Question:

I am a 57 year old male. I have had type 2 diabetes for 7 years. I Aldo have high cholesterol and blood pressure. My urine microalbumin levels keep rising, most recently 685. My blood BUN and creatinine levels are within normal limits. I am wondering what could cause such a high microalbumin level and not be affecting my blood kidney function tests. My recent a1c was 7.5. I take lisinopril for blood pressure and am not currently taking anything for my diabetes. I am guessing that the next step would be to see a nephrologist, but I am just trying to understand why only the microalbumin is elevated. Thank you. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer:

Sometimes the lab reports a creatinine as normal but in fact this needs to used in a calculation to determine if the renal function is normal. You did not report your BP so I don’t know if it is controlled to an adequate level for you. I think you need to see a nephrologist to answer your questions. A renal imaging study and other blood and urine tests may be ordered.

For more information:

Go to the Quality Health Care and You – Diabetes health topic.