Lab results from the previous test are available online. Here is a three month history of my Renal Panel:

Test	Normal Range	12/12/2019	1/16/2020*	2/13/2020
Albumin	3.6 – 5.1	3.7 g/dL	4.3 g/dL	4.1 g/dL
Calcium	8.6 – 10.3	8 mg/dL	8.7 mg/dL	8.7 mg/dL
Potassium	3.5 – 5.3	4.6 mmol/L	4.8 mmol/L	5 mmol/L
Phosphorus	3.5 – 5.5	4.1 mg/dL	4.2 mg/dL	4.8 mg/dL
Urea Nitrogen (BUN)	7 – 25	34 mg/dL	33 mg/dL	45 mg/dL
Glucose	65 – 99	123 mg/dL	172 mg/dL	106 mg/dL
Creatinine	0.7 – 1.3	9.81 mg/dL	9.71 mg/dL	9.61 mg/dL
eGFR (non-African American)	> 60	5	6	6
Urea Reduction Ratio (URR)	> 65%	64.7%	65%	62.2%

Since I was on peritoneal dialysis prior to December 2019, test results are probably not comparable. Most numbers are comparable month-to-month except for the URR. I mentioned previously that dialysis clearance was low this month. The nurse told my nephrologist today that the dialysis machine was alarming several times on 2/13/2020, which may affect the clearance test results. I think they are going to retest this Thursday so hopefully the number comes up.

Even on dialysis, my eGFR is 5-6. I think the best it’s been was 11 when they tested my blood in the ER on 12/14/2019. I think the results in the table above are from before dialysis so the number is two days after dialysis. The 11 number was right after ~3 hours of dialysis so maybe the number is 12-13 if I completed my 3.5 hours session. Dialysis is supposed to give you a GFR of ~15 so that’s pretty close.

I just noticed that a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel was done on blood samples from 1/16/2020 and 1/24/2020. I don’t know how much results should vary from week to week but here’s a comparison of a few tests:

Test	Normal Range	1/16/2020	1/24/2020
Albumin	3.6 – 5.1	4.3 g/dL	3.9 g/dL
Calcium	8.6 – 10.3	8.7 mg/dL	8.9 mg/dL
Potassium	3.5 – 5.3	4.8 mmol/L	5.9 mmol/L
Urea Nitrogen (BUN)	7 – 25	33 mg/dL	29 mg/dL
Glucose	65 – 99	172 mg/dL	100 mg/dL
Creatinine	0.7 – 1.3	9.71 mg/dL	7.91 mg/dL
eGFR (non Afr-American)	> 60	6	7

Even though both test results were called Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, some of the items tested were different. I’ve left out a bunch of stuff that were within normal range on both days. Parathyroid Hormone and Hemoglobin A1C results from 1/16/2020 were separate tests outside of the CMP tests. The one result my cardiologist was concerned about was the high potassium number, which was normal a week ago. I wasn’t fasting on either of the test days so not sure if that matters. On 1/24/2020 I had a piece of bread plus a cup of almond milk for breakfast, and there was no food log from 1/16/2020. Another difference was the sample from 1/24/2020 were taken right after cardiac rehab, and exercise may increase potassium levels in some people by 0.9 mmol/L.

The glucose number was high on 1/16/2020, but typically my results are much lower while fasting. Most sources have 70 – 130 as normal for diabetic patients while fasting. Finally, the creatinine and eGFR numbers are way off since the normal ranges shown are for non-ESRD people. Interestingly, the sample from 1/16/2020 were taken prior to dialysis on a Thursday, and the 1/24/2020 results were taken on a Friday, basically a day after dialysis. Looks like dialysis does clear some creatinine but poorly compared to a regular kidney.

Looking over the Cardiac Rehab goals, I am slightly over on the cholesterol numbers. However, I only had results from over three years ago and since I’ve lost a lot of weight, the numbers should have improved. I just received results from a lipid panel taken last Friday.

Test	Normal Range	Results
HDL Cholestrol	> 40 mg/dL	55 mg/dL
Total Cholestrol	< 200 mg/dL	99 mg/dL
Non-HDL Cholestrol	< 130 mg/dL	44 mg/dL
Cholesterol/HDLC Ratio	< 5.0	1.8
LDL Cholestrol	< 70 mg/dL*	28 mg/dL
Triglycerides	> 150 mg/dL	81 mg/dL

This is the first time in a long time that every category in a lab test came back within normal range. However, I’ve been on the maximum daily dosage of Rosuvastatin (Crestor) for a long time. Maybe I can get someone to cut that to 20 mg.

They also did a comprehensive metabolic panel and a lot of those numbers were out-of-range. My creatinine was 7.91 mg/dL which corresponds to a eGFR of 8. I can’t find normal ranges for patients on dialysis but I feel those number should be better. I though my nephrologist said dialysis give you about 15% kidney function. My potassium numbers are also high at 5.9 mmol/L; it was only 4.8 mmol/L about two weeks ago.

These test were primarily ordered by my cardiologist. I’m not sure what they were looking for but their office called me to let me know my lipid panel results were excellent.