What is your eGFR? Age? Blood pressure?

[malfeasance]

I'm 68 and my eGFR has been hovering below 60 for a while. Last test it was 53. I supplement with creatine and lift 4 days/wk, plus I have a high protein diet. I have zero symptoms that could be related to compromised kidney function and am not worried in the least. BP recently has been pretty consistent around 120/80.

max the dogg,

What symptoms would I look for that could be related to compromised kidney function?

 

[TRT@40]

@malfeasance, I just got my cystatin c results from the hospital.
Cystatin c based eGFR is 106 which is significantly higher than creatinine based eGFR of 73. Both cystatin c and creatinine results came from the blood samples taken at the same time.
This confirms the conclusion of the paper I posted yesterday; cystatin c is a better indicator of kidney health for individuals with above average muscle mass.
My nephorologist stated that if Cystatin c based eGFR comes back normal and given that urine analysis show no markers of damage, then there is no concern about kidney health.

What I still have to check with him about why is there such a drop in creatinine level from Jan to Feb? is it because of taking baking soda for a couple of weeks before the test? or is it possibly because blood samples were taken at a hospitals and tested for various parameters including creatinine within an hour of taking the blood sample, compared to a private lab where tests are performed many hours later after blood collection?

Now i feel comfortable thinking about my next blast: low(150-200mg/wk) test and high primo e (500mg/wk+) and possibly sdrol for kick start

 

[malfeasance]

I'll be checking into this test. Thank you for sharing.

 

[malfeasance]

privatemdlabs does not appear to offer this test

 

[malfeasance]

These folks have it.

Cystatin C - Testing.com

Cystatin C is a relatively small protein that is filtered from the blood by the kidneys and broken down at a constant rate. A cystatin C test may be used to screen for and monitor kidney dysfunction in special cases.

labtestsonline.org

Oops. No buying labs there.

 

[malfeasance]

An article about various kidney function testing.

Clarifying the confusion of GFRs, creatinine, and cystatin C

Because measurements of GFR are tedious, estimated GFRs based on creatinine or cystatin C are widely used for assessing kidney function. Both measured GFRs and the...

acutecaretesting.org

"Both creatinine and cystatin C are each affected by factors other than GFR, with creatinine affected by factors related to muscle mass (age, gender, and race), and cystatin C affected by age, inflammation, obesity, and diabetes [13]. Like serum creatinine, cystatin C concentrations were much more stable in individuals without renal disease than was GFR measured by creatinine clearance [5].

A possible advantage of cystatin C with minor glomerular damage is that, being a large molecule, blood levels of cystatin C might rise sooner than creatinine. Several reports also indicate that cystatin C is better than creatinine for predicting risk in cardiovascular disease [14], although other studies did not conclude that cystatin C improved risk prediction [8,15]. Cystatin C is also a more costly, slower, and less available test than creatinine. Cystatin C now has a certified reference material available that should improve method standardization for that analyte."

 

[malfeasance]

I never paid attention to eGFR.

It was 68 on my last test.

I know they say normal is 60 or above, but this is the lowest mine has been. In the last 5 years it has been as high as 80, dropped down to 70, went back up to 75, then recently was 68.

I am in my 50s. I understand the number typically trends lower with age, but without a database of numbers to look at, and precious little information to review, I do not know whether I should be concerned with the number at 68.

All my other kidney markers were within the normal range. Of course, eGFR is within the "normal" range, too, but I do not like seeing it at 68.

Should I be concerned?

I have had some issues controlling blood pressure. It has not risen to the extent I have seen some others post about, but it is frequently high even on telmisartan and never tends to go much below 135/80 or so. Diastolic sometimes drops into the 70s. I have, from time to time, isolated systolic hypertension, where the upper number will climb into the 140s and 150s. I do not know why this happens or why it goes back down. I monitor it on a wrist cuff automated machine (Omran).

Seeing Bostin Lloyd reveal he is on dialysis got me looking closer at this eGFR number, which I never really paid attention to before, since it was always "normal" and still is. But even Bostin Lloyd did not discuss what is eGFR was or his blood pressure numbers, and the same goes for Fouad Abiad, who dropped out of the Chicago Pro last fall due to kidney issues. He mentioned the kidney issues and out of control blood pressure, but he did not say what the numbers were that caused so much concern.

So I thought folks posting their numbers here would be a small database from which we could compare info.

What is your eGFR?

What is your age?

What is your blood pressure?

Thanks!

LOL! What is it with this score. A month later it is 78? I have been struggling with high blood pressure all month, and I have a little more muscle than a month ago . . .

I am wondering what this score even tells me, if anything.

 

[FlyGuy3232]

Just here to reiterate that Cystatin C based EGFR is what we should all be using.

Don't pay attention to the creatnine based one except to track severe fluctuations from baseline. It is useless for anyone with very much muscle.

 

[malfeasance]

Just here to reiterate that Cystatin C based EGFR is what we should all be using.

Don't pay attention to the creatnine based one except to track severe fluctuations from baseline. It is useless for anyone with very much muscle.

I heard you the first time, but this does not seem to be a common test. I have not found it on any of the labs you can order online.


