Creatinine & eGFR

[Strengthandlibido]

As I feared would happen, my creatinine and eGFR levels are getting worse while on even low doses of testosterone.

02/12/2021 pre-TRT
Creatinine 1.10 ML/MIN/1.73, 0.80-1.40
eGFR African American 93 ML/MIN/1.73, >60
eGFR non-African Amer 81 ML/MIN/1.73, >60

11/06/2021 pre-TRT
Creatinine 1.36 mg/dL, 0.80-1.40
eGFR African American 72 ML/MIN/1.73, >60
eGFR non-African Amer 62 ML/MIN/1.73, >60

02/15/2022 post-TRT
Creatinine 1.61 mg/dL, 0.80-1.40 ABOVE HIGH NORMAL
eGFR 53 ML/MIN/1.73, >60 BELOW LOW NORMAL
*Not differentiated between African American and non-African American

This was the result of just 10 mg/day and I recently went up to 60 mg/3.5 days, so I imagine my kidneys will just look even worse last time. I used to blast and cruise and stopped largely because my eGFR numbers were abysmal. It looks like normal TRT is beating them up pretty good too.

 

[Deleted member 43589]

Here is a very good posting from Nelson Vergel on this subjecrt

Can Testosterone Replacement Affect Kidneys?

A study done in rats showed that higher total and free testosterone blood levels produced by testosterone treatment were associated with higher creatinine and lower creatinine clearance Creatinine is a chemical waste product that's produced by your muscle metabolism and to a smaller extent...

www.excelmale.com

 

[Strengthandlibido]

Here is a very good posting from Nelson Vergel on this subjecrt

Can Testosterone Replacement Affect Kidneys?

A study done in rats showed that higher total and free testosterone blood levels produced by testosterone treatment were associated with higher creatinine and lower creatinine clearance Creatinine is a chemical waste product that's produced by your muscle metabolism and to a smaller extent...

www.excelmale.com

Thanks. The last few lines address my situation.

"Normal eGFR are those above 60 ml/min. If your GFR is under 60 ml/min, please consult your doctor.


"Note: Creatinine clearance reductions of under 60 ml/min are rare in men using testosterone replacement therapy, but always keep an eye on this important parameter!"

My eGFR is well under 60, and my endo prefers that I stop.

 

[sammmy]

Creatinine blood test can be also increased if you take Creatine or if you eat a lot of protein and do the test several hours later:

Case Report: How the use of creatine supplements can elevate serum creatinine in the absence of underlying kidney pathology

 

[TRicker]

My creatinine has been high and eGFR has been low for several years. My doctor said that it was from eating a lot of protein and having more muscle mass/muscle metabolism, and he said I shouldn't be concerned. But now I'm seriously second guessing his opinion.
Are there supplements for aiding kidney health?

 

[sammmy]

Stop all the protein and creatine supplements and see if your creatinine test goes down in a few weeks, which would indicate normal kidney function.

I would also recommend reading the Learning Points at the very end of the article.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Get this test to see if in fact you have something going on

Cystatin C Test

Learn about the cystatin c test with EGFR and its importance in kidney function assessment. Buy your own Cystatin C test on Discounted Labs to make sure your kidneys are healthy.

www.discountedlabs.com

The Cystatin C Blood Test​

The cystatin C blood test is used to monitor kidney function in people experiencing or suspected to have, kidney disease (1). If a physician suspects that you’re suffering from impaired kidney function they will likely order a cystatin C blood test.

The cystatin C test can be done instead of the creatinine or creatinine clearance test in cases where those tests aren’t appropriate (2), such as:

• In patients with cirrhosis
• Cases of morbid obesity
• Malnourishment
• Reduced or more than "normal" amount of muscle mass
• Patients taking creatine supplements that are increasing their creatinine and decreasing their estimated creatinine clearance (eGFR)

Since the concentration of cystatin C in the blood will not change due to infection or inflammation and isn’t affected by body weight, lean mass, drugs or diet - cystatin C level could be a more reliable indicator of kidney health than creatinine (2). On the other hand, creatinine has been shown to be affected by higher body weight and lean mass.

Testing for cystatin may also be useful to detect kidney disease early when the affected person isn’t experiencing many (if any) symptoms, and other test results are normal.

 

[JimGainz]

Do what Nelson suggested and use that number on the National kidney foundation website to check your real eGFR. In fact you can go there now and use your actual body mass and the result will be a lot higher. (EGFR is based on a body mass of 150lbs). For reference I have had high creatinine for years and my eGFR was around 60 or a tad below. When using the formula with Cystatin C (which is the most accurate) along with my real body weight of 210 the eGFR is really 90.

 

[Deleted member 43589]

Jeez, I am going round and round with my cardiologist over this exact same subject right now. I did comprehensive metabolic panel last month and my creatine was high. I eat 245g/day protein, train very intensely have a lot of muscle packed on and use probably 10g of creatine on a daily basis. I am 248lbs and 65 years old with a very low body fat (<10%). Here are my creatine levels over the years
Creatinine
2010
1.30 (0.70-1.25)
2017
1.68
2020
1.60
1.32
2021
1.21
1.26
1.35
1.37

2022
1.70

BUN levels are all over the board as well from normal to high. I stay very hydrated and drink on the average 1g of water each day. Workout day even more. eGFR is all over the board too from 43 to 63 to 41 back and forth.

