Test results- eGFr and creatinine

JD284

Member
Hi guys, looking for some additional opinions aside from Google searches and PCP feedback.

Always straddled the line with creatinine being high, and about 5 years ago I stopped all supplements and got a baseline reading of 1.15 which was normal at age 30.
Fast forward now, my most recent reading was 1.59 and associated eGFR as 58 so it was flagged as being low. On kidney.org if I adjust to my height and weight it increases to a normal / “stage 1” ckd range which makes sense with creatine supps. Doc wants me to take another test in 2 weeks and add ACR (albumin creatinine) to assess if there is damage or not. What are people’s thoughts/experiences on adjusting eGFR? Most of this community is probably larger than the mean man/woman (which is what “normal” range is based on). I certainly am but not made of pure muscle by any means.

I realized I was accidentally taking over 10g of cresting (mono and kre alk) and 10g leucine daily since multiple supps had those, in addition to other amino acids which are known to lower gfr. I’ve stopped creatine and leucine except for at least 1 scoop of nitro tech a day to hopefully clear out my system for the next test. My creatinine has never been this high before and all other numbers are good except slightly elevated cholesterol.

tldr: do you adjust your eGGR based on height and weight or just get occasional urine test to ensure no damage is occurring with supplement usage

Thanks
 
EDIT FOR THOSE WHO SKIM: CYSTATIN C IS THE TEST YOU ACTUALLY WANT.

For the overly-muscled individual, asking your doctor to order a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) test is the true way to clearly determine if you have any existing kidney disease/damage.

eGFR is purely determined off your creatinine and bun/urea. It’s not ideal for these values to be well out of range, but they are not truly representative of glomular filtration rate (GFR).

Getting hsCRP tested is a much more accurate way to calculate GFR. My eGFR is usually around 80 based on creatinine/BUN, but it’s closer to 110 when I test my CRP.

If your doctor won’t provide this, you can order it yourself from Ulta lab tests for like $40.
 
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Hyde said:
For the overly-muscled individual, asking your doctor to order a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) test is the true way to clearly determine if you have any existing kidney disease/damage.

eGFR is purely determined off your creatinine and bun/urea. It’s not ideal for these values to be well out of range, but they are not truly representative of glomular filtration rate (GFR).

Getting hsCRP tested is a much more accurate way to calculate GFR. My eGFR is usually around 80 based on creatinine/BUN, but it’s closer to 110 when I test my CRP.

If your doctor won’t provide this, you can order it yourself from Ulta lab tests for like $40.
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Thank you, I didn’t know about this one but I read about cystatin c and reached out to PCP about it but have not heard back. Will keep this one in mind too
 
JD284 said:
Thank you, I didn’t know about this one but I read about cystatin c and reached out to PCP about it but have not heard back. Will keep this one in mind too
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Cystatin C is an inflammatory marker. It can be useful to keep an eye on overall health, but CRP is a marker of kidney damage & what you need to test.

JD284 said:
@Hyde are those numbers with creatine usage as well?
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Yes.

Creatine use will definitely show some elevations in creatinine on bloodwork, but not so much to be solely responsible for the kind of numbers you are seeing. I’ve never seen my values that high.

Be advised, in case you’re not aware, that hard training can elevate creatinine levels - you don’t want to have bloodwork drawn within a couple days of damaging your muscles, if you want to see your actual basal values. Transient elevations from training are not harmful, but they can certainly cause false positives.
 
Thanks @Hyde so I should have at least a couple of rest days before bloodwork, and shouldn’t get it done if I have DOMS. My TSH was also high (5.x) but I have hypothyroidism and am on a high dose, and some supplements interfere with it. I’m leaning towards cutting out creatine completely (no no nitro tech) to get a baseline. Thanks again

edit- my TSH has been double digits before but it has not thrown off my creatinine beyond 1.35, so it must be a combination of things
 
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What is astragaloside IV …is that equivalent or better than astragalus …?

Thanks

And to OP, I learned the hard way as well…I now take a week off before bloodwork. My doc sent me for imaging and ‘thinks’ I have ckd as well.
 