As for "very much muscle," though, my eGFR went up 10 points in less than two months when I have added muscle and been on cycle. Weird, huh?

And note that they calculate it differently for "African American" and "Non-African American." The difference is that the test assumed blacks have more muscle mass.

So my 78 is based on not being black. If I was, then the score would be 90.

I am guessing if they somehow took into consideration that I am a bodybuilder weighing 240, then it would be even higher than 90.

On the plus side, though, this newest test kind of removes my fear that I had somehow damaged my kidneys, and I was sliding down this irreversible path toward dialysis. That is basically the reason I started this thread.

 

[FlyGuy3232]

I heard you the first time, but this does not seem to be a common test. I have not found it on any of the labs you can order online.


As for "very much muscle," though, my eGFR went up 10 points in less than two months when I have added muscle and been on cycle. Weird, huh?

And note that they calculate it differently for "African American" and "Non-African American." The difference is that the test assumed blacks have more muscle mass.

So my 78 is based on not being black. If I was, then the score would be 90.

I am guessing if they somehow took into consideration that I am a bodybuilder weighing 240, then it would be even higher than 90.

On the plus side, though, this newest test kind of removes my fear that I had somehow damaged my kidneys, and I was sliding down this irreversible path toward dialysis. That is basically the reason I started this thread.

This was my first comment on this thread, I was more reiterating what others said.

Ulta, Quest, and walk in lab all have Cystatin C. I just did mine last month.

 

[malfeasance]

I'll look again. I could not find it on Quest (although my initial concern for wanting it has now moved way down in urgency)

 

[Millard]

I heard you the first time, but this does not seem to be a common test. I have not found it on any of the labs you can order online.


As for "very much muscle," though, my eGFR went up 10 points in less than two months when I have added muscle and been on cycle. Weird, huh?

And note that they calculate it differently for "African American" and "Non-African American." The difference is that the test assumed blacks have more muscle mass.

So my 78 is based on not being black. If I was, then the score would be 90.

I am guessing if they somehow took into consideration that I am a bodybuilder weighing 240, then it would be even higher than 90.

On the plus side, though, this newest test kind of removes my fear that I had somehow damaged my kidneys, and I was sliding down this irreversible path toward dialysis. That is basically the reason I started this thread.

eGFR Calculator

www.kidney.org

Source: A New Equation to Estimate Glomerular Filtration Rate

 

[Millard]

Just here to reiterate that Cystatin C based EGFR is what we should all be using.

"We conclude that serum creatinine and eGFR are flawed estimates of true renal function. Systemic error from unmeasured muscle mass, tubular secretion, and proportional bias are added to imprecision at the extremes of function and muscle mass. The suboptimal ability of creatinine to predict clearance in well-functioning kidneys improved with renal dysfunction, where CKD detection is clinically important. Inaccuracies of CKD-EPI eGFR are inextricably linked to the biology of muscular creatinine generation and its relationship to renal clearance. This cannot be easily solved by mathematical re-expression of another similar formula (without weight). Future advances require a fresh approach to eGFR and more research. Cystatin C is an alternative endogenous filtration marker produced by nucleated cells which is independent of muscle mass, diet sex, and age. Combined creatinine–cystatinC eGFR equations perform better than either marker alone [2]. Panels of multiple markers (e.g. low-molecular-weight proteins or metabolites) or novel non-renal serum markers of muscularity may help [2,30]. Until then, clinicians should carefully interpret eGFR results with observed muscularity, reserve accurate mGFR or 24-hour creatinine clearance for selected divergent cases, and use old-fashioned clinical judgment for pateints at the extremes of body habitus."


View: https://twitter.com/thinksteroids/status/1367514673306886146

 

[malfeasance]

"eGFR was falsely reduced by -5·9 ± 1·4 mls/min per 10 kg lean mass."


That could be a lot for bodybuilders who are 20kg or more over their natural bodyweight.

 

[FlyGuy3232]

I'll look again. I could not find it on Quest (although my initial concern for wanting it has now moved way down in urgency)

This is where I got mine. It is through quest when you order and will show up in your quest profile AND this site:

Cystatin C with eGFR

The Cystatin C with eGFR Quest lab test contains 1 test with 2 biomarkers.

www.ultalabtests.com

 

[malfeasance]

Wow, thanks! I'll keep it in mind for the future.

 

[Cookieman]

53 yrs old
EGFR- 80
BP 130ish- 80-85
My hemocrit is slightly elevated, donating blood this week

 

[MindlessWork]

Age: 56
eGFR: Mine has hovered between 52 and 59 over the past few years and my doc has referred me to a kidney specialist last year. The specialist found nothing major wrong with my kidneys.

BP as of my last physical done last week: 110/78
Hematocrit's at 46

I will ask about the cystatin test next time I see my doc.

 

[LittleD90]

Age 30
EGFR 108
BP 110/72 (average)

fairly lean
5’7
187lbs
Around 8-10% bf

Trt for 5 years now

 

[Jet Labs]

Age 30
EGFR 108
BP 110/72 (average)

fairly lean
5’7
187lbs
Around 8-10% bf

Trt for 5 years now

You started trt at 25 or started juicing at 25 lol?