Bun Creatinine ratio

NYER · 07-06-2007, 11:20 PM

Hi,

I've been on Met 4 mos., and had the urine creatinine checked & my bun/creatinine ratio came back low. Does anyone know what this means? My endoc wants me to retest because here's what they did:

I had creatinine & cortisol testing at the same time. She gave me two jugs, and I put urine in one, then she told me to split it into both jugs (one for the creatinine & one for cortisol). So endoc. thinks it wasn't enough of a sample. I'm wondering why if it's a 24 hr. thing and since it's all mixed together, won't that give an avg. no matter how much?

I also saw on another thread about discarding morning urine and then continuing till next morning. What I did (because no one mentioned anything like this to me) was I just started as soon as I got home (late morning) and continued till the same time the following day. Did I do this completely wrong??

Thanks

Wendy

JosieFB · 07-07-2007, 12:13 AM

If your Bun/Creatinine ratio is low, it means that you kidneys are not clearing the creatinine from your blood like they should.

During routine bloodwork, my serum creatinine showed up high. Usually a woman's goes down as she ages, and at my age, it should be about .9 but was showing 1.1 or 1.2. They made me do a 24-hour urine test 6 months ago, and said my Bun/Creatinine ratio was at the very low end of normal. They suggested I stop all NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Aleve, Aspirin, etc.) and drink more water, and I did. I repeated again last week, and it was still low. Looking back at old bloodwork results, the creatinine in my blood jumped up after I started met. Met is cleared through the kidneys, and I think it makes the kidneys have to work extra hard to do their normal job too. For the test I was instructed to discard the first urine of the morning at the beginning of the test and keep the first urine of the morning at the end of the test. I missed collecting urine a couple of times during the 24 period (it would be TMI to explain why), but the nurse told me that normally does not affect the test.

They want me to repeat the test again in two months. They told me to continue to avoid NSAIDs and alcohol, watch my blood pressure (which is controlled by meds and runs low normal) and lose weight (they ALWAYS say that).

One thing that can caused reduce kidney function is the overuse of NSAIDs and I've probably done that for years during my period. I've always had terrible cramps. Although I did not want to take BCPs due to a horrible family history of breast cancer, my gyn said I should so that I would not have to take painkillers during my period. She suggested I take BCPs for about a year, and then go off them to see the monthly pain had gotten any better.

NYER · 07-07-2007, 08:48 AM

Hi Josie,

I do drink tons of water and wasn't taking nsaids. I did plan on starting baby aspirin because I'm having another early m/c wanted to see if that helps. I wonder if that's ok. My creatinine level was fine, just the ratio. My endoc was suppose to call me back which she didn't & I didn't follow up because of what was going on. Met has helped me enormously, but boy is it scary to take sometimes.

Thanks for your help.

JosieFB · 07-07-2007, 06:46 PM

The doctor told me not to worry about low dosage aspirin. I specifically asked because I take one a day.

NYER · 07-07-2007, 09:12 PM

Thanks so much Josie. That's a relief!