Hi everyone. I’m feeling a bit lost regarding my recent lab results, and searching online hasn’t provided much clarity. My concerns are primarily about my e-GFR and a few other values that are slightly off but might still be okay. Just a heads-up: please don’t suggest I contact my doctor; I’m already waiting for a response, but despite my attempts to follow up via phone and email, the specialist hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I’d appreciate any insights you might have on what these results could mean; I’ve linked them below. Essential details: I’m a 19-year-old female, non-smoker, non-drinker, and I don’t use drugs. I get about 8 hours of sleep, work out often, and have a healthy BMI (162cm, 50kg). I’ve seen several specialists for my symptoms and was told it could be an autoimmune issue, though my blood counts are mostly normal and standard autoimmune screenings were negative. Imgur: The magic of the Internet
It looks like you have a slight iron deficiency, but everything else appears normal. It’s common for GFR levels to vary; since it’s a calculated value rather than a direct measure, it’s only a general approximation of kidney health. Usually, a result over 60 is considered fine. I often explain to my medical students that lab reference ranges aren’t necessarily “health ranges” where being outside them implies illness. Instead, they represent a “normal range” where 95% of healthy people in that specific region fall. Consequently, about 5% of entirely healthy individuals will naturally have results that sit outside those boundaries.