Elevated Creatinine

[probneurotic]

I know there are no doctors on the forum, but this is to anyone that can help.  I have had type 1 for about a year and a half and have had my A1C's below 6 almost the entire time (except like the first two).  I am SUPER vigilent about testing and keeping my numbers good.  I went to the doctor last week and my Serum Creatinine came back elevated at 1.6 (usually 1.3-1.4 for the past 8-9 months) and they want me to do a 24hr. Urine for protein.  I had kidney stones about 10 months ago and there was no protein then and they said my kidneys were doing great.  My eyes are fine and am otherwise pretty healthy.  My blood pressure has been normal the entire time.  I am worried sick now that I am in the beginning stages of Diabetic Nephropathy in spite of being super vigilent about my control.  They also are having my do a renal sonagram for more stones, and I had been taking a bunch of advil the week of my checkup for headaches.  Maybe dehydration?  I drink a lot of coffee and hardely any water at all.  I am hoping these other things caused the elevation, but feel like all the work in controlling my diabetes has been useless if my kidneys are still going downhill.  Doing my 24 hr Urine on Sunday (so I can stay home all day.)  Any advice out there?  Just worried

[JDRF-Team-cg]

Hi Probneurotic,

I first want to say I applaud your vigielnce with regards to your control,being a Type 1 diabetic for 30 years it will definitely help you to maintain a complication free life.



I understand your concerns about neuropathy and renal disease but I think you need to call your endocrinologist regarding your fears. I am not a doctor I am just a volunteer but it sounds like your doctor is doing all the correct preventive care. From the research I have done on the internet normal range for Serum Creatinine is <2.0 for men and < 2.8 for women.

There can be several reasons why this level may be elevated some examples other than nephropathy may be recent major exercise,fever,urinary tract infection, and menstruation.

But again your doctor knows your medical background and can give you reasons why this value may be elevated. Please do not feel your hard work in controlling your diabetes has been for nothing. Keep it up.



Let me know how your test come out.

Carolyn

[JDRF Team SGG]

From what I have read, the 24-hour test is really much more accurate than the random creatine test. Maybe this is a nudge to make you lighten up on the coffee and drink more water, though. Your a1c numbers are pretty much in the non-diabetic range, so it would seem unlikely that your kidneys truly could be damaged by diabetes. It is not the disease itself that damages kidneys and other organs, but long-time elevated glucose levels. Of course we cannot know what the tests will show until they are done, but my gut feeling is to encourage you not to worry over-much. You seem to be doing ALL the right things (except maybe too much coffee and too little water) to protect your organs. And research has proven that keeping the a1c low does help prevent complications. Hang in there and try to relax. My bet is that your test will come out fine. Do let us know how this goes for you. Your vigilence is worthwhile, believe me. I have been diabetic for 36 years, and have kept as tightly controlled as possible, and there are no complications. It does make a difference to keep those glucose levels comfortably low.

[kidnee]

What is the correlation between coffee and creatinine?? I can't find any info on that anywhere? Is ther eany documented articles regarding coffee and creatinine? I agree with what you are saying, I would like to know the relation between the coffee and the creatinine?
Thanx.

[triskit82]

I don't know if there is a specific relationship between coffee consumption and elevated creatine levels. But not drinking enough water will definitely put a strain on the kidneys. They already have such big job, it's important to support them by drinking lots of water ;)

We don't want to overwork our bodies. Water is also essential for proper muscle function.

I'm a coffee drinker myself, but I try to limit to 1/day. Some days I have none, some I have 2 or 3. But I drink a lot of water! All day long.