Last 7 weeks ago I stopped the UG test undeconate I was taking and my PC put me on test cyp @ 200mg each 10 days, I got back a serum T level of 2103. So I cut it to 100mg every 10 days.
I told my cardiologist that instead of wasting any more money on a creatinine clearance test I will take a Cystatin C.

 

[JimGainz]

Jeez, I am going round and round with my cardiologist over this exact same subject right now. I did comprehensive metabolic panel last month and my creatine was high. I eat 245g/day protein, train very intensely have a lot of muscle packed on and use probably 10g of creatine on a daily basis. I am 248lbs and 65 years old with a very low body fat (<10%). Here are my creatine levels over the years
Creatinine
2010
1.30 (0.70-1.25)
2017
1.68
2020
1.60
1.32
2021
1.21
1.26
1.35
1.37

2022
1.70

BUN levels are all over the board as well from normal to high. I stay very hydrated and drink on the average 1g of water each day. Workout day even more. eGFR is all over the board too from 43 to 63 to 41 back and forth.

Last 7 weeks ago I stopped the UG test undeconate I was taking and my PC put me on test cyp @ 200mg each 10 days, I got back a serum T level of 2103. So I cut it to 100mg every 10 days.
I told my cardiologist that instead of wasting any more money on a creatinine clearance test I will take a Cystatin C.

That’s a good strategy. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how much the Cystatin C raises your eGFR. Remember to plug in the values, including body weight, on the Kidney Foundation website when you get your results to determine your real eGFR.

 

[Belekas]

Thank you for the info guys and will be doing Cystatin C test with all my labs soon. Been eating tons of protein as well over the years but never was a heavy weight. Also had a lot of bad habits in my youth which might have effected some as well. Be interesting to see eGFR results on the Kidney Foundation website once I have Cystatin C result.

 

[tareload]

Will post up a head to head creatinine, Cystatin C and eGFR when I get all the results. Same general trend here. Solid thread.

eGFR Calculator

www.kidney.org

 

[t_spacemonkey]

my personal egfr is hovering from something like 90 low to 112 high. 44y male.
it always goes lower on a high protein/creatine/gym workout routine. but if I reach 112 otherwise, it is way above the normal range for most men my age.

 

[tareload]

Test C, Tren A, Oxandrolone

Well time to start logging my next blast (5th cycle/blast). I start next Wednesday Test C @ 210 mg/wk, pin EOD, wk 1-9 Tren A @ 175 mg/wk, pin ED, wk 1-9 Oxandrolone @ 50 mg/day, wk 3-9 HCG @ 500 IU/wk, pin EOD wk 1-…

forums.t-nation.com

Summer Blast and Coming Off 2 Years of Tren

Do you see any reason someone couldn’t DIY an apparatus to do this at home? I mean they are using really cold pads on body parts for like an hour. Seems like if you could achieve the coldness, you could do it at home, for not thousands of dollars.

forums.t-nation.com

Influence of Muscle Mass and Physical Activity on Serum and Urinary Creatinine and Serum Cystatin C - PMC

Background and objectives: For addressing the influence of muscle mass on serum and urinary creatinine and serum cystatin C, body composition was assessed by skinfold thickness measurement and bioelectrical impedance analyses. Design, setting, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Clarifying the confusion of GFRs, creatinine, and cystatin C

Because measurements of GFR are tedious, estimated GFRs based on creatinine or cystatin C are widely used for assessing kidney function. Both measured GFRs and the...

acutecaretesting.org

Serum creatine kinase levels and renal function measures in exertional muscle damage - PubMed

Exertional muscle damage produced by eccentric exercise in healthy individuals can cause profound CK and Mb elevations without renal impairment.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Belekas]

Will post up a head to head creatinine, Cystatin C and eGFR when I get all the results. Same general trend here. Solid thread.

eGFR Calculator

www.kidney.org

View attachment 28295

Thanks Brother. I will do the same EOM. Respect!

 

[tareload]

Hot off the press thanks to @Nelson Vergel 's DiscountedLabs.com.

Huge difference in eGFR.

From Kidney.org website calculator:

For those of you guys running on the fence with eGFR based on creatinine you can get a Cystatin C based eGFR for 40 bucks with Nelson's service. Fantastic service by the way.

If you are bigger person, eat a lot of protein, and/or creatine, run the Cystatin C test and let's compare with creatinine based eGFR. Isn't this fun?

 

[Deleted member 43589]

How unmeasured muscle mass affects estimated GFR and diagnostic inaccuracy​

How unmeasured muscle mass affects estimated GFR and diagnostic inaccuracy - PubMed

Serum creatinine and eGFR are imperfect estimates of true renal function, with systemic errors from muscle mass, tubular secretion, and intrinsic proportional bias; and additional inaccuracy at the extremes of renal function and patient muscularity. Cautious interpretation of eGFR results in the...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov