Createnine rising 1.41 how concerned should I be?

Hi,

I’ve been type 2 for a long time, over ten years or so. I’ll be 70 soon.

I’m a vet, so yearly I go to the local VA hospital.(Just a side note, if you’re an American Viet Nam Vet and you’re type 2 you’re entitled to a pension. I didn’t know it for a long time, so I like to let other vets know.)

The VA nurse I see, who is great, mentioned concern about my rising createnine. The readings have been: Jan 2013 .68, Sep 2013 1.07, Nov 2014 1.2 , Jan 2017 1.18, July 2017 1.41

My internist has added glipizde 5 mg ½ twice a day to break down a1c. Will retest createnine in August, but I’m wondering how concerned I should be, or if there’s anything I should do in the meantime. I’m fortunate in that I have good health insurance. If the createnine is still rising, I’ve got the name of a recommended nephrologist in my area. Blood pressure has been fine. I’m on a bunch of medication.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Ideally you want to keep creatinine in the .8 to 1.2 range, and the 1.41 result is a bit high. Diabetes may well be causing this progression, but keep in mind that creatinine levels normally increase with age, and most people with age-related decline in renal function never have to go on dialysis. The best thing to do in the meantime while waiting for the next test is to keep well-hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids, keep the blood sugar as normal as you can without hypos, and monitor your blood pressure regularly. The better you can control the blood pressure the more you can slow the decline in renal function.

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Agent orange era ? I don’t know the answer to this,just a thought. Nancy

Hi, Thanks for the quick response. You’ve calmed me down quite a bit. BP is well under control and the addition of glipizide seems to have lowered my blood sugar. I do tend to worry. I recall the movie “Bridge of Spies,” where Tom Hanks, playing the lawyer asks Mark Rylance, playing the spy if he’s worried because he might get the death sentence. Not that one seeks wisdom from spies, but he answers, “Would it help?” A good general philosophy on worry.

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Nancy,
Thanks for the comment. Yes, it is believed Agent Orange might play a part in type two diabetes. Advocates for Viet Nam vets have managed to get a number of diseases considered presumptive, related to just being in country. So Viet Nam vets get approved for benefits without having to prove where they were in county, just that they were there, which a discharge will show. As I said, I mention this just to share with any other American Viet Nam vets who might be type 2 and don’t.

My older brother is pretype2, exposed to Agent Orange during that time. Thanks,

Nancy Matulis
ACB Maine member
ACBDA member,Membership Awareness Committee

Also, you might be reassured by knowing that people don’t have to go on dialysis until their creatinine goes up to from 6.0 to 8.0, depending on their symptoms.

Nancy, I hope your brother doesn’t progress, but if he ever has to take medication, I recommend he apply for VA disability immediately. Basic type 2 is considered about 20% or $260 a month, tax free. If your brother was in the jungle, he deserves every penny he should get.

Ed

Seyditz,
Thanks for much for the reassurance. I’m hoping better blood sugar control will help, too. The small dosage of glipizide has really brought down my morning glucose numbers, and doing 4 or 5 miles a week, a mile at a time, seems to be helping also.
Thanks aaing

If the renal decline progresses, some nephrologists might recommend a protein restriction diet to about 0.5 gm of protein per kg of body weight per day to preserve renal function longer. You might also be given sodium bicarbonate and slow-release potassium to correct the body’s shifting acid-base balance. But hopefully all that is a long way away.

While many patients announce in advance that they don’t want to go onto dialysis, most do, since the irrational desire to live, even at any cost, is too strong to overcome. That is why it is never good to rule out looking for a transplant, just in case.

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Seyditz, Thanks for your comments. You’ve given me some tips I hope I won’t need. I’ll be retesting the createnine soon and we’ll see where I go from there. Next step will be a nephrologist.
Thanks again,
Ed

Thought I’d make a last comment. Thanks to all who gave me advice. I said my internist was re-testing my createnine. This was not fasting and I made sure I drank a lot of water the days before and of the test.
I tested Wednesday. He called me Thursday with the results. Createnine was 1.14. He said dehydration could have caused the rise, and he sees no problem for now. So I’m relieved and grateful and appreciate the comments.

Ed

Great news.