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Hi! I'm Neff, from The Kidney Experts.

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Let me show you what your kidneys do,
and how we check on them.

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Your kidneys are filters. Blood goes in.

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Your kidneys clean out the waste, and
the waste leaves your body in your urine.

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When kidneys don't work well,
two things can happen.

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First, the filter can get leaky.
That's why we check your urine.

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If we find blood or protein in your urine,
it tells us the filter is leaking.

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Things that should stay in
your blood are getting through.

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Second, the filter can slow down.

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Less waste gets cleaned out,
so it builds up in your blood.

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One waste we check is called creatinine.
We check it with a blood test.

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When your kidneys filter less,
your creatinine level goes up.

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When your kidneys get better,
your creatinine level comes down.

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We use your creatinine to estimate your
eGFR. Think of it as your kidney score.

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Creatinine and eGFR move in opposite ways.

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When creatinine goes up, eGFR goes down.

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For eGFR, higher is better.

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These numbers go up and
down a little every day.

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So we watch them over time,
to see how your kidneys are doing.

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We're here to help.
Bring your questions to every visit.

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Let's take care of your kidneys together!