labs and kidney ultrasound

A lot of my posts here are just to keep a journal of what's going on.  His labs are declining.  The nephrologist called and wants to schedule an ultrasound of his kidneys as he thinks there might be a tumor.

My best guess - it's his heart.  Here's why I say that.

His last labs were 1/18.  Current labs were 4/13.

BUN jumped from 26 to 36.  Normal is 7 - 23.  It's been as high as 63 in the past!  It's the test for blood in the urine and normally means either there is something blocking the kidneys, you are exercising too much, or your heart is not pumping enough blood through the kidneys.

His A1c is 8.3

Microalbumin, ur, detection limit should be under 30.  His is 966.  But that's down form 2039.  Yes, you read that right!

Microalbumin/creatinine should be under 30.  It's 720.5.  Again, that's down from 2368 two years ago.

Protein, UA, ql should be negative, his is 2+.  But that's down from 3+.

I have been charting his labs since 11/16/04 on a spreadsheet on my laptop.  I wish the doctors would just sit and go back over where he's been in the past 14 years.  This BUN is actually pretty good.  For him.  But I also am more and more aware that he is now 8 years post bypass surgery and we should expect to see more heart issues popping up.  I'm also aware that he is taking his nitroglycerin again.....and he has not told any of his doctors that he's doing that!

Most days I just shake my head and forge ahead!  His GFR is down to 40%, but of course it's been down to 0 in the past.    While 40% kidney function is pretty good, the other labs are an indication that they (kidneys) are not filtering the waste properly.

Who knew I'd become such a pro at reading labs over the years?  I cringe when I ask someone else what their GFR is and they have no clue what I'm talking about!  Perhaps all of us should take heed to and pay better attention to our labs and get to know what they mean.  It sure can't hurt!

DW