Symptoms of High Creatinine and When Start Dialysis

Generally creatinine levels in the blood remain unchanged from day to day because muscle mass usually stays the same. Taking certain medicines, eating a lot of meat or building muscles through weight training or other exercisemay show higher amounts of creatinine, even in those who do not have chronic kidney disease. Creatinine levels can be lower than normal for people who are elderly, malnourished or are vegetarians.

Symptoms of too much creatinine

Symptoms of high levels of creatinine in the blood are the same as kidney failure symptoms. Some people find out they have kidney failure when extreme creatinine amounts show up in routine blood tests, without feeling any symptoms at all. Yet some people may experience the following:

Weakness, or feeling tired

Dehydration

Confusion

Shortness of breath

When should I start dialysis?

When your kidney functiondrops to 15% or less — or if you have severe symptoms caused by your kidney disease, such as: shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle cramps, nausea or vomiting. Your doctor will help you decide when to start dialysis, based on results of lab teststhat measure how much kidney function you have left and on your symptoms.