Frothy Urine, but no protein

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Hal
Posts: 617
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:56 am
Location: Liverpool, UK

Frothy Urine, but no protein

Post by Hal »

Hi all,

Hope you are all well.

Does anyone else get frothy urine, but there is no protein in it?

I've had my transplant for over 18 months now and everything is going well. I've always worried that my urine is a bit frothy, but when it gets tested at clinic there is no protein - obviously great :)

Anyway, I've decided rightly or wrongly that its been a bit more frothy over the last few days... which gets me worrying although I'm not panicking and going on the basis there is no protein in it.

Going to clinic in a couple of weeks, so will see what they say then... but does anyone else have this with no protein?

If so, do you know what is causing it?

Thanks,

Hal.
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bigbuzzard
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Post by bigbuzzard »

I do get frothy urine. Recently I've also had higher protein than usual, which is causing a little concern, as the haven't worked out what's causing it yet. But I think this also happened before the protein went up dramatically - though there's always been at least a trace there in the dipstick tests.

Not much help I'm afraid, sorry!
Cheryl in CT
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Location: Connecticut, USA

Post by Cheryl in CT »

Nothing to add, guys, but Hal, I'm so glad to see you! Hope you're doing well, hope the job's going well, etc, etc, etc. I miss you!

Best to your family, too!

love,
Cheryl
Hal
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Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:56 am
Location: Liverpool, UK

Post by Hal »

Thanks for the replies guys.

Keith - thats all very helpful thanks. To be honest, I'm quite happy to go on the basis if its not protein, then I'm definitely not worrying!

I am under increased stress at the moment, with the demands of work and studying for exams... so that may account for some of it.

Was thinking of testing myself, so those strips might be a good buy.. although I'll have to make sure I don't get obsesses with doing it!


Cheryl - thanks for the message, hope you and family are doing well. Family and I are doing well here :)


Hal.
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nickp
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Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:53 am
Location: West London, UK

Post by nickp »

Hi Hal,

I have read in the past it can be due to the velocity of the urine. Faster / more forcefull flow of urine traps more air as it contacts water.
Renal failure due to Alports
1995 - 2004: CAPD & APD
2004 - Present: EPS due to long term APD, causing Intestinal failure > On Home TPN
2004 - Present: Haemodialysis via AV fistula
The Great Gildersleeve
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:19 pm

Post by The Great Gildersleeve »

My cholestorol is very high, my consultants blame the condition I have and that it leaks into the system. However they are not overly concerned and said they'd worry only if it goes on for a year or two. My diet has not been restricted. The tablets Predisolone and Azathioprine are working again(and so far they have been reducing the doseage of Prednisolone again)

Frothy urine. I have been told that it can be the speed that it hits the water in the toilet bowl and/or I have also thought myself the toilet cleaner can affect how much there seems to be.

I can go days with hardly any froth at all and other times see an increase that looks like a little island sitting in the water. I have been told not to pay too much attention to froth on the water.

Yes, it can seem to be more when I eat things like chicken, fish or meat(I avoid red meat)but I have told them what my diet is and mentioned I eat fruit, vegetables, fish and chicken and I've been told eat a varied diet and carry on.

So my situation seems to match all that has been said on here.

I am regularly tested for full blood count, bone, liver and another couple of tests and they check my albumen too. And blood pressure too. And so far they say my blood pressure has been of late as good as a person with normal function. And to the other tests they have used terms such as excellent.

I hope this is positive news for everyone regarding their conditions.
MikeyD66
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:10 pm
Location: Nogales, Sonora

Re: Frothy Urine, but no protein

Post by MikeyD66 »

Hal wrote:Hi all,

Hope you are all well.

Does anyone else get frothy urine, but there is no protein in it?

I've had my transplant for over 18 months now and everything is going well. I've always worried that my urine is a bit frothy, but when it gets tested at clinic there is no protein - obviously great :)

Anyway, I've decided rightly or wrongly that its been a bit more frothy over the last few days... which gets me worrying although I'm not panicking and going on the basis there is no protein in it.

Going to clinic in a couple of weeks, so will see what they say then... but does anyone else have this with no protein?

