month. July 27 started feeling Kidney pain through the night until July 28. Called clinic. Concerned my UTI spread into Kidneys. Advised to go to ER. At ER July 28 all blood/urine tests done.My eGFR was 68. Creatinine 0.95 BUN 13. All in normal range. I asked ER doctor why I was having this skin sensation & he did not know why. Sent home. Went to my clinic for follow up on 07/31blood work & urine. My creatinine rose to 1.05 my BUN rose to 18 & my eGFR lowered to 60. Can I assume this was from the Cefpodoxime? I went back to clinic 08/07 for urinalysis labs ( I asked for another Basic Metabolic Panel, doctor refused. My urine looked good except Hemoglobin. This time, on Aug.7 the word TRACE was there. This is the first time ever this has happened. With my trends all were negative prior. Of course I My Chart my Doctor with concerns. My Doctor's response was this: "As for your urine lab results, trace hemoglobin is not concerning as the microscopy findings did not show any RBCs". As of current, I do not know what my eGFR is, my creatinine or my BUN. I had to remind my doctor since I trend in the 50's for my eGFR we both should "Be concerned" of my trends. She then put in a lab order for a BMP. I guess because my eGFR was "60" I was "Stabilized" but not considering 80% of my eGFR's are in the 50 range. I should point out on June 3rd I had a CT/Contrast at ER. I will regret that for the rest of my life. So here are my questions if anyone wishes to answer, is my skin sensations related to my kidneys? Could I possibly be having adverse affects a little over a month AFTER my CT/Contrast scan? And what could cause my Hemoglobin Urine test to say TRACE. I go in on 09/11 for a BMP after I had to ask for one. Anyone who has thoughts about this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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@gingerw

@sallylynn Cysts can be a fairly common occurrence in the kidneys. I have had several. Here is what Mayo Clinic has to say about them: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-cysts/symptoms-causes/syc-20374134

How are you feeling today?
Ginger

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Hi Ginger. Sorry for the delay. How do I feel today (Saturday). Tired. No sleep. The gabapentin did not help with the pain. Thursday night I slept well. No pain. Friday through the day felt well. No pain. Friday night pain started around 9:30, I thought the gabapentin was probably wearing off. Took my gabapentin and hoped for the best. I was in pain all night. Gabapentin did not work. So I am sort of depressed. Scared. Sad.

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@windyshores

@sallylynn you are writing nephropathy instead of neuropathy which gives the wrong idea 🙂

I have had the same sensations for 22 years with no answers. You can have an EMG but it won't probably answer questions you have. I gave up dairy and gluten and do tai chi. I don't take any meds. Hope gabapentin helps you.

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I am so very sorry about that. Yes, I meant neuropathy. So sorry.

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@windyshores

@sallylynn you are writing nephropathy instead of neuropathy which gives the wrong idea 🙂

I have had the same sensations for 22 years with no answers. You can have an EMG but it won't probably answer questions you have. I gave up dairy and gluten and do tai chi. I don't take any meds. Hope gabapentin helps you.

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I will talk to my doctor about the EMG. I also wish for her to refer me to a Neurologist. I rarely eat dairy. I have had dips, that all. I like brown bread, so I will probably have to give that up. I do eat some gluten free foods. The gabapentin didn't work last night(Friday).

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My eGfr usually runs around 30. Bun/creatinine way out of whack. The word TRACE doctors usually don't worry about.

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@sallylynn

Good morning Ginger. Yes, I have been monitoring my BP. It has been pretty good for the most part. I was never taken off lisinpril, my Doctor reduced the dose from 20mg to 10 mg. My Doctor never replaced it. I am sorry for the late response, I have been resting. I had a rough night last night. Horrible neuropathy. I felt pretty good through Friday, even felt optimistic, but, at about 9:30 the neuropathy came back with a vengeance. I took my gabapentin 100mg,(Instructed to take at bedtime) and that did not make a dent for any relief. Last night I got scared because on the left side of my head, I got sharp pains. It did go away. I sit here depressed racking my brain why, all of a sudden, I have neuropathy. It came out of no where. The Hospital ran tests, they don't know why, and prescribe gabapentin. I have a question for you, is gabapentin bad for kidneys. Thanks Ginger.