JD284 said:
Hi guys, looking for some additional opinions aside from Google searches and PCP feedback.

Always straddled the line with creatinine being high, and about 5 years ago I stopped all supplements and got a baseline reading of 1.15 which was normal at age 30.
Fast forward now, my most recent reading was 1.59 and associated eGFR as 58 so it was flagged as being low. On kidney.org if I adjust to my height and weight it increases to a normal / “stage 1” ckd range which makes sense with creatine supps. Doc wants me to take another test in 2 weeks and add ACR (albumin creatinine) to assess if there is damage or not. What are people’s thoughts/experiences on adjusting eGFR? Most of this community is probably larger than the mean man/woman (which is what “normal” range is based on). I certainly am but not made of pure muscle by any means.

I realized I was accidentally taking over 10g of cresting (mono and kre alk) and 10g leucine daily since multiple supps had those, in addition to other amino acids which are known to lower gfr. I’ve stopped creatine and leucine except for at least 1 scoop of nitro tech a day to hopefully clear out my system for the next test. My creatinine has never been this high before and all other numbers are good except slightly elevated cholesterol.

tldr: do you adjust your eGGR based on height and weight or just get occasional urine test to ensure no damage is occurring with supplement usage

Thanks
Click to expand...
Request a cystatin c test. This removes the influence of muscle mass and creatine intake from supplements and beef consumption.
 
KLL said:
Request a cystatin c test. This removes the influence of muscle mass and creatine intake from supplements and beef consumption.
Click to expand...

I was getting it backwards. This is the primary one you want. hsCRP is still useful, but if you only get one then get a Cystatin C. This is the value that doesn’t really go down & shows kidney health.

CRP being elevated is predictive of future kidney disease, but it’s an inflammatory marker that is more showing a problematic environment overall.
 
KLL said:
Request a cystatin c test. This removes the influence of muscle mass and creatine intake from supplements and beef consumption.
Click to expand...

I was getting it backwards. This is the primary one you want. hsCRP is still useful, but if you only get one then get a Cystatin C. This is the value that doesn’t really go down & shows kidney health.

CRP being elevated is predictive of future kidney disease, but it’s an inflammatory marker that is more showing a problematic environment overall.
 
Thanks guys. I’m inclined to take several days off of lifting before the next test to get an accurate baseline. I’ve been taking less nitro tech as well since each scoop has 3g creatine and a bunch of aminos. I checked the dates and I lifted on a Monday and got the test done on Wednesday morning early and fasted so it’s possible I was a bit dehydrated. However my other numbers like BUN and BUN/creatinine ratio were fine. I definitely have to get TSH in normal range, I believe it’s fluctuating out of range more than in range which is bad
 
STOP taking ANYTHING with creatine to get a completely clean reading, not one scoop of NT. Also take at least 3 days off lifting as well as cardio. What was your BUN? How much water did you drink the morning/day of the blood work?
 
BCseacow83 said:
STOP taking ANYTHING with creatine to get a completely clean reading, not one scoop of NT. Also take at least 3 days off lifting as well as cardio. What was your BUN? How much water did you drink the morning/day of the blood work?
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Creatinine 1.59
EGFR 58
BUN range 7-25, reading is 21
BUN / creatinine ratio range 6-22, reading is 13

Regarding water intake, probably not enough. I probably had at least 16oz prior to the test. I am now keeping track of it better by using a 60oz jug and drinking at least 1 of them a day. I worked out and did cardio within 48hrs of the test. And I usually push myself pretty hard, I get DOMS almost every week, low-moderate weight high reps.
I’ll cut out the NT for now to get a good baseline, and not workout at all for 3 days prior. Thanks for the tips.
 
