Bad labs

[woodsman]

Doc called today and told me he needs to see asap. He said my Potassium is at 5.9, GFR is at 9 and my BUN is 90?
Phos is at 6.2. and some others i already forgot.. Is this bad??

[Deanne]

Bad - I think so, especially combined with the confusion you experienced (just saw that message). Whenever a Dr says "I need to see you asap" it's never because they want to give you a high-five. 

Is your transplant still scheduled for mid-June? Hoping you just had a bad one-time test!

[Willis]

Doc called today and told me he needs to see asap. He said my Potassium is at 5.9, GFR is at 9 and my BUN is 90?
Phos is at 6.2. and some others i already forgot.. Is this bad??

I know that when my K gets close to 6 the docs freak out. With care I've managed to get it back down to below 5 using low-K diet and SPS binder. High K can be dangerous to the heart I'm told. On my lab sheets they just report GFR as "<5" and no lower. The doc explained that GFR is not very accurate anyway. The thing to watch is creatinine level. My creatinine just hit 11.5 this week. If I remember right, it was when my creatinine got over 5 that the doc finally started me down the dialysis trail. (It was in the 3's and 4's for years until last Dec then took off.) I'm getting my PD cath next Tuesday and start D the following week so I've been getting these labs once a week for 5 months now.
 

[murf]

Been looking after yourself diet wise?

[Sax-O-Trix]

My K (Potassium) ran high pre-transplant, always in the high 5's.  I was never offered any sort of binder, I wonder why.  K should be btween 3.3 and 5.1.  Phos levels should be between 2.7 and 4.5. 

Your GFR is getting low - are you planning on starting dialysis soon?  I seem to recall a few IHD members who started dialysis at a GFR level of 6 or so...  A GFR of 9 is definitely in the range of needing dialysis. 

When do you see your Doctor?

[woodsman]

See the doc on tuesday and i take a binder (sps) yummy.  I have strayed a bit on my diet and had a couple tangerines during the week. I now know better...

[Shaymon]

Hi Woodsman,

These are my latest results (bloods done 05/06/2011)

 Urea       Creatinine    K      Ca      PO4      Hb       eGFR 06/05/11               
 34.1       588          4.2     2.24   1.37    10.6      9.492312

I feel ok just tired some days and others a bit crappy but in general I'm feeling ok. I see the Neph on Tuesday but they still haven't said about starting D yet and as I feel on the whole ok I'm gonna put it off as long as I can.

Just for information I'm not on any special diet or food restrictions, nor do I take binders or stuff like that. Just healthy living, that is nothing  too excessive.

I wish you luck and please come back to let us know what happens . I would be especially interested as I'm about the same stage as you.

Kind regards

Shaymon

[texasstyle]

I'm no pro on the lab numbers but I will agree w/ the others that especially the potassium is something very important you have to watch for. 6 is getting high and how quickly that could rise to deadly levels. Great that the dr. got you in right away. High K can put you in cardiac arrest. It sends signals to your muscles and your heart is a muscle too of course. My husbands was potassium 7.8  and went into full muscle paralysis . We got him into an ambulance. Please learn about those #'s. Education, and a good renal diet can help you to feel at your best.

[sullidog]

Yes, those are bad numbers, not ones that I would like to see anyways.
I'm just wondering about the phos that was mentioned about between 2.7 and 4.5. The protocall that I've been taught is phos 3.5 to 5.4.

[murf]

From what I know your numbers apart from your HB, you look OK.
Not sure if they relate to Australia or they use a different scale. Potassium (K) at 4.1 is perfect, Phosphate (PO4) is very good. Normally, I have been told that K should be kept in the 4-4.5 range, Phosphate should be kept below 2. But your HB is low. Normally a patient with kidney disease should be about 120. That would explain tiredness. Maybe time for some EPO. Be careful of phosphate build up To my regret, I have found that over the years, it has caused an increase in calcium. Hence, a blocked fistula, carpel tunnel and now, blocked arteries that requires a triple by pass.

[Sax-O-Trix]

"I'm just wondering about the phos that was mentioned about between 2.7 and 4.5. The protocall that I've been taught is phos 3.5 to 5.4." 

Sullidog - I took those numbers directly from my labs results.  Perhaps different labs have different protocals.  Does it make a difference if you are male or female?

[Lillupie]

Sulli,
 I was wondering that same thing too. Our labs say up to 5.5, but i guess a tenth of a point is not that big of a deal. But 4.5, wow, that is lower for a dialysis patient.

Lisa

 

Yes, those are bad numbers, not ones that I would like to see anyways.
I'm just wondering about the phos that was mentioned about between 2.7 and 4.5. The protocall that I've been taught is phos 3.5 to 5.4.

[woodsman]

Well no D yet but he said no more eating certain things, you know what they are.. I guess i'll eat crackers and water??. Have to take 30gms of SPS every day. yukkk   The transplant dept called me and canceled my appointment, said there was no doctors availiable for that day so i am reschdeuled for may 18th for re-eval. It was a sunny day so i figure golf was more important...

[Willis]

I had my PD cath implanted last Tuesday. My pre-op labs showed my K at 4.7. Right after coming out of recovery I was still a bit "out of it" and when I pleaded for something to drink they gave me 3 or 4 containers of wonderful, sweet ice-cold apple juice.

Should have known better...the next morning my K was at 5.2 (still within max range I think) and then they wouldn't discharge me. I had to wait almost the whole day until they finally tested me again and the K had gone back down to 4.7. I asked them what the hell they were going to do if my K didn't come down...put me on dialysis? Hello...I just got my PD cath so I can get on dialysis. Of course I get the old lecture about how dangerous high K is like I was in kindergarten. When I reminded them that it was ME that TOLD THEM I was supposed to be on a low-K diet (not the dialysis diet someone put on the chart) they clammed up and got me out of there fast. 

 

[Stoday]

PO4 and K measurements are in two different units. The US tends to prefer mg/dl, the UK mmol/litre. The usual range my unit gives is:

Phosphate: 0.8 — 1.4 mmol/litre (2.5 — 4.3 mg/dl)

Potassium:
Below 3.5 mmol/litre (0.9 mg/dl) Common after a hemo session
3.5 — 5.0 mmol/litre (0.9 — 1.3 mg/dl) Normal
5.0 — 6.0 mmol/litre (1.3 — 1.5 mg/dl) High, but OK at start of hemo session
Over 6.5 mmol/litre (1.7 mg/dl) Dangerously high.