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@sallylynn I researched online and gabapentin is excreted through the kidneys so could accumulate and cause toxicity, theoretically. But your kidney function is not too bad. Ask your doc or pharmacist.

They start gabapentin at 100mg generally which is a very low dose, so it might not work until you go up on the dose. It might also take time to work- ask your doc or pharmacist.

I am unable to take gabapentin. Alpha lipoic acid helps a little. But I stopped trying to find answers and treatments a long time ago! I think the difference, though, is that you are in pain and I had sensations but not horrible pain. Maybe pain management could help-? After neurology though!

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@sallylynn

I will talk to my doctor about the EMG. I also wish for her to refer me to a Neurologist. I rarely eat dairy. I have had dips, that all. I like brown bread, so I will probably have to give that up. I do eat some gluten free foods. The gabapentin didn't work last night(Friday).

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Definitely seems to be neurological. The nerves do strange things to the body. Do you remember an injury? Or something you did that threw your neck or back out of whack? Years ago I started getting headaches, very unusual for me. Then my arm (left) felt like I was stuck in a live electric socket. This happened several times a day, for months. Felt like a bolt of electricity. I had an MRI. The first Dr who read the results showed concern that I possibly needed surgery. A second opinion from a different hospital and a neurosurgeon said This will subside, don't let anyone talk you into surgery. It took time but eventually the headaches and arm electric bolts went away. Something I did to my neck. That kind of injury can affect your nerves anywhere in the body. I didn't remember an injury. How long have you had these symptoms? I'm obviously not a Dr, but your kidney function looks pretty normal. Just a thought from my experience.

My kidney function has been steadily declining over time. A chronic condition and from what I understand it will not get better but could be stabilized.

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@mrainne

Definitely seems to be neurological. The nerves do strange things to the body. Do you remember an injury? Or something you did that threw your neck or back out of whack? Years ago I started getting headaches, very unusual for me. Then my arm (left) felt like I was stuck in a live electric socket. This happened several times a day, for months. Felt like a bolt of electricity. I had an MRI. The first Dr who read the results showed concern that I possibly needed surgery. A second opinion from a different hospital and a neurosurgeon said This will subside, don't let anyone talk you into surgery. It took time but eventually the headaches and arm electric bolts went away. Something I did to my neck. That kind of injury can affect your nerves anywhere in the body. I didn't remember an injury. How long have you had these symptoms? I'm obviously not a Dr, but your kidney function looks pretty normal. Just a thought from my experience.

My kidney function has been steadily declining over time. A chronic condition and from what I understand it will not get better but could be stabilized.

