Q: I have PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease), but no symptoms yet. I am 63 and
last time I checked serum creatinine 125. Is it possible I will not be
affected?
A: Your creatinine level is 125. It is still in normal range, but at the
highest limit. Generally patients with PKD will have high blood pressure in 30s,
high creatinine level in 40s, and kidney failure in 50s. You are 65, but your
general condition is still good, so you are already the lucky one compared to
others.
Kidneys have strong ability of functional compensation. Even you have no
symptoms, your kidney function may have been damaged. Many patients found kidney
disease when they begin to have nausea and continuous vomiting. It is too late.
When they have obvious symptoms, it is already at Renal Failure stage.
Therefore, I suggest you receive treatment early.
Apart from creatinine level, I suggest you to take other tests, especially
cystsain test and Glomerular Filtrate Rate (GFR) test for the two indexes are
more exact in reflecting the kidney function.
Cystsain is in blood test. It is more sensitive than creatinine. If kidney
function is damaged, it will increase earlier than creatinine. Even when
creatinine is still normal, the Cystsain in blood will be high. So it can help
detect kidney damage early.
GFR is short of Glomerular Filtration Rate, which reflects the function of
glomeruli. The normal range for healthy people is 100-120. For people over age
60, if GFR is over 60ml/min, it is considered ok.
All symptoms and complications mostly result from underlying renal cysts for
PKD patients. Renal cysts keep enlarging, which causes declines to renal
functions. If the tests show your renal functions decreases, you need to take
measures to control and remove renal cysts as soon as possible. Meantime, tonic
herbs for kidneys are necessary for improve your renal functions. If you still
have confusion or problem, you can mail to kidney-treatment@hotmail.com
