Reason for GFR level to fluctuate from 20 to 57?

This is helpful for me as I try to maintain Gfr of 44 to 46 since 2020 on my own...when I was told by "kidney" doc over the phone(never saw him {covid restriction]) that lots of people live on 1 kidney and that the measurements were quite loose and not to worry ...but call if needed....which I never did as my gp in 2023 said it was not needed.(she has since retired) I have been able to organize blood testing every 3mo. To track my A1C(pre-diabetic) and GFR with my new NPJune (2025) who so far has been agreeable to keep ordering the tests every 3mos.(had to convince her first) I am a full time professional artist(painter) with regular exhibitions of my work and I find all this stuff hard and discouraging.I will be 87 in Feb and wondering if I should bother with all this stuff if I am likely to be dead and broke by 90? Friends (much younger) say oh don't bother with all this stuff....eat, drink enjoy yourself....this seems like weak minded thinking...but if I end up on a kidney machine anyway and not creating (I would not be wanting to live). I hate that this is taking up space in my brain when time is precious and there are paintings to do...Thinking I should retreat to my cave and isolate.Sorry this has turned into a rant...how does one handle non-serious of indifferent friends/family. I am grateful for my good friends and family. Peace be with us

I can sympathise. Friends and fun are great but one can't enjoy them as much if ill. I'm already on a very restricted diet due to celiac and collagenous colitis, so avoiding alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and salt, and drinking more water is easy. I would say eat healthy, drink enough water, and enjoy yourself. It is unlikely they know what you are dealing with and impacts on your health. Great that you have been so successful on managing your health.

@fromthehill Personally, I take it as a challenge to keep myself healthy. Healthy eating, mindfulness for creating an emotionally and mentally healthy life, too! Yep, that word got used three times!

I am a creative person, doing a lot of writing and different crafts. So, using those mediums help me deal with the challenges. It's okay to be thinking how to move forward given our own individual circumstances. What could be crippling is to focus only on that. Friends and families often do not understand the seriousness of our health situation, so we can use that as a platform to educate them.

Taking care of ourselves will let us focus on what else we want to accomplish. For me, and perhaps for others, watching my diet, my stress levels, moderate exercise, being medication compliant is part of the big picture. Why take away part of that because we don't want to deal with it? Isn't that like a tire with a flat spot?
Ginger