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Hello mrainne. Thank you for responding. All this started around July 23 out of no where. I was just sitting at my computer and all of a sudden my body was getting prickling, tingling pins & needles with some itching. I thought maybe I was having a reaction to the cranberry tablet I took for my UTI. As the day went on, it would come and go. There was a day or 2 there was nothing but then it came back. Because of the UTI, my kidney flanks were hurting on the 27th July early evening, and I woke up with kidney flank pain in the middle of the night, still having the neuropathic sensations. I was concerned they were both correlated. I went to ER on July 28. They ran labs and said all looked good. The ER Doctor had no idea why I was having the skin sensations and Rx'd benedryl. Time went on, my flank pain subsided but the neuropathy did not. It was like a come and go thing, but in the last 10 days it has been progressing. On Aug.22 my ankles started hurting and pain running on my bones in the front of my calves. I couldn't take it anymore and had my Son take me to the ER on Aug.24. They ran all kinds of tests, Blood & urine, and they came in my room and said all my labs looked good. The Dr. claimed my bone pain is probably from my nerves going haywire. They said to follow up with my Doctor, possibly discuss a Neurologist .They prescribed gabapentin 100 mg. So, Thurs. night I took my Gabapentin, and actually slept well! All day yesterday I felt good, actually rejoicing I wasn't suffering. Then, at around 9:30 P.M. last night, it came back. I took my Gabapentin and prayed it would go away. It didn't. Up all night with the ankles hurting, my calves, the stinging all over my body. What else I experienced was sharp pain in my skull on the left side. It lasted about 15 seconds. So, no sleep. I am starting to get depressed and weeping at times. I sit here and ask, how did this happen so fast? Out of no where? I do recall about 5 days ago,on my left hand, the flesh under the thumb had such a jolt it took my breathe away. Like you, electric bolts going through my hand. That lasted about 15-20 seconds. I also deal with Esophagitis & GERD. These are the tests they did at the Hospital: FOLATE,Borrelia Burgdorferi AB, Total,Urinalysis with Microscopy and Culture if >5 WBC/HPF,Vitamin B12(In the normal range but very low),ECG- 12 LEAD WITHOUT RHYTHM,CBC WITH DIFFERENTIAL,COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL,TROPONIN, TSH REFLEX FREE T4,ESR and C REACTIVE PROTEIN.
The Doctor came in and said all looks good. I am grateful for that, truly I am, but still I sit here with neuropathy. I recently a couple months back had an Xray of my lungs & they notated my Spine. This is what they wrote: Mild osteoarthritis of bilateral AC joints. Multilevel degenerative disk disease of the thoracic spine with questionable partial fusion of a low thoracic vertebral level.
So I ask myself, is my spine so bad that it's cutting off nerves? Do I have a tumor somewhere that is pressing on major nerve endings? And then again, my mind goes to June 3 when I had the iodine contrast if I am getting delayed adverse reactions. ~

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@mrainne

Definitely seems to be neurological. The nerves do strange things to the body. Do you remember an injury? Or something you did that threw your neck or back out of whack? Years ago I started getting headaches, very unusual for me. Then my arm (left) felt like I was stuck in a live electric socket. This happened several times a day, for months. Felt like a bolt of electricity. I had an MRI. The first Dr who read the results showed concern that I possibly needed surgery. A second opinion from a different hospital and a neurosurgeon said This will subside, don't let anyone talk you into surgery. It took time but eventually the headaches and arm electric bolts went away. Something I did to my neck. That kind of injury can affect your nerves anywhere in the body. I didn't remember an injury. How long have you had these symptoms? I'm obviously not a Dr, but your kidney function looks pretty normal. Just a thought from my experience.

My kidney function has been steadily declining over time. A chronic condition and from what I understand it will not get better but could be stabilized.

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I forgot to tell you , no injury.

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I wanted to mention @sallylynn that when I had sudden onset of similar symptoms, I tested positive for Lyme disease. If you have that tested make sure to insist on a Western Blot, not an Elisa. Elisa's have more false negatives.

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@sallylynn

I forgot to tell you , no injury.

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I did not think I injured myself as well. My symptoms lasted 6 months! I’d be sitting at my desk at work, on computer, all of a sudden “bzzzz” right up my arm, headache followed. This happened several times a day. But, I trusted what the neurosurgeon told me. On and off nerve endings on fire, then subsiding. After 6 months…gone! Never came back.

I know many people wrestle with treatment, surgery, pain meds. What should one do? Why is this happening? Will it stop? Give yourself time. I know, it’s shocking but you’ve not had these symptoms that long. My headaches, immediately thought brain tumor. I never had headaches before this. My opinion (only my opinion) give your body time to heal. Panic increases the distress and creates stress. What are your options? Drs can only do so much. They can prescribe meds, take bloodwork, tests, research studies about the symptoms. Or surgery! Yikes, no way!

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