All through our writings you would have come across this term Creatinine. I don't really know if I ever mentioned what it is. It is a rough marker which denotes the functioning of the kidney. For a normal individual it ranges from 0.6 to 1.4. Higher the creatinine, higher is the distress of the kidney, signifying greater damage and less toxic clearance. After a transplant the ideal scenario is that the creatinine value should come down to the normal range and remain there however many doctors now are comfortable and satisfied even if the creatinine is slightly higher say 1.7 or so for a donor.
Now this thing creatinine is very temperamental. If there is too less immuno-suppressant it rises, if there is too much immuno-suppressant it rises; if there is high BP it rises, if there is low BP it rises; if one does less exercise it rises, if one does too much exercise it rises etc. etc. The other important thing to keep in mind is that a reading on a specific day doesn't really matter. It is the trend over a few days / weeks which is critical. Hence our physician says "creatinine or immuno-suppresant management is an Art based on Science".
The one thing which is pretty clear is that creatinine is better if there is enough hydration of the kidney. It is very important that a recipient drinks adequate amount of water regularly. S has been trying to keep up her intake to 6 lts. She started with 4 lts, had to increase it to 5 lts and now has been asked to maintain 6 lts if possible.
Tomorrow we go again for the next round of tests. The trend had been good over the past few weeks with creatinine coming down to 1.3 levels from 1.6 but last time again it increased to 1.5. By the time we overcome the disappointment of a not so satisfactory result the next test comes up - hopefully tomorrow will be good.
Now this thing creatinine is very temperamental. If there is too less immuno-suppressant it rises, if there is too much immuno-suppressant it rises; if there is high BP it rises, if there is low BP it rises; if one does less exercise it rises, if one does too much exercise it rises etc. etc. The other important thing to keep in mind is that a reading on a specific day doesn't really matter. It is the trend over a few days / weeks which is critical. Hence our physician says "creatinine or immuno-suppresant management is an Art based on Science".
The one thing which is pretty clear is that creatinine is better if there is enough hydration of the kidney. It is very important that a recipient drinks adequate amount of water regularly. S has been trying to keep up her intake to 6 lts. She started with 4 lts, had to increase it to 5 lts and now has been asked to maintain 6 lts if possible.
Tomorrow we go again for the next round of tests. The trend had been good over the past few weeks with creatinine coming down to 1.3 levels from 1.6 but last time again it increased to 1.5. By the time we overcome the disappointment of a not so satisfactory result the next test comes up - hopefully tomorrow will be good.
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