Wednesday, June 30, 2021

2021 Serum Creatinine rising

Since 2016 my serum creatinine has been rising at a surprisingly constant rate (see graph), suggesting a progressively declining kidney function, reaching a peak of 2.7mg/dL (Estimated GPR 26 mL/min/1.73m2, stage IV) 6 weeks ago (13-May-2021).

Shocked and depressed at this decline I met with a new nephrologist to see what she recommends to reduce the rate of decline. She didn't really offer any new advice but ordered more tests which I did on 23-Jun-2021. She also weighed me, 78kg, which is lighter than I expected (I'm 1.82m tall). I have been exercising almost daily the last year or so, so I guess I've lost a few kilos of body fat.

The tests on 23-Jun-2021 showed a creatine level of 2.4 ml/dL which is a change in the right direction. The things I did between the two last tests which may have impacted the result were:
- Watch my diet carefully, eating very few animal proteins and especially avoiding cheese (high salt).
- Meditate with afirmations in the form of questions like "Why is my serum creatinine at 1.8?" (I didn't hit that target obviously), "Why do my kidneys work so well?", "Why are my kidneys no longer inflammed?", etc.

One of my previous nephrologists said that reducing protein consumption can reduce the creatinine reading (which wouldn't necessarily mean any improvement in kidney function) but this nephrologist said that the amount of creatinine released into the blood is determined more by muscle mass (which may have increased slightly over the last year or so, as I've done more exercise. Certainly my muscles are stronger now than say 2 years ago).

I also tested for Bicarbonate and Vitamin D. Both were within normal range, though the Vitamin D was on the low side and I certainly have the symptons of Vitamin D deficiency (fatigue).