Today’s labs

[tigtink]

Creatinine down to 1.51 from 2.09 Monday! Egfr 38–best in over 10 years. Hemoglobin rising steadily. No more Procrit. New kidney is kicking in.

Everything going well except one sudden  bout of vomiting which cleared up very quickly. Luckily before evening meds. I was able to take meds okay and tolerate fluids. No fever. I am slowly getting back to regular food but being cautious. I need to not overdo it on potassium—level creeped up just a bit.

Thank you new kidney!

[LorinnPKD]

That's wonderful news!  Go you! 

[cassandra]

Congrats tigtink, and remember to drink a special drink on all of us


   


Love, Cas

[SooMK]

Congrats!

[tigtink]

Two weeks now since the transplant. Today’s labs just came in. The creatinine had gone up to 1.98 on Monday, but they thought it was from dehydration from some diarrhea. Plus it is hard to drink a lot when you are constantly bloated. Today it was 1.68, GFR 33, so almost back to where it was a week ago. My BUN was 15! The lowest it has been in 15 years. My stomach is getting a little better each day and I am able to stay more hydrated. The issue now is very low hemoglobin. It had been going up in the beginning but has tanked to 8.5. I am waiting to talk to the coordinator and see what they want to do. I have less energy than a week ago and get out of breath climbing stairs, but that can be explained by the low hemoglobin. I suspect they will want to check my iron level and either give me more iron or a Procrit shot. I do okay walking and only struggle with hills and stairs. I am trying to stay as active as I can. My next clinic appointment is Friday the 5th. I hope to go back home to Lansing on the 5th. I miss my babies!

[iolaire]

Don't get too worked up about small variations in creatinine, at some point it will settle down and you will have a normal range, but it will still move around.

Mine is around 1.4 but here you can see the variations in tons of observations.  They believe that dehydration strongly affects creatinine, salt and calcium.
1.5, 1.4, 1.5, 1.4, 1.4, 1.3, 1.3, 1.4, 1.4, 1.15, 1.15, 1.47, 1.44, 1.46, 1.38, 1.55, 1.61, 1.59, 1.48, 1.51, 1.46, 1.4, 1.68, 1.41, 1.37, 1.35, 1.32, 1.4, 1.5, 1.36, 1.48

[tigtink]

Thanks Iolaire. That is reassuring. I wasn’t too worried since there are other indications the new kidney is working—potassium and calcium are on the low end of normal, BUN improving, no more bubbles in my urine from protein leakage—but it is hard not to sweat the early lab results. This is all so new.

I talked with my coordinator. He noticed the low hemoglobin and had them test my iron levels with this morning’s draw. My iron saturation is pretty low so he is having me increase my iron. If there is no improvement in my numbers by Monday they will give me an EPO shot.

[iolaire]

Yes regarding the minerals and the like there will be lots of tweaks but that will settle down over time.  I think by six months I was done with magnesium, sodium bicarbonate, phos neutral and such.   

[Cupcake]

congrats Tigtink! Have you named your new kidney?

I also had low iron post transplant and was dubious that a transplanted kidney would have time to secrete erythropoietin while working so hard, but it apparently does! I was on iron for about 3-4 months post transplant and now 11 months out my hemoglobin is 12.6. Better than its been in my entire life.

Best of luck to you. Sounds like things are settling down and you'll do great.

[tigtink]

Thanks Cupcake! That is reassuring. They are having me increase my iron supplements. Hopefully that will help. I am having to push through the anemia to stay active. I am still managing two walks a day. I can only imagine how much better I will feel if my hemoglobin goes to 12! It may take time but it will be worth the wait.

[MooseMom]

These are early days, and there will be more tweaks to come.  That's just part of it, but you already know this, right?  Lol!  You are doing very well in the grand scheme of things, and I am thrilled to bits for you. 

[tigtink]

Thanks MooseMom! Indeed I am quite accustomed to complications and tweaking. Ten years in Stage 4 and nearly 6 years on the list has taught me many lessons in patience. Someone here posted years ago about kidney disease being about constantly adjusting to a new reality. So this is all new yet at the same time it is the kind of life I’ve gotten used to.

[Michelle2016]

CR 1.51 is pretty good number for one kidney.  If you have two kidneys, your CR world probably be 1.2 or so.  Please make sure to drink at least 2 L of water every day and don’t over eat meats.  Because you have only one kidney. Everything should be balanced.

Take care and good luck.