Can the gym affect your eGFR?

[ScrapheapHuman]

Not sure if that's a silly question or not, but just wondering if someone did weights and circuit training, they are obviously going to create muscle, not entirely sure on the science bit, but I know it affects your creatinine, so if creatinine is a factor in calculating your eGFR and your eGFR drops as a result, how do they guage what is your 'kidneys' and what is just the result of working out?

Also, if an increase in creatinine is bad, and working out increases it, how do you keep fit and healthy? I am not a 'runner' type of person, I can't stand all the cross trainer machines, stationary bike, they bore the *ahem* out of me. I love doing circuit training as it involves a lot of cardio and weights, it' quick and no time to get bored.

I did speak to my consultant last year about it and the only advice he gave me was not to do ISO holds (things like a plank)

[Tibbs]

In short, yes.

There was (is?) a poster here called dirverd who used to cycle a lot and do triathlons etc. I seem to remember a post where he had to stop cycling to appointments/dialysis (or working out before he went or something) because it was messing up his creatinine results.

Not sure how long before an appointment you need to refrain though.

If you do a search on his username, you should be able to find relevant info.

[ScrapheapHuman]

Thank you - Just seems so funny that they say exercise is good for you... LOL!

[Tibbs]

It's still good for you, just not the accuracy of their readings!

[cazpi]

I did speak to my consultant last year about it and the only advice he gave me was not to do ISO holds (things like a plank)

I do the plank every day, and my egfr has been stable for a good year, imo any small increases in creatinine are counteracted by the increase in overall fitness, blood results may be a bit adrift, but the underlying trend and/or rate of decline should be still ascertainable.

[wagolynn]

As I understand creatinine, it is relatively constant, and in proportion to muscle mass. Muscle mass changes over weeks rather than days, therefore there is no need to change any routine, not even the day before a blood test. Unless you were trying to 'cheat' but I cannot imagine who would benefit from cheating.

[ScrapheapHuman]

As I understand creatinine, it is relatively constant, and in proportion to muscle mass. Muscle mass changes over weeks rather than days, therefore there is no need to change any routine, not even the day before a blood test. Unless you were trying to 'cheat' but I cannot imagine who would benefit from cheating.

I understand what you are saying, I was advised by my consultant to leave it about a day before having a blood test but that was because of protein levels.

It is so difficult, I was on a fitness site and posted a question about aching muscles and was told to and I quote 'Over eat on Protein. you cannot have too much protein!' I then got a very rude reply back when I explained that I have kidney disease and in actual fact I can have 'too much'

I really hate kidneys sometimes, why do they have to do so much?! These piddly little things and the general public know so little about them, and think "Oh yeah, kidneys, well at least it's not your heart or liver" Cor I could punch them people sometimes LOL!

[wagolynn]

They were wrong anyway, you can have too much protein with health kidneys. The chances of getting kidney stones goes up by 250 times, as calcium, presumably from bones, is used to correct the blood ph. Research work in animals suggests excess protein consumption reduces life span. However, when muscle is being created some extra will be required, the rest will get thrown over the side.

[Jason1976]

I was told by my doc that light to moderate exercise was OK, and even doing weights 3-4 times/week never affected my creatinine/eGFR by much. I think when your creatinine is still low then you don't need to worry that much, its only when you advance to later stages (when I started going >300) then I was put on a low protein diet and I stopped going to the gym completely. I completely lost motivation, not being to consume much protein I also saw a rapid loss in muscle mass the past 6 months. I'm hoping at some point post-transplant that I will start gym again slowly, probably light cardio to keep myself in shape.