Does anyone know anything about kidneys/gfr? Worried!

[SaunteringDownwards]

I've been suffering with some weird health stuff for a while now and the GP did a full blood test. He called me on Monday to say my kidney GFR is 59. I'm so worried as I'm only 36 and this seems so low when the low end of normal is 60. He just told me to drink more water and we'll test again in three months. He also said there has been a decline from 81 to 76 then to 59 when looking at blood tests from the last two years but again just told me to drink more?

I'm just so shocked. No one has ever told me my kidneys don't function well and my symptoms are unrelated I think. Will this progress to kidney disease? Could it be because I was dehydrated the day of the test (I really was they had to send me to the hospital to get them done).

I just don't know what to do. I'm in such a spiral and the GP said everything else looks fine so not to worry? I think my GFR should be in the 90s for my age! I'm questioning everything I eat and drink and am so bloody anxious. I'm overweight and my cholesterol isn't great but I'm not a massive smoker or drinker and just don't know why this is happening.

Anyone with any advice or reassurance I would be SO grateful.

Initially I'd just make sure your drinking plenty of water. Sounds like your gp is watching to see what happens before putting you through loads of tests. Kidneys function fine at 59, despite be lower than normal. I'm 40, my GFR is 23 due to polycystic kidney disease and I'm still fine day to day.

A one off blood test me4ans nothing and can simply be down to dehydration. Make sure you drink plenty.

Kidneys tend to cope quite well even with slightly reduced function, your eGFR has to be really low for them to start struggling.

A low eGFR could possibly be due to dehydration on the day, how much water do you usually drink on a daily basis, what is your diet like and have you any other health issues or are you on any medications for anything, either prescribed or OTC?

Thanks so much for your reply. I don't know anyone with kidney issues and know nothing about it, so that's really helpful. I did ask him if he thought this looked like kidney disease but he said that my creatine looked normal so that seems like a good thing.

I'm definitely drinking more out of sheer panic!

I sometimes take ibuprofen but after a hellish lung infection in August I was on strong abs for a month, which I'm sure hasn't helped.

I've been going through a horrible time and had been up most of the night in tears before the test and was definitely dehydrated. Diet isn't terrible, probably too much red meat but I definitely need to drink more water instead of coffee/diet coke.

@SaunteringDownwards did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have some similar issues and would be interested to know your outcome
Hope all is well.