JD284 said:
Creatinine 1.59
EGFR 58
BUN range 7-25, reading is 21
BUN / creatinine ratio range 6-22, reading is 13

Regarding water intake, probably not enough. I probably had at least 16oz prior to the test. I am now keeping track of it better by using a 60oz jug and drinking at least 1 of them a day. I worked out and did cardio within 48hrs of the test. And I usually push myself pretty hard, I get DOMS almost every week, low-moderate weight high reps.
I’ll cut out the NT for now to get a good baseline, and not workout at all for 3 days prior. Thanks for the tips.
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Personally I'd be drinking that whole 60oz before going in and like I said stopping all creatine and training. I say this to remove ALL POSSIBLE variables. If your test comes back poor after eliminating all those variables there is no questioning there is an issue and it needs to be addressed. If I'm going through all the trouble of repeated testing and spending the time and money to do so I want to KNOW.
 
BCseacow83 said:
Personally I'd be drinking that whole 60oz before going in and like I said stopping all creatine and training. I say this to remove ALL POSSIBLE variables. If your test comes back poor after eliminating all those variables there is no questioning there is an issue and it needs to be addressed. If I'm going through all the trouble of repeated testing and spending the time and money to do so I want to KNOW.
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Sounds like a plan! I was going to schedule it for next Friday. So last workout could be Monday or this weekend. Should I stop all PWO as well? I take some on non training day to help recovery
 
Creatinine serum level is used in the calculation of eGFR so if you are supplementing with creatine your serum level is naturally going to be higher, which will affect eGFR calculation 'negatively'. My doctor (actually a PA) was concerned about my eGFR and said I should stop taking creatine. To appease her I stopped taking it for a few weeks and my eGFR retured to normal. If you supplement with creatine you can't use eGFR as an indicator of kidney issues.
 
JD284 said:
Sounds like a plan! I was going to schedule it for next Friday. So last workout could be Monday or this weekend. Should I stop all PWO as well? I take some on non training day to help recovery
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I would, but it really depends on what's in it. Which one are you using? Some pre's I could see benefit taking ED based on the ingredients really needing to be taken daily for best results but others are nothing more than stim bombs with little benefit taken on off days.
 
Bucked up black rainbow rush
Bucked up pumpocalypse

They are single serving packs I bought in bulk from supplement hunt. I usually split it up over the day. Only been taking these for a month or less and I would say over the past 15 yrs I’ve always taken a pwo so nothing really new unless it’s a combination of age, TSH, creatine, and supplements
 
JD284 said:
Hi guys, looking for some additional opinions aside from Google searches and PCP feedback.

Always straddled the line with creatinine being high, and about 5 years ago I stopped all supplements and got a baseline reading of 1.15 which was normal at age 30.
Fast forward now, my most recent reading was 1.59 and associated eGFR as 58 so it was flagged as being low. On kidney.org if I adjust to my height and weight it increases to a normal / “stage 1” ckd range which makes sense with creatine supps. Doc wants me to take another test in 2 weeks and add ACR (albumin creatinine) to assess if there is damage or not. What are people’s thoughts/experiences on adjusting eGFR? Most of this community is probably larger than the mean man/woman (which is what “normal” range is based on). I certainly am but not made of pure muscle by any means.

I realized I was accidentally taking over 10g of cresting (mono and kre alk) and 10g leucine daily since multiple supps had those, in addition to other amino acids which are known to lower gfr. I’ve stopped creatine and leucine except for at least 1 scoop of nitro tech a day to hopefully clear out my system for the next test. My creatinine has never been this high before and all other numbers are good except slightly elevated cholesterol.

tldr: do you adjust your eGGR based on height and weight or just get occasional urine test to ensure no damage is occurring with supplement usage

Thanks
Click to expand...
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. You may be dehydrated which will cause a drop in eGFR number. That would be my first suspicion on the cause.
 
Going for retest tomorrow - have not lifted since Friday, been drinking lots of water, cut out creatine and protein power (since 7/14), kept everything else the same. Also been taking some milk thistle
 
modog said:
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. You may be dehydrated which will cause a drop in eGFR number. That would be my first suspicion on the cause.
Click to expand...

Yeah the night before I had an hour long volleyball game in extreme heat, and was fasting after. Probably didn’t have enough water
 
JD284 said:
Hi guys, looking for some additional opinions aside from Google searches and PCP feedback.

Always straddled the line with creatinine being high, and about 5 years ago I stopped all supplements and got a baseline reading of 1.15 which was normal at age 30.
Fast forward now, my most recent reading was 1.59 and associated eGFR as 58 so it was flagged as being low. On kidney.org if I adjust to my height and weight it increases to a normal / “stage 1” ckd range which makes sense with creatine supps. Doc wants me to take another test in 2 weeks and add ACR (albumin creatinine) to assess if there is damage or not. What are people’s thoughts/experiences on adjusting eGFR? Most of this community is probably larger than the mean man/woman (which is what “normal” range is based on). I certainly am but not made of pure muscle by any means.

I realized I was accidentally taking over 10g of cresting (mono and kre alk) and 10g leucine daily since multiple supps had those, in addition to other amino acids which are known to lower gfr. I’ve stopped creatine and leucine except for at least 1 scoop of nitro tech a day to hopefully clear out my system for the next test. My creatinine has never been this high before and all other numbers are good except slightly elevated cholesterol.

tldr: do you adjust your eGGR based on height and weight or just get occasional urine test to ensure no damage is occurring with supplement usage

Thanks
Click to expand...
Are you still lifting weights? Also, it depends on your nationality. I have the same issue and was referred to a nephrologist to see what the problem is. As long as you're muscular and have a certain nationality there's not much you can do. Moreover, we're dealing with the human body - 1 size doesn't fit all.
 
drtyrabbyt said:
Are you still lifting weights? Also, it depends on your nationality. I have the same issue and was referred to a nephrologist to see what the problem is. As long as you're muscular and have a certain nationality there's not much you can do. Moreover, we're dealing with the human body - 1 size doesn't fit all.
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yup, at least 3x a week plus cardio. In general I use light/moderate weight, 10-12 rep, 4-6 sets per exercise. I do get DOMS often and push myself hard. I am muscular, 35 y/o white male. At this point I’m just maintaining what I’ve built in my 20s and early 30s. I agree on the one size comment, I asked pcp about adjusting it based on height and weight but I have ACR test and another metabolic panel set up for tomorrow which I will fast for again.
 
JD284 said:
yup, at least 3x a week plus cardio. In general I use light/moderate weight, 10-12 rep, 4-6 sets per exercise. I do get DOMS often and push myself hard. I am muscular, 35 y/o white male. At this point I’m just maintaining what I’ve built in my 20s and early 30s. I agree on the one size comment, I asked pcp about adjusting it based on height and weight but I have ACR test and another metabolic panel set up for tomorrow which I will fast for again.
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Thank you for your response. My general physician was very concerned about my creatinine levels and had me do that urinating in the container and dropping it off to LabCorp. My numbers were still high, so he referred me to a specialist. The specialist assured me nothing was wrong. I'd have to stop lifting and change nationalities for it to go back to normal - ain't happening. He had a lot of criticism for how these levels were determined safe or dangerous and the body fat index. Everyone is different from the inside out.
 
Got the updated number after at least 1 week with no creatine or leucine - 1.39 (drop from 1.59). My normal reference point is 1.2-1.35 and I am still waiting on uACR (albumin creatinine ratio). I will also get a cystatin c test at some point. The fact that it went down is promising. I was likely taking too much creatine and it’s probably still in my system. I’m thinking it may not be a bad idea to let it completely flush out and get a true no creatine basal reference point. The last time I did this was in 2020 and it was 1.1

edit: here’s the uACR result

CREATININE, RANDOM URINE
53
Reference Range: 20-320 mg/dL

ALBUMIN, URINE
0.2
Reference Range: Reference Range mg/dLNot established mg/dL

ALBUMIN/CREATININE RATIO, RANDOM URINE
4
Reference Range: <30 mg/g creat


So it seems higher serum creatine is due to creatine supplementation and muscle mass. Is it still worth getting cystatin c since the acr test is good?
 
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I tried to figure it out and it seems like you took 4 days off lifting between blood test?

Personally that wouldn’t be enough for me,…I opt for a week. I cut creatine 3 weeks or so, and take 4 grams astragalus daily for 3-4 weeks leading up. Also cut back on whey and beef. Might be overkill but it keeps the doc off my back. It’s worth it, for me. (I’ve been thru this a couple times) Like other bro mentioned above, it’s a muscle mass thing, and many doctors just don’t get it. It seems like social media etc has skewed it so much that unless you look like a pro bodybuilder, you don’t lift…lol.

My current issue is figuring how to maintain non suspicious lipids,…if I run something over the summer and have my bloods in mid to late august…anyones insight always appreciated!

Back to the creatinine, keep us posted
 
Rad83 said:
I tried to figure it out and it seems like you took 4 days off lifting between blood test?

Personally that wouldn’t be enough for me,…I opt for a week. I cut creatine 3 weeks or so, and take 4 grams astragalus daily for 3-4 weeks leading up. Also cut back on whey and beef. Might be overkill but it keeps the doc off my back. It’s worth it, for me. (I’ve been thru this a couple times) Like other bro mentioned above, it’s a muscle mass thing, and many doctors just don’t get it. It seems like social media etc has skewed it so much that unless you look like a pro bodybuilder, you don’t lift…lol.

My current issue is figuring how to maintain non suspicious lipids,…if I run something over the summer and have my bloods in mid to late august…anyones insight always appreciated!

Back to the creatinine, keep us posted
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Thanks for checking in. I took 3 days off lifting and 1 week off creatine and my number dropped from 1.59 to 1.39. I read it can take 4-6 weeks to fully flush out of the system. I’ll look of astragalus, thanks.
Since my levels dropped and eGFR is within normal range and my uACR test does not indicate any kidney damage, doc wants to get cystatin c before my next annual. They also agreed that it’s not accurate unless you are the mean size man or woman. So I will base my GFR on the adjusted number on kidney.org until tests prove otherwise.
Regarding lipids the only thing I noticed was that epiandro lowered my HDL a bit but it went back to normal after
 
Rad83 said:
What is astragaloside IV …is that equivalent or better than astragalus …?

Thanks

And to OP, I learned the hard way as well…I now take a week off before bloodwork. My doc sent me for imaging and ‘thinks’ I have ckd as well.
Click to expand...

Astragaloside IV is a particular constituent from Astragalus.

It is more known for its anti-aging/longevity benefits than anything related to kidneys.
 
kidney damage shows up first in the urine- many things can raise serum creatinine that are not representative of true kidney pathology, (fenofibrates, cimetidine, creatine, concentrate urine etc.) a urine micro albumin to creatinine ratio test will be the first place any true sign of kidney damage will show- its a simple urine test- hs CRP is many used for heart risk predictive values- its no good even after a hard training session, cystatin C is way overblown for your marginal elevation of creatinine (1.59)
 
keemteam said:
kidney damage shows up first in the urine- many things can raise serum creatinine that are not representative of true kidney pathology, (fenofibrates, cimetidine, creatine, concentrate urine etc.) a urine micro albumin to creatinine ratio test will be the first place any true sign of kidney damage will show- its a simple urine test- hs CRP is many used for heart risk predictive values- its no good even after a hard training session, cystatin C is way overblown for your marginal elevation of creatinine (1.59)
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You are right, I got that test done and it was a 4 on a “< 30” benchmark. I’m just going to add that urine test to my annual panels. I concluded I was taking too much creatine or enough to elevate it above my usual reading.
 
JD284 said:
You are right, I got that test done and it was a 4 on a “< 30” benchmark. I’m just going to add that urine test to my annual panels. I concluded I was taking too much creatine or enough to elevate it above my usual reading.
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But again, the elevated creatinine in the case of creatine usage is not a pathological result- the elevated creatinine isn't doing any damage essentially- its used a surrogate marker for kidney function and therefore impairment if elevated under normal metabolic conditions but knowing that you are taking creatine , your provider shouldn't raise an eyebrow at the result
 
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