Protein in urine

[alwaysgrowing]

MY workout partner is nervous because his doctor found protein in his urine. THey are sending him for tests. I told him it could be nothing. Working out to the max, and taking in large amounts of protein can cause it to be excreted in his urine. AM i right here?

[YellowJacket]

MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Protein - urine

[Scrumhalf]

Yes, a diet high in protein, particularly the highly protein-supplemented diets that bodybuilders tend to use can cause protein to be found in urine. However, I don't think this is normal by any means.

Protein molecules are normally too large to get through the glomeruli, the cells that perform the filtering in the kidneys. The fact that they are getting through means that the high protein diet is overwhelming the kidneys and cannot be healthy for the kidneys. It could also be a symptom of renal disease, which is why your friend's doctor is sending him for more tests.

One has to wonder what the high protein bodybuilding diets are doing to one's kidneys. I would take this very seriously. At the very least, your friend should be upfront with his doctor on details of his diet - I suspect the doctor would recommend immediate changes.

[NYCmitch25]

No.
He should be concerned.

[SonofBone]

I remember when Bouncer was seeing bubbles in his urine and freaked out about this topic. Well, in the past month I've been seeing them more often as well & I've been upping my protein intake. Man, that is a scary list of causes. Also, throw in the fact that my high blood pressure in the past was believed to be due to a narrowing of the renal artery and most protein in the urine looks as if it is related to your kidneys.

I've been wanting to see an Internist for like a month. I just have to wait till my wife's policy sends me the damn insurance card.

[THE BOUNCER]

very very small amounts are ok but if he is at the point where his doctors are sending him for tests that is not good. dont tell him this, just let him go for the tests and get it taken care of.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by SonofBone

I remember when Bouncer was seeing bubbles in his urine and freaked out about this topic.

yea, i went in and got blood work and urine test done. everything was normal. i guess in my case, my pee just likes to bubble. lol

[Mr incredible]

Originally Posted by SonofBone

I remember when Bouncer was seeing bubbles in his urine .

probably sic dic

[Mr incredible]

I've had protien my urine before and the docs just said do you eat alot of protien, when I confirmed, they were like, ok fine then

[barbender]

He should be very concerned about the recent findings. Not that he should be freaking out but it does warrant some concern. Diabetes is a very real concern when there is protein in the urine. It is the same mechanism as described by schrumhalf. But it is not an overwhelming of the kidneys but actual damage to the glomeruli. Make sure he knows there are some concerns that he needs to follow up on.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by Mr incredible

I've had protien my urine before and the docs just said do you eat alot of protien, when I confirmed, they were like, ok fine then

thats really not right. protein in the urine is not a good thing. it means your kidneys are not properly filtering.

[barbender]

He should be checked for microalbuminuria. This is a test for even very very small amounts of protein in the urine. Some is really not ok. If the GFR, glomerular filtration rate, is too low he will start to hold water and salts. Later if left untreated, he will end up with full on renal failure and be forced to use dialysis for the rest of his life. He should act now and try to prevent or rule out (hopefully) the worst case scenario. Just my two cents.

[alwaysgrowing]

I am not telling him anything else. He is getting tests done soon. He has no other symptoms that I know of. No lower back pain. Though, he does use the bathroom quite often it seems. But i guess the tests will tell

[alwaysgrowing]

as for the diabetes, that was one of the first things they tested for. art of the reason he went in to begin with. he always felt thirsty. he says he drinks close to 3 gallons of water a day

[barbender]

Originally Posted by alwaysgrowing

as for the diabetes, that was one of the first things they tested for. art of the reason he went in to begin with. he always felt thirsty. he says he drinks close to 3 gallons of water a day

DAMN

[redsquirrel]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

thats really not right. protein in the urine is not a good thing. it means your kidneys are not properly filtering.

Protein in the urine is not good at all. But, if his tests come back ok, then you really need to tell him to drink more water. I remember when I first started eating a fair amount of protein, my kidneys actually ached a little bit. I started drinking more water, and it improved. If you're not drinking enough water, the kidneys cannot flush the protein.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by alwaysgrowing

he says he drinks close to 3 gallons of water a day

well that is a whole different issue in itself. that is approaching dangerous levels.

[alwaysgrowing]

for an udpate:

H got some calls for his tests today. NOthing wrong. The doctor he spoke wth said strenous exercise can cause protein in urine. But they are still sending him for one more test.

And as for the water, I didn't think he drank that much. SO i asked him to count exactly what he drank. 1.5 gallons. Doesn't seem that off.

[NYCmitch25]

good to hear that~!

[Kiev]

I read through everything and nobody thought of the protien being sperm. There are small amounts of discharge sometimes found in the urine. Not supposed to take the sample right from the beginning but most places hand you a cup and say filler-up.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by Kiev

I read through everything and nobody thought of the protien being sperm. There are small amounts of discharge sometimes found in the urine. Not supposed to take the sample right from the beginning but most places hand you a cup and say filler-up.

his doctor found protein in his urine. not sperm.

i still don't believe that everything is perfectly normal either. you may find a very small amount of protein in the urine right after a hard workout but I doubt this guy went straight to the doc after a hard session in the gym. the protein should be out of the urine within a few hours after a hard workout. it certainly shouldnt be there a day or 2 after a workout.

[OhHannah]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

his doctor found protein in his urine. not sperm.

What do you think sperm is? (And you can think about that next time you drink your protein shake, lol)

No seriously, if the patient didn't clear the pipes properly before taking the actual sample, contamination like that is very possible. You gotta take it "midstream" as it were. Sometimes that gets screwed up.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by OhHannah

What do you think sperm is? (And you can think about that next time you drink your protein shake, lol)

No seriously, if the patient didn't clear the pipes properly before taking the actual sample, contamination like that is very possible. You gotta take it "midstream" as it were. Sometimes that gets screwed up.

i assumed that the test that the doctor takes can differentiate between sperm and the protein that would be spilling over into the urine. is that not the case?

[OhHannah]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

i assumed that the test that the doctor takes can differentiate between sperm and the protein that would be spilling over into the urine. is that not the case?

Not with the current tests, no.

Drunk any thick, gooey protein shakes lately?