Elevated BUN level?

[mfenske]

I went to the doc the other day cause I have this funny lump on the left side of my throat and they did a blood test to see if everything was kosher. It turns out that I have a BUN of 32. The lady who did the test said that 24 was the high end of normal. She recommended that I stop taking whey protein supps. Does anyone have any insight on this. Thanks everyone. Mark

[floyd_turbo]

i know a BUN test is a somewhat routine test used primarily to evaluate renal (kidney) function. i believe normal range is more around 20 mg/dl. BUN stands for blood urea nitrogen (sure you know that). urea is the end product of protein metabolism. most renal diseases affect urea excretion so that BUN levels increase in the blood. how much protein are you currently intaking a day?

[cb25]

I'd talk to your doc before you take the advice of a phlebotomist.

Just eating protein, or taking whey, isn't going to raise BUN...there's probably something underlying that needs to be checked out.

[floyd_turbo]

abnormal results can may indicate excessive protein ingestion, hows your bp? any kidney problems, is your urinary tract fine? if so, its likely a result of excessive intake. in that case lower your intake for a couple wks and see if the lump lessens

[HeartDocMD]

I'd talk to your doc before you take the advice of a phlebotomist.

Just eating protein, or taking whey, isn't going to raise BUN...there's probably something underlying that needs to be checked out.

Actually, excessive protein intake can cause an elevated bun. So depending on how much protein he is taking in daily, that could be the underlying cause. However, bun aside from the notion of kidney problems is characteristic of various other things. Interestingly enough, the bun level is greatly increased when someone has had a recent myocardial infarct (heart attack). So potentially your doctor did the correct first step, in trying to cut out the excess protein you are probably ingesting daily. I assume, there will be a follow up blood test, and if the bun levels are still elevated other measures will have to be taken. I hope that clears it up a bit.

[HeartDocMD]

abnormal results can may indicate excessive protein ingestion, hows your bp? any kidney problems, is your urinary tract fine? if so, its likely a result of excessive intake. in that case lower your intake for a couple wks and see if the lump lessens

Beat me to it

[mfenske]

Floyd Turbo and HeartDoc, thank you so much for your informative posts. I'll give ya the skinny on my situation. I currently stand 6'5" and about 235 pounds. My dietary protein intake including whey and whole foods averages about 350 grams per day, spread throughout about 7-8 meals. My urinary functioning seems to be pretty normal. I go quite often (a side-effect of drinking 3 gallons of water a day I'm sure. I have an ultrasound tomorrow morning and a consultation with an Ear/ Nose/Throat doctor tomorrow afternoon. Also, I have a followup bloodtest 2 weeks from the original. Again, thank you so much to all those that posted. I really appreciate the help and will inform you all with whatever I find out. Mark

[cb25]

Actually, excessive protein intake can cause an elevated bun. So depending on how much protein he is taking in daily, that could be the underlying cause. However, bun aside from the notion of kidney problems is characteristic of various other things. Interestingly enough, the bun level is greatly increased when someone has had a recent myocardial infarct (heart attack). So potentially your doctor did the correct first step, in trying to cut out the excess protein you are probably ingesting daily. I assume, there will be a follow up blood test, and if the bun levels are still elevated other measures will have to be taken. I hope that clears it up a bit.

yea, i completely overstated that...i should know better - so thanks for correcting me.