If so, do you know what is causing it?

Thanks,

Hal.

Hello Hal,


I myself have frothy urine, and am going to have my urine checked tomorrow. By the way, I seem healthy, never had more than one kidney stone (from too much coffee drinking) , do not have edema, loss of appetite, or any weight loss unprovoked by exercise.


My analysis will be reported here, as someone may be bothered somewhat with something like this.



Long ago, when I was only 19, after a beer drinking night, it would be frothy urine a few times at least after.




No more beer drinking or other alcohol nowadays for me, as a member in good standing of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints.





As longs as the urine is protein free, not much to worry about.
MDWhite MD
bluemoon
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:36 pm
Location: North Yorks

Post by bluemoon »

Hi,

I am seven years post transplant and have always had frothy urine. At one point I would examine my urine in great detail; ie how frothy it was, quantity, output, colour etc.

At clinic I was told in no uncertain terms that this is nothing to worry about and it depends upon how one pees (!) as to how frothy it is...
Jim
MikeyD66
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:10 pm
Location: Nogales, Sonora

Post by MikeyD66 »

bluemoon wrote:Hi,

I am seven years post transplant and have always had frothy urine. At one point I would examine my urine in great detail; ie how frothy it was, quantity, output, colour etc.

At clinic I was told in no uncertain terms that this is nothing to worry about and it depends upon how one pees (!) as to how frothy it is...
Well, certainly I have given it a thought, but it is too often, in too many places, and the froth does not go away, it even made froth when I took my mid stream sample this morning, and the container was close, too close for gravity to play a large role, and I do not urinate with the same force like I used to.



In any case, my urine test will help me know what to do, and the results will be posted here, so anyone with similar results could see if it is/not important at all.


Mike
MDWhite MD
Shawn
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:35 am
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by Shawn »

Frothy yes! Got half a kidney with a tumour on it but rising kidney function. Never been told anything about diet by my doctors. :?

While on the subject of pee :D
If I have a large salad from Morrison's ( nearly all pasta) I can smell ketones really strongly just like when I used to do the Atkins diet, whats that all about?
MikeyD66
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:10 pm
Location: Nogales, Sonora

Post by MikeyD66 »

Keith Elliott wrote:Hi Mike (mikeyd66)

I wondered if you ever got your frothy urine results back and, if so, whether you reached any conclusions.

My current thinking of frothy urine (for my specific case) is that I have two types :

1. Very foamy (tiny bubbles): this I think relates to microalbumin - more physical than diabetic
2. Very frothy (huge bubbles) : this I think relates to PO4 spilling from my leaky kidney tx (frothiness gets worse as serum PO4 gets lower)

PO4 leakage isn't great when added to bone buffering (to deal with the rt acidosis) as its making me fairly hypophosphatemic (po4 <0.5 these days and falling).. so I'm hoping Father Christmas won't be bringing me rickets this year. At least I'm off pred at last!

Anyway .. it would be great to hear what you discovered ..

tc

Keith

Hello Keith,


All my results from the urine test were in normal ranges, except for microalbuminuria. There was just a little of albumin in the urine that makes it frothy.


Now, doing exercise, having high blood pressure, and a few more things can cause albumin to come out in urine, and the worst is kidney damage from diabetes. Now I am sure of my health in terms of disease states like diabetes. I am prone to have high blood pressure, but it is well under control, just by keeping slim, with 11.0% body fat.



So, there should be no cause to worry unless the albumin level rises, and also unless someone begins to loose weight quickly.




Merry Greetings for this season, to you and all the family.
MDWhite MD
jdwindle
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 10:19 pm

Re: Frothy Urine, but no protein

Post by jdwindle »

I hope all is well, this post was from years ago but am I correct in saying it was

Renal Tube Damage - most likely from renal tubular acidosis

If only renal tubules are damaged such as in case of renal tubular acidosis, the amount of protein in urine usually less than 1-2g per day since glomeruli can prevent the passing of middle molecular and macromolecular proteins.

In short you wont see lots of bubbles, but you will not see lots of protein.
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