Hi everyone - I've been a TuD user for a couple of years, and have really enjoyed it. I live in a smaller city in AZ and was traveling to Phoenix to see an endo. Last couple of years they kept sticking me with the PA instead of the endo, and we recently got an endo here so I switched to him.
The good news is my new guy is great! Conscientious, eager, and involved. The bad news is he told me today that I have Stage 2 nephropathy, that my eGFR is 81 and should be over 90, so in the beginning stages. Have been Type 1 for 30 years now, and this is my first real complication, so I'm just kind of reeling. Not a shock by any means, but hard to hear that it's really happening. He told me to start really limiting my sodium intake (but how to live without bacon???) and to stay more hydrated. Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself as a new member of this group and see if anyone has any words of wisdom.
Do you have any symptoms? Last year my eGFR was 62 and I was rather surprised and worried. Of course I'm much older than you and age can be a factor too. I've had diabetes for 20 years. My endo told me we would watch it but nothing more than that.
Hope your stage 2 does not evolve rapidly. And that any complications stay away from you! wishing you my best!
I recently gathered copies of my recent lab results and ordered a few missing ones from my old endo. After charting it out, it appears I've been in the 80-something range for years, but my endo never even mentioned it! So maybe the fact that it's stable is helpful after 31 years of it, not sure. My only complication that's symptomatic is mild neuropathy. I've been eating low-sodium for a few weeks now, so we'll see what my next labs in December show. I've heard that even just tightening up BG control (my home kit A1C last week showed down to 6.3 - yea!) can help, although it's not uncommon to feel a little worse for a few weeks/months I guess. Oh my, isn't this fun? Thank you for responding, it's nice to have someone out there and I wish you the best as well.
Keep a couple of things in mind. The "e" in eGFR stands for estimated. And it is especially not always that great for smaller people, especially women. And many labs and docs don't really care about the eGFR unless it is less than 60. My lab doesn't even give a number if it is above 60.
And as for the "stages", they aren't really that helpful. To be honest, there was probably about 20 years between my being in stage 2 (and the stages didn't exits in those days) and dialysis. And that was in the days before ACE and ARBs and all sorts of other things.
it is possible that with some care and luck, whatever tiny amount of kidney issues you have may stay stable for the bulk of your life.
To just give a bit of background, I was dxd in '66, had protein in my urine in '77, went on dialysis in 2001 and got my currently working kidney from my cousin in 2002. Just celebrated my dozen year anniversary with it and I'm doing quite well. So take heart, you are going to be ok.
Thank you, Cora - your words have comforted me more than I can say. I'm all for having a new doc who is aggressive about maintaining control, especially since I've gone through "auto-pilot" periods where I wasn't as diligent as I should be. And I do take Lisinopril, he upped my dose to 10mg/day. I'm hopeful that watching my sodium and staying better hydrated might show better numbers next round. I'll keep in touch, and my thoughts are with you. Almost 50 years with it for you! I hope you apply to Joslin for a 50-year certificate...got my 25 a few years ago!
Doing well, thanks for asking! A couple of years ago I got a new endocrinologist who was not alarmed about my kidney numbers since I am in my mid-50s. I’m now on a CGM with my pump and my numbers are about the same bur stable. Hope you are also